Via S. Martino, 66, 23017 Morbegno SO
The early church, dedicated to Saints Lawrence and Bernard of Clairvaux, was built in 1418 along the old road heading toward Talamona from Piantedo following the edge of the valley.
Unfortunately, it soon proved unable to handle the numbers of pilgrims drawn in by word of the many miracles worked by the Virgin Mary.
The locals worshipped a late-Gothic fresco of the Madonna and Child (1440) inside the church. Saved from demolition, this refined image became the visual and devotional focus of the new temple built between the late-15th and early-16th centuries under supervision of the powerful Compagnia dei Disciplini, enjoying the wholehearted involvement of the Morbegnese.
A quite remarkable altar apparatus was built in wood around the fresco. Composed of high-relief panels with episodes of the Life of the Virgin and a gamut of statues, it is the work of Lombard artists then very much in demand: Giovan Angelo and Tiburzio Del Maino for sculpture (1516-19); Gaudenzio Ferrari and Fermo Stella for works in paint and gold leaf (1520-26).
Its clean Bramantesque lines embellished with painted friezes and terracotta corbels unlike anything else in the valley, the sanctuary is a pearl of the Valtellina and Lombard Renaissance. It may be attributable to the great architect and sculptor Tommaso Rodari, who is the confirmed author of certain sculptural façade elements in Saltrio stone: the windows surmounted by triangular tympanums, the magnificent rose window, and the main door decorated in the classical manner, surmounted by the statues of the Angel and the Virgin of the Annunciation (1517).
The 18th century was a season of rebirth. Work was done on the lantern tower, where the domed roof was replaced with a peaked roof, and on the massive bell tower, which was built much higher, while preserving the terracotta arches at the bottom to maintain the stylistic character of the church. An ossuary was also added at the back of the church.
The most significant changes were made in the interior, where Renaissance clarity was overwhelmed by Baroque exuberance. You get an immediate taste entering the church, with the Stories of the Virgin and Musical Angels (1703-06) by Pietro Bianchi of Como on the walls and the Glory of Saints Bernardino and Lawrence and Glory of the Virgin (1768) on the ceiling by the Morbegnese painter Giovan Pietro, who worked with the expert Milanese quadraturist Giuseppe Porro.
The cupola frescoed by the Bergamasque artist Giuseppe Prina is a jubilation of Musical Angels arranged in concentric circles leading to the Coronation of the Virgin (1709-12).
In the large chapterhouse, originally used for meetings among the confraternity, relics discovered during restoration work are exhibited along with many paintings, vestments, standards, goldwork, and other relics testifying to the long history of faith and devotion.
