Chiesa di San Martino

The Church of San Martino in Bellagio preserves fifteenth-century architecture with later Baroque additions. Dedicated to Saint Martin and the Madonna del Rosario, it belongs to the history of the former Dominican complex opposite it.

Why it matters

San Martino connects Bellagio's hillside religious heritage with an earlier community hospital and a Dominican house. Its Marian devotion continued after the friars departed, and the church was declared a Marian sanctuary in 1945.

What to notice

The fifteenth-century structure incorporates later Baroque work. An image of the Madonna del Rosario remains within the church. Across from it stands the former convent building, which had served as the community's hospital before passing to the Dominicans.

Context and history

The building opposite the church housed the community hospital in the fifteenth century. In 1510 it passed to the Dominicans of San Giovanni in Pedemonte in Como. After the convent's suppression, the church was entrusted to a chaplain. It became dependent on the new parish of Santa Maria Annunciata at Breno in 1857, when some artworks were transferred to that church.