Santi Nazaro e Celso, Catholic church in Bellano, Italy

Santi Nazaro e Celso is a church in Bellano with a Gothic facade of black and white stone, topped by a large rose window and a 14th-century aedicule holding a marble statue of Saint Ambrose. The interior has a nave of four bays with late-15th-century carvings on the vaults depicting Nazaro, Celso, George and Ambrose. The south apse contains the chapel of Saint John the Baptist with a 16th-century wooden polyptych.

The church has early Christian origins, confirmed by georadar surveys. A flood of the Pioverna on 9 September 1341 badly damaged it, and it was rebuilt on higher ground by the Comacini masters Giovanni da Campione, Antonio di Val d'Intelvi and Comolo da Osteno, with funding also from Azzone and Giovanni Visconti. In 1355 an eremitane bishop consecrated the rebuilt church; the vault frescoes were completed in 1530.

The church honors Saints Nazaro and Celso, two figures central to local faith traditions. Inside, the frescoes and artworks show how religious belief shaped daily life for Bellano's residents across centuries.

The church stands in Bellano, in the province of Lecco, and belongs to the Alto Lario deanery of the Archdiocese of Milan. The facade faces the town; the black-and-white stonework and the rose window are best seen in daylight. The 1494 lunette fresco was detached in 1961 and moved inside, so look for it indoors.

The bell tower holds six bells whose sound carries across the valley, calling people to prayer and special occasions for centuries. The bells date from different periods, reflecting how the community maintained and enriched the church across generations.