The church of Santi Nazaro e Celso is the provost church of Bellano and faces onto piazza San Giorgio, next to the entrance of the Orrido. It is a listed national monument. The half-stage of the Sentiero del Viandante between Varenna and Dervio passes through Bellano, close to the church and the Orrido.
History
On 9 September 1341 the old church, then dedicated to San Giorgio, was severely damaged by a flood of the Pioverna and had to be rebuilt on higher ground. According to Cesare Cantù’s account, the rebuilding was entrusted to Campionese masters — among them Giovanni di Ugo da Campione — with funding from the Visconti; the new building was raised around 1342–1350 and consecrated in 1355 at the wish of Archbishop Roberto Visconti. It was in this phase, in the 14th century, that the church took on its dedication to Saints Nazaro and Celso.
The vault frescoes were completed by 1530. The sacristy and the bell tower, of 1567, date from the time of San Carlo Borromeo’s visit. In 1930 the church was restored and reconsecrated by Cardinal Schuster.
What to see
- The façade, in bands of white and black marble, with three pointed-arch portals surmounted by lunettes and carved semi-capitals, and a large rose window of glazed terracotta.
- On the façade, within a niche, a marble relief of Sant’Ambrogio.
- The three-nave apsed interior, in late-Romanesque forms, with blocked single-light windows in the central nave still legible from outside.
- The frescoes of the central vault (15th–16th century) and a polyptych with scenes from the life of San Giovanni Battista (1525–1530).
- Notable furnishings: the late-Gothic processional cross, a 15th-century wall tabernacle, the marble baptistery and the carved wooden confessionals of the 17th century.
- The fresco of the Madonna and Child with Saints Nazaro and Celso, placed in the church in 1960.
Getting there
The church is in piazza San Giorgio, in the centre of Bellano, a few steps from the lakefront and the entrance to the Orrido. It lies on the route of the Sentiero del Viandante where it crosses Bellano.
Practical information
- As this is the provost church, for opening hours and services it is best to check with the parish of Bellano.
From the same square you reach the Orrido di Bellano; higher up, on the slope towards Dervio, the Sentiero del Viandante stage passes the Santuario di Lezzeno.