Christian devotion is witnessed by small country churches and chapels scattered throughout the countryside around Leno. Many were built and maintained by the Benedictine Abbey of Leno or local parishes, and were used for certain festivals or periods. Some notable country churches that are worth visiting include Santi Nazzaro e Celso and San Bernardo. Smaller chapels like San Pietro in Calver and Santa Scolastica are also nice to see. The chapel of Santa Maria del Caravaggio invites passersby to stop and pray. Other religious buildings from the 1940s include a church dedicated to the Ascension of Mary and an altar dedicated to Santa Maria Ausiliatrice.

1. Country churches
around Leno

2. The Christian devotion is witnessed by oratories, little
country churches and chapels disseminated in Leno
countryside.
Some of these devotional buildings were private or reserved
to certain families, who had to take care of them.
Most of them were erected by the Benedectine Abbey of
Leno or by the parish in Leno and attended only in certain
periods or for certain festivities.
In Leno some representative country churches, which are
worth a visit, are Santi Nazzaro and Celso and San
Bernardo, which is situated in “cassina” Mirabella.

3. The chapels are less important but nice as well. The main
country chapels in Leno are San Pietro in Calver, Santa
Scolastica, San Antonio and San Fermo.
The little church dedicated to the Holy Vergin of
Caravaggio is situated at Viganovo, on the facade of this
cosy little church there is a script saying “fermati o
passeger,non è cosa grave chinare il corpo e recitare
un'Ave”.
It is an invitation to the wanderer to stop and pray the Holy
Vergin.
The church situated in the Cascina Scovola is dedicated to
the ascension of the Vergin Mary dating back to 1945-46
and the alter in the little temple in Squadretto is dedicated
to Santa Maria Ausiliatrice (dating back 1945).

4. MIRABELLA
CHURCH
THE RELIGIOSITY THROUGHT
LITTLE CHURCHES OR CHAPELS
IN THE COUNTRYSIDE AROUND
LENO
Mateo Brushtulli
Camilla Freretti
Heba Sqalli
3A CAT

5. by
The walls of the apse are
decorated with frescos dating to
late 1400s. The frescos represent
Saint Bernardino, the Vergin
Mary with the Child and Saint
Benedict. The apse frescos show
clearly the perspective levels and
the solid figure of the Vergin with
Child.
THE EXTERIOR
The church has got a short spire
and a simple facade. The main
entrance is flanked by a small
window. Above the front door
there is also a little rose window.
Today religious ceremonies do not
take place any longer because the
church is still being restored.
THE INTERIOR
Entering the church we fell the
typical atmosphere at the late
Lombard Gothic Style. The abse is
covered with pointed arches placed
on imposing pillars. The pointed
arches are decorated with greenery
and fowery patterns. The paintings
on the side walls represent the
Saint Cosma and Damian and Saint
Bernardino.
On the old way to Manerbio
outside Leno, there is a
renovated farm called Cascina
Mirabella. The buildings date
back to the XIV and XV
century. The church, which is
part of this farm, is dedicated to
Saint Bernardo. It is a very
little rural church but in the past
it had a great importance
because the families who lived
in the farm and in the nearby
area used it to participate in
religious services.

6. Cascina
Cereto
www.margiestravel.com
Matteo Ruggeri,
Joshua Salanti,
Stefano
Palmieri
3° A C.A.T.

7. Historical Notes
The little rural church
dedicated to Saint Mary
Magdalene is also part of
the farm.
In the past on the farm they
grew wheat, corn and flax
but also trees like poplars,
sycamores, alders, willows
and mulberry.
The mulberry was used
to grow the silkworms,
which were
fondamental for the
production of
prestigious silk.
On the pillars at the
entrance gate there are
two little statues
representing two
horses, in fact on this
farm they used to breed
the American horses
which took part at
important races in
Milan or at the
ippodrome in Leno
during the 1930s and
1950s.
On the way to Milzanello
there is an old farm called
Cascina Cereto that dates
back to 1641.
The buildings on the farm
are the manor house, the
barns, the worker houses,
the cellars, the stables, the
arcades, the yard, a
vegetable garden and what
remains of the millstone
“Torchio Cereto”.

8. The chapels
around Leno
The chapel on
the elm lane
The chapel of
Santa Scolastica
Archieve project of
Leno
IIS “V. Capirola” Leno (BS)
Eleonora Miggiano,
Aurora Mantelli and
Houda Ejjaki
3° A CAT
The plan of the chapel on the
elm lane
The plan of the chapel of Santa
Scolastica

9. THE CHAPEL OF SANTA
SCOLASTICA
The country oratory of Santa
Scolastica is in Leno on the elm
lane (between Leno and
Gottolengo). The church of Holy
Sepulcher was consecrated in 1104
by the archbishop of Ravenna. It
was also named Santa Scolastica
church and it belonged to the
Benedictine Abbey during the XVI
and XVII century. As in the XVIII
century it was not used for
celebration it was demolished
because almost abandoned and it
was replaced by the chapel of
Santa Scolastica. Since then the
chapel belongs to the parish of
Leno and no longer to the abbey of
Leno. We do not know exactly when
it was built, but what is certain from
the archive documents is that it was
restored in 1884 by a Olivares who
was the parish clerk of Leno.
The chapel is rectangular. It is
very little but its function was very
important because it had to make
the land workers and the
passersby pray. The pilgrims went
there in particular parts of the day
and of the year so the chapels
represented the circularity of life in
different seasons. In May the
chapels around the countryside
were places where to pray the
rosary.
THE CHAPEL ON THE
ELM LANE
In 1762 Alessandro Rossi from
Leno asked to the civil and
religious authority to get the
permission to build a country
church near his house on the elm
lane on the way to Gottolengo.
The authorization was given on
20th November 1762 and in few
months a chapel was built near
the farm called Scariona. The
chapel is dedicated to the Holy
Family in fact the local painter of
that period Paolo Favagrossa
painted a fresco of The Holy
Family above the main altar, on
the left side wall there is the fresco
representing San Fermo, while on
right side wall there is a fresco
representing San Antonio da
Padova.

10. This is the altar dedicated
to the holy verginwhit
child. Where devotees
pray in order to ask for
help or give thanks.
Santa Maria
della Vittoria
The frescos
and windows
of the church
On the walls
there are fine
frescos dating
back to the same
periods of the
church, whitch
rapresent
evangelical
scenes. Matteo Battagin
Gabriel Biancardi
Gabriel Prandelli
3^A CAT

11. Saint Michael the
archangel church
Saint Michael the
archangel church was
probably built around
the VIII century, during
the Longobard
dominion. As the
church was linked to
the history of the
abbey of Leno. It was
used for religious
services by the monks
of the abbey, who
The
Structure of the
Church
Stylistically the church
shows the charatteristics
of a Roman basilica with
a central nave, two side
naves,a semicentral apse
with windows on the
sides to light it.
probably kept also
religious objects
belonging to the
abbey. King Desiderio,
one of the most
important longobard
king, wanted the
monks to minister this
church in order to keep
the control of the
territory through the
religion. The king
helped the monks to
build a church in honor
of Christ the Saviour,
the Vergin Mary and
Saint Michael.

12. At the begining of the
XX century twenty
workers used to work
on this farm in winter
for the extraction of the
clay, in spring and in
summer for the
production of bricks.
The workes used to
cook the clay in a kiln
which was usually
fueled by charcoal.
CASCINA
QUADRI
Milzanello, hamlet near
Leno (BS)
The name of the farm
FORNACE QUADRI comes
from the function it had in
the past, as it was used as a
furnace and from the name
of the first owners (the
Quadris). Some buildings of
this farm were used to
manifacture bricks and tiles
by using the local clay.

13. Now the kiln is in the
middle of the yard and it
has not been used for a
long time but it has
become an artefact
witnesses a traditional
local business of the past.
In the past, in this area
clay was used not only
to build bricks and tiles
but also ornamental
statues to decorate
gardens, parks, villas
and churches because
they cost less than
marble statues. In the
church of Milzanello, an
hamlet near Leno, we
can admire some
examples of statues
made with local clay
made by local artists.Carlo Amadei
Simone Brazzale
Nicola Librici
3^A CAT

14. The End