Acquafredda abbey is an old monastic complex at Lenno, in the comune of Tremezzina, on a panoramic plateau under Monte Ossino, at about 300 metres. It was founded by the Cistercians of Morimondo in 1143 and takes its name from a nearby spring of cold water; the 17th-century church has frescoes by the Fiammenghino and stuccoes by Agostino Silva. For years the complex has not been inhabited, and a project is under way to recover and reopen it.
History
1142 is the year of the first deed: Azzo Pellegrino da Isola ceded to the Cistercian monks of Morimondo some fields at Roncate, in the territory of Lenno, so that a monastery named for Mary, Peter and Agrippinus could rise there, in which to keep the remains of Agrippinus and Saint Dominica, moved from the Isola Comacina. Many scholars consider 1142 the true founding date, but the Order’s tables give 1143, the year of a deed of gift. First there was a chapel of San Pietro, with the relics of the two saints, over which the bell tower was later built, perhaps in 1309; the church was begun in 1153, dedicated to Santa Maria dell’Uliveto, and consecrated in 1193. The abbey received gifts and privileges from emperors and popes, produced manuscripts in its scriptorium and hosted the communal assemblies.
Poorly managed, in 1460 it was given in commend to Francesco Piccolomini, nephew of Pope Pius II (for the Cistercians’ site the commend dates from 1503). It soon became a bandits’ lair, and in 1527 the governor of Como, Federico Bossi, ordered Count Ascanio Pergamini to burn it. It was rebuilt by the Cistercian Congregation of San Bernardo: in 1547 the abbey went back to the monks, the works ended in the early 17th century and of the Romanesque church only a small apse remained. In 1680 the stuccoes by the Ticino artist Agostino Silva were added, in 1714 the high altar and in 1724 the facade, by Giovanni Battista and Antonio Nolli. The abbey was suppressed in 1785 and in 1787 passed to the Mainoni family; after several owners, between 1904 and 1910 it hosted the Benedictines of Santa Maria Maddalena of Marseille, exiled from France, then a summer seminary of Crema until 1928. In 1934 it was bought by the Capuchins, who in 1966 entrusted it to the Franciscan Third Order: the Ancelle del Signore settled there, assisted by the friars.
Current state
The Settimanale della Diocesi di Como wrote in April 2024 that the abbey has been unused for years for lack of vocations; the property belongs to the Lombard Province of the Capuchin friars minor. In February 2024 the Comune di Tremezzina started, with 50,000 euros from Fondazione Cariplo, a co-design table to recover and reopen the complex, with a use geared towards cultural, religious and spiritual tourism and the job placement of young and vulnerable people. Fourteen organisations answered the call and the table met on 6 May 2024, with the Comune, the Diocese of Como and the Capuchins as members by right. We found no later news and no reopening date.
What to see
The church is reached through a forecourt with cypresses and a stone portal with the Capuchins’ coat of arms. The facade has a Serlian porch with two columns and a pediment with the dedication to the Virgin, and under the porch a portal with stucco statues of the Virgin and Saint Agrippinus. The bell tower, square in plan and with a four-arched bell chamber, rises on the oratory of San Pietro, to the left of the church.
The interior has a single nave with two side chapels and a polygonal apse, with rich stucco decoration: in the presbytery area the vault has God the Father in glory and the Holy Spirit among angels. The right chapel, of Saint Bernard, has a 17th-century altarpiece and a fresco cycle on the saint’s stories, attributed to the Fiammenghino; the left one, of the Madonna, has frescoes by the same painter with the Coronation of the Virgin, Judith and Holofernes, Esther and Ahasuerus. The Fiammenghino also signed in 1621 the Annunciation of the high altar, and four frescoes in the presbytery. From the opening to the left of the presbytery you enter the old chapel of San Pietro, at the base of the bell tower, decorated with the stories of Saints Peter and Paul.
Practical information
- The abbey is at Roncate, in Lenno; the local press presents it as one of the most spectacular stops of the Via Francigena Renana in Tremezzina (Il Giorno, February 2024).
- We found no official visiting hours: Como e il suo Lago, in an undated page, writes that in summer you can visit the inside of the church, but the community that kept it alive is no longer there. It is best to ask the Comune di Tremezzina before going.
Sources
- Lombardia Beni Culturali, Abbazia dell’Acquafredda, complesso (record CO250-00224)
- Settimanale della Diocesi di Como, Acquafredda: si riunirà il 6 maggio il tavolo di co-progettazione (23/4/2024)
- CiaoComo, Abbazia dell’Acquafredda di Tremezzina, al via il tavolo di coprogettazione (16/2/2024)
- Cistercensi, Acquafredda
- Como e il suo Lago, Abbazia dell’Acquafredda a Lenno
- FAI, Abbazia Acqua Fredda dei Frati
- Wikipedia, Abbazia dell’Acquafredda entry.