The architectural and liturgical adaptation of S. Andrea basilica in Mantua has been conceived from the church’s size and layout, specifically form the crypt. It is the crypt, in fact, with its importance in terms of size and layout, and with its own conceptual substance, that suggested the new distribution, strongly conditioned by the surfacing of the octagon that surrounds the place in which the relics are kept. In view of all the points highlighted it seemed logical to intervene through specific elements, in accordance with a distribution which not only rigidly preserves Alberti's construction of space, but also confirms a series of fundamental directices. Following the layout of the original structure and its successive deformations some figures or liturgical focuses are placed within the space: the altar, ambo, episcopal seat and baptismal font, establishing a new relationship between what is underground and what lies at the level of the hall. The block which supports the presbytery is moved forward from its previous position with respect to the perimeter of the old balustrade which was dismantled in the Sixties toward the octagon and the centre of the crypt below. The altar is placed on the longitudinal axis of the hall (and thus also of the crypt) and has a size of 1,80x1,80 linear metres. It is shaped as a parallelepipedon and is made of Verona marble. It is supported by two elements at its base which raise it, providing it with a good view over the entire church hall. Thus on the central line of the nave the square of the altar, the octagon of the crypt and the circle of the oculus follow the original layout of the building.

The Episcopal Seat is also placed on the longitudinal axis of the basilica, thus strengthening the line that has the altar as its fulcrum. It consist of a base, a seat and a seatback in Verona marble. The pulpit, place of the Word, is located to the left of the Altar and of the Episcopal Seat. It consists of a pedestal in Verona marble which gradually rises, protected on the outside and closed at the top, in the shape of an elevated podium which projects toward the congregation. Atop of this structure stands a marble lectern which evokes the waiting for the Word.

The Baptismal Font, placed on the transverse axis of the hall, on the north-west transept and in proximity of the entrance to the left, is located after the main doorway. It is a 4,70x2,70m rectangle made of Verona marble. It is shaped as a shallow pool, almost like a hollowed slab with a height of 20 cm, raised from the ground by a 5 cm “strip”. A ramp composed of three elements occupies the first half of the pool, permitting a link between the upper and lower levels, the latter covered in a thin sheet of water.