Church of S. Stefano

The parish church of Santo Stefano is located in the village of Menaggio, where once passed the Regina road, a few steps from Lake Como.

Inside the church you can admire a copy of a Madonna by Bernardino Luini currently on display at the Louvre.

Details

The parish church of S.Stefano of very ancient origins whose original Roman structures have however been lost; in fact the orientation itself is in the opposite direction of its primitive setting with  the entrance located on the old Roman road the Antica Strada Regina that passed on the back of the current building.
The church has three naves which, in 1899, were covered with frescoes by a local artist named Tagliaferri. Quite noteworthy is the one of the martyr Santo Stefano located in the vault of the apse.
In the presbytery, two works by the painter Castelli from Menaggio.
Above the altar of the Madonna, at the front of the left nave, you find a copy of a painting by Bernardino Luino, a famous painter of the Renaissance, depicting Maria with Jesus and an angel also called the Madonna di Menaggio; the original work is now at the Louvre. The altar is surrounded by copper medallions representing scenes from the Madonna’s life.
In the middle of the right nave there is a large painting of San Giorgio but the artist is unknown. The altar of “Il Sacro Cuore” is embellished with stuccoes of the 17th century by the “maestri intelvesi” (famous sculptors and craftsmen of the Val d’Intelvi who passed their experience from father to son and worked all over Europe).

The church is usually open daily from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.