LarioLago di Como

What to See · Churches

Collegiate Church of Santo Stefano (Lenno)

Centro Lago

Tremezzina →

Santo Stefano is the pieve church of Lenno, in the comune of Tremezzina, on via Santo Stefano, at a lower level than the road. It has a trapezoidal crypt of the 11th century and, beside it, an octagonal Romanesque baptistery: it is among the best preserved Romanesque buildings on Lake Como.

History

The church was built in Romanesque times on the remains of an early Christian building, and according to Wikipedia the area perhaps held Roman baths, part of a villa. Le Vie del Viandante gives another chronology: erected in the 5th-6th century on baths of the 1st century, with the present form due to a 16th-century rebuilding. The oldest part is the crypt, dated to the end of the 11th century. In the 16th and 17th centuries the church was much reworked, with the facade and the interior decoration and with the closing of the side porticoes, turned into the side aisles, which altered the relationship with the crypt below. From Bishop Ninguarda’s pastoral visit, in 1593, we know that church and baptistery were part of a larger walled complex, with the chapels of San Zeno and Santa Maria either side of the presbytery and a cemetery. From the 17th century these buildings were partly demolished. In 2014 a restoration dealt above all with the interior decoration, threatened by water infiltration.

What to see

From the central nave you go down to the crypt through two trapdoors, or, according to the regional record, by two symmetrical stairs either side of the presbytery: it is trapezoidal, with five bays with cross vaults, three small apses lit by little windows and columns with reused capitals. The plan derives from that of the crypt of Sant’Eufemia on the Isola Comacina, with a more balanced partition, regular courses and a herringbone terracotta decoration. On the capitals critics are divided: some consider them reused, late antique or early medieval, others contemporary with the construction but archaising in taste.

In the church, with three naves and side chapels, the first chapel on the right keeps a frescoed Nativity and Adoration of the Magi, of the Luini school. The high altarpiece, with the martyrdom of Saint Stephen, is of the second half of the 16th century, and the side chapels have 17th-century frescoes and stuccoes. Archaeological finds include three pagan and twelve Christian tombstones, some walled into the atrium, the left side and the crypt. The bell tower, square, rises on the north-east corner.

On the left side stands the baptistery, an octagonal building of Moltrasio stone with pilaster strips and half-columns under a cornice of hanging arches in groups of three. The apse, today polygonal, replaced a semicircular one, the slate roof covers a gored vault and ends in a square lantern with a mullioned window. The portal, with a triple arcade on two half-columns and a lunette in ghiandone granite, is the most emphasised part. The regional record compares it to the baptistery of Oggiono and dates it to the last quarter of the 11th century. Inside, fragments of medieval frescoes and Baroque decoration. The sources say it is dedicated to Saint John the Baptist, while Le Vie del Viandante calls it Saint John the Evangelist. According to Como e il suo Lago it now hosts contemporary art exhibitions.

Practical information

  • The church is on via Santo Stefano in Lenno, in the comune of Tremezzina, near the via Regina.
  • We found no official source for opening hours: it is best to ask the parish. A short way off is the Acquafredda abbey.

Sources

On the map

← Back to What to See