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Bellagio

Santa Maria di Loppia, Bellagio

The eleventh-century Romanesque church with its tall arcaded bell tower, among cypresses in a private park at Loppia, visible from the road to Como.

Visit duration
5–15 min
Booking
Not required
Area
Centro Lago
The tall, narrow Romanesque bell tower above the small stone church, among cypresses and trees, seen from the lake.Dario Crespi · CC BY-SA 4.0
  • Uppa66 · CC BY-SA 4.0
  • Uppa66 · CC BY-SA 4.0

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The tall, narrow Romanesque bell tower above the small stone church, among cypresses and trees, seen from the lake.

Dario Crespi · CC BY-SA 4.0

Why go

Santa Maria di Loppia is an early eleventh-century Romanesque church in the grounds of a private property in Bellagio.

Built of stone and pebbles, it has a single nave and a low apse with three narrow windows. The façade has a portal with a monolithic lintel and a small cross-shaped window, repeated at the far end of the church. A bell tower with bands of small arches stands beside it. The Benedictine nunnery was abandoned in the seventeenth century. After its property was sold to Pietro Venini, his descendants demolished the convent in 1804 to open the avenue from Villa Giulia to the lake.

  • An eleventh-century Romanesque bell tower you can pick out from the boat.
  • The story of the convent pulled down for Villa Giulia's avenue.

Highlights

  • The three-stage bell tower with its double window at the top
  • The low apse with three single windows
  • The small cross-shaped windows
  • The view from the lake among the cypresses

Getting there

  • It stands at Loppia, on the shore south of Bellagio's centre, beyond Villa Melzi: you see it from the lake and from the provincial road to Como.
The Loppia shore from the lake: the wall on the water, boats drawn up and the bell tower among the green.Dario Crespi · CC BY-SA 4.0

On the map

Explore the lake
BellagioSanta Maria di Loppia, Bellagio

© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL

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