In 1867 he was named by Pope Pius IX archbishop of Milan, and his appointment solved the crisis in such important and large diocese. Actually the previous archbishop Paolo Angelo Ballerini of Milan had been suggested by the Austrian emperor, but he was not allowed to enter in the town by the Kingdom of Sardinia that took possession of the Lombardy after the Second Italian War of Independence. So with the appointment of Nazari di Calabiana Milan again had a residence bishop. In the frame of the hostility between the Holy See and the kingdom of Sardinia (later Kingdom of Italy), Nazari di Calabiana was considered to be on conciliatory positions, while the previous archbishop Ballerini, who during Nazari's reign resided in Seregno near Milan, remained a fierce opponent of the Reign. Nazari di Calabian was never created cardinal.