San Babila Church is considered one of the oldest in Milan. It was built in 1095 on the site of another church dating back to the 5th century AD. That place of worship housed beneath its vaults the relics of two saints - Babylas of Antioch and Romanus of Caesarea. It was from the name of Saint Babylas that the modern San Babila Church got its name.
Although the church was built in the 11th century, Basilica San Babila acquired its present appearance only in the 19th century. At that time, the building required major reconstruction: its facade was in a very neglected state, and the bell tower had in fact collapsed three centuries earlier. After the renovation, the church appeared before the townspeople in the Neo-Romanesque style, which has survived to this day and makes San Babila Church stand out strongly among the other churches and basilicas of Milan.
