Church of Saint Ambrogio

Church of Saint Ambrose - Lierna

Documented sources speak of a church, called Saint Ambrose (Sant'Ambrogio) even back in 1500, at the time, the parish was part of the Pieve di Mandello. The Bishop of Como, Feliciano Ninguarda, in 1593 upon the occasion of a pastoral visit gave start to the re-building plans. Lierna's parish was built in 1619 by Bishop Filippo Archinti. The actual church of Saint Ambrose was built in 1626 and consecrated in 1627 by Bishop Lazzaro Carafino.

In 1778 the parish was largely restored, even the bell tower was changed and raised in that same period; many parts were restored and substantially enlarged. At the beginning of the 1800s the main altar - made of marble - was placed, and inside it were deposited the relics of Saint Columban, Saint Charles, Saint Perpetua and Saint Diletto. Above the door, on the right side of the church we find the painting of the Holy Mother of the Rosary with Saint Domenic and Saint Catherine realized in 1628, by the painter from the Valtellina valley, Giovan Battista Macolino. He was born in 1604 to Gualdera di Fraciscio in val San Giacomo, and died in Chiavenna in 1673.

The frescoes realized in 1963 on the parish vault are ascribable to the painter from Bergamo, Umberto Marigliani (1885-1960). They portray moments of the life of Saint Ambrose, Marigliani also restored the canvass of the S. Antonio altar and the paintings of the main altar. The frescoes were restored again in 1972 by the work of Sessa di Bergamo, and during those same years the antique organ and a large part of the St. Ambrose parish were restored.