Chiesa dei Santi Lorenzo e Agnese

The parish church of Saints Lorenzo and Agnese stands in Loveno, above Menaggio. Its baroque facade, crowned by statues of the patron saints, introduces an interior furnished with paintings, sculpture and decorative craftsmanship from several centuries.

Why it matters

The church brings together the work of different artistic trades. Painted decoration, carved wood, scagliola and organ building contribute to its character, rather than a single work defining the whole interior.

What to notice

A Madonna dei Sette Dolori dates from the sixteenth century, while other paintings belong to the seventeenth. The furnishings include an eighteenth-century scagliola altar frontal, a fifteenth-century holy-water stoup and a Serassi organ dated 1776. Wooden sculpture includes the Madonna della Cintura by L. Mattielli, dated 1737, and a Dead Christ. Medieval fragments and an older fresco of Saint Lawrence survive on the adjoining rectory.

Context and history

The church has earlier origins than its baroque presentation. Its varied furnishings preserve successive stages of local religious patronage. L. Tagliaferri added frescoes in 1898, introducing a late-nineteenth-century layer to an already richly furnished parish church.