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Tremezzina

Acquafredda Abbey, Lenno

The Cistercian monastery above Lenno, documented from 1142, with frescoes by Fiammenghino and stucco by Agostino Silva.

Visit duration
20–45 min
Booking
Not required
Area
Centro Lago
The white bell tower and yellow church of the abbey on the hillside, among cypresses, with the lake and mountains behind.Kaitu · CC BY-SA 4.0
  • Kaitu · CC BY-SA 4.0
  • Kaitu · CC BY-SA 4.0

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The white bell tower and yellow church of the abbey on the hillside, among cypresses, with the lake and mountains behind.

Kaitu · CC BY-SA 4.0

Why go

Acquafredda Abbey is a Cistercian complex on the slopes above Lenno, documented from 1142 through a gift of land to the monks of Morimondo.

Work on the church of Santa Maria dell'Uliveto began in 1153; it was consecrated in 1193. After changes over the following centuries, rebuilding started in 1540 and ended in the early seventeenth century. Inside are frescoes painted in 1621 by Giovan Mauro della Rovere, known as Il Fiammenghino, and stucco decoration by Agostino Silva from 1680.

  • A Cistercian monastery with Fiammenghino's frescoes and Agostino Silva's stucco.
  • The mule track to San Benedetto in Val Perlana starts here.

Highlights

  • The medieval apse and the oratory of San Pietro beneath the bell tower
  • The fountain with its mask and Saint Agrippinus's stone tomb

Getting there

  • It is at Via Acquafredda 16, on the hillside above Lenno; the cobbled mule track to San Benedetto in Val Perlana starts from its car park, a little over an hour's climb.
The bell tower above the yellow front dedicated to the Virgin and, on the entrance wall, the two crossed arms beneath the cross, the Franciscan emblem.Mario Falcetti · CC BY 4.0

On the map

Explore the lake
TremezzinaAcquafredda Abbey, Lenno

© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL

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Sources and credits

Verified at source1 Oct 2026Comune di Tremezzinaopens in a new tab

Sources and credits

Verified at source1 Oct 2026Comune di Tremezzinaopens in a new tab