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Varenna

Church of San Giorgio

Varenna's parish church, consecrated in 1313, with a great Saint Christopher painted on its facade.

Visit duration
15–30 min
Booking
Not required
Area
Centro Lago
San Giorgio's stone facade with its oculus and door, at the top of the steps on the square.Ysogo · CC BY-SA 4.0
  • Guerinf · CC0
  • Guerinf · CC0

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San Giorgio's stone facade with its oculus and door, at the top of the steps on the square.

Ysogo · CC BY-SA 4.0

Why go

San Giorgio, Varenna's parish church, was built between the thirteenth century and the early fourteenth and consecrated in 1313.

Its style marks the passage from Romanesque to Gothic: a nave and two aisles divided by round columns of Varenna's black stone, with rib vaults over the side aisles. On the facade are a fourteenth-century round window and, beside the door, a great Saint Christopher painted in the same century. The bell tower was completed in 1653. Inside are frescoes from the late thirteenth century on, with saints and prophets, and a scene of hell on the entrance wall. On the high altar is the triptych of 1467 with the Virgin enthroned between Saint Peter Martyr and Saint George. The restoration of 1956–1959 gave it back its medieval look.

  • It stands on the village square, seven minutes on foot from the boat.
  • Medieval frescoes and the triptych of 1467, in a church with a nave and two aisles supported by columns of Varenna's black stone.

Highlights

  • The fourteenth-century Saint Christopher beside the door
  • The medieval frescoes and the scene of hell
  • The 1467 triptych on the high altar

Getting there

  • On foot from the boat pier, about 7 minutes.
  • From Varenna-Esino-Perledo station, about 11 minutes downhill.
The church and its tall bell tower with the clock lit up at blue hour, at the top of the steps, under the dark mountainside.Diego Delso · CC BY-SA 4.0

Accessibility

  • There are nine steps from the square up to the forecourt, which a double porphyry ramp on the left of the church bypasses, then one step to go in; inside, the nave is free of obstacles and the altar is three steps up.

Practical information

Address

Piazza San Giorgio 23, 23829 Varenna

Telephone

+39 0341 830228

Facilities

  • Car park 131 m away · paid
  • Public toilets 116 m away

Distances from the point on the map.

Webcams

Updated 22 October 2026

On the map

Explore the lake
VarennaChurch of San Giorgio

© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL

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Sources and credits

Verified at source1 Oct – 9 Oct 2026Varenna Turismoopens in a new tab

Sources and credits

Verified at source1 Oct – 9 Oct 2026Varenna Turismoopens in a new tab