Chiesa di San Lorenzo, Lenno
Just two kilometres south of Tremezzo in the village of Lenno, the Romanesque church of San Lorenzo hides one of the oldest surviving baptisteries in Lombardy — an octagonal 11th-century structure that most visitors rushing to Villa del Balbianello completely overlook.
The Baptistery
The detached baptistery beside San Lorenzo dates to around the year 1000 and is one of fewer than thirty pre-Romanesque baptisteries still standing in northern Italy. Its plain stone exterior gives way to a surprisingly moving interior: eight rough-hewn pillars support the dome, and fragments of early medieval fresco survive on the apse wall in faded ochre and terracotta.
The font at the centre is carved from a single block of local granite and is large enough for full-immersion baptism — a reminder that this was once the primary baptismal site for a wide stretch of the western lake shore. The acoustics inside are extraordinary; even a whisper carries around the dome.
The Church and Piazza
The main church of San Lorenzo, rebuilt in the 16th century over the earlier structure, contains a fine carved wooden choir and a small altarpiece attributed to the Lombard school. The sacristy holds a collection of silver liturgical objects rarely shown to visitors — ask the custodian politely and you may be taken through.
The piazza in front of the church is one of the most quietly beautiful squares on the lake: a handful of old stone houses, a single bar with outdoor tables and a chestnut tree that must be three centuries old. It sees perhaps a tenth of the foot traffic of nearby Lenno's lakeside promenade.
Combining with Villa del Balbianello
Lenno is the departure point for boats to Villa del Balbianello (the FAI-managed villa famous as a James Bond and Star Wars filming location), so it is easy to visit San Lorenzo in the 20–30 minutes before your timed boat slot. The baptistery is directly on the path from the bus stop to the boat dock.
The village bar on the piazza serves a very decent espresso and home-made almond biscuits — fuel up here rather than at the overpriced café at Balbianello itself.
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