Chiesa di San Leonardo

Church at the heart of the Città Bassa houses miracle fresco

Chiesa San Leonardo, in Largo
Niccolo Rezzara in the lower town

Chiesa San Leonardo is believed to be the oldest church in Bergamo’s lower town and can be found in the middle of all the shops and bars in Largo Niccolo Rezzara, which is close to Via XX Settembre, Bergamo’s main shopping street.

San Leonardo Church was originally built in the 11th century, although the present building dates back to the 14th century. Originally, it would have been part of a group of buildings that included a convent and a hospital.

Dedicated to San Leonardo, who is the patron saint of the sick and prisoners, the church has a simple interior with a single nave and there is a small chapel to the right of the altar containing a very old fresco.

The original structure of the church was damaged by fire in 1310 and had to be rebuilt. It was suppressed in 1797 when Bergamo came under the rule of Napoleon, but was reopened for worship at the beginning of the 19th century.

The church was renovated at the end of the last century. The façade was reconstructed and the portal, the two side windows, and the central circular window were put back in.

In recognition of San Leonardo being the protector of prisoners, the church became a centre for the organisation of food to be delivered to places of punishment.

In the presbytery of the church, works by Antonio Cifrondi dating back to the late 17th century can be seen.

San Leonardo's
central aisle

The small chapel to the right of the main altar contains a very old fresco of the Madonna that was suddenly discovered in the church by worshippers. There is a story that in 1613, the fresco of Mary, the mother of Jesus, miraculously appeared in the church in a niche where a statue of the Virgin had been placed. It is thought that it was actually a very old fresco that had been covered up by lime, but that the covering had gradually worn away, eventually revealing the fresco.

Local women cleaned the fresco with rags, but when this was communicated to the bishop, he thought it should be covered up again because it had been cleaned with unsuitable cloths that had deconsecrated it.

However, worshippers appealed to the Sacred Roman Congregation and in 1618 they ruled that the fresco should be rediscovered and it went on to become a devotional image for Bergamo people to worship.

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