Church of San Giorgio

Church of San Giorgio in Mandello Lario

The church of San Giorgio stands atop the cliff bearing the same name on the municipal boundary of Mandello del Lario and Abbadia Lariana. From the churchyard you can enjoy a magnificent view of the waters of the Lario. The ancient church ascends along the Sentiero del Viandante, a route that connects Abbadia Lariana to the Valtellina, which then passes through the eastern towns of Lake Como. Some historians date the foundation back to the 9th or 10th century, a hypothesis that would refer to the holy water fountain engraved with ribbons and Greek crosses. Other scholars date the construction back to the 13th century. The only certainty is the important changes that took place at the end of XV century. For a long time the structure served as the cemetery church of Crebbio, which is today a small hamlet of Abbadia Lariana.

The structure of the church of San Giorgio has a single nave with a gabled façade, stone walls, an attic with some beautiful exposed beams, three mullioned windows on each side with an oculus on the counter-façade and finally a vault of the semi-domed apse. Most of the wooden beams of the truss the attic space are still the original ones. After some attentive check-ups, only a few of the beams have been replaced. The massive Romanesque bell tower rises adjacent to the path on the left side of the church, and at the top there is a lancet window on each side. A stone roof watches over the small choir of bells.

The true treasure of the church of San Giorgio di Mandello Lario are the frescoes kept inside, a unique pictorial cycle that almost completely covers the walls, the arch, and the bottom of the presbytery. The theme of the frescoes is the Last Judgment and the Coming of Christ at the end of time; the paintings were made between 1475 and 1485 by Piedmontese masters inspired by the Lombard school of Foppa (1427 - 1515). On the right side of the church, interesting portions of earlier pictorial cycles can still be seen, while on the left we can admire the marble fountain dating back to the 9th-10th century.

The church of San Giorgio is open every Sunday from 10.00 to 12.00, for further information Pro loco tel. 039 0341 732912.