Church of the Castle of Lierna Lake Como
The Church of the Castle of Lierna Lake Como known as the Church of the Kings of Italy is an antique Roman Catholic church in on the shore of Lake Como in Italy in Lierna, region of Lombardy, Italy. The Church is the place of foundation of the Order of the Savoy family of the Kings of Italy.
| Church of the Kings of Italy Chiesa di San Maurzio e Lazzaro Church of St. Moritz | |
|---|---|
Façade of the church. | |
| Basic information | |
| Location | Lierna, Italy |
| Geographic coordinates | Coordinates: 45°34′22″N 9°10′48″E / 45.5729°N 9.18°E |
| Affiliation | Roman Catholic |
| Province | Lecco |
| District | Borgo Castello |
| Year consecrated | 1147 |
| Status | Active |
| Heritage designation | House of Savoy |
| Leadership | Emanuele Filibert of Savoy |
| Architectural description | |
| Architectural type | Church |
| Groundbreaking | c 750 |
| Completed | 1147 |
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History
The Chivalric Order of the House of Savoy, the Dynasty of the Kings of Italy and one of the oldest dynasties in Europe, was founded in the small and ancient medieval church of the Castle of Lierna, called the Church of San Maurizio and Lazzaro, initially San Maurizio (St. Moritz) in 1572 by King Emanuele Filiberto of Savoy. Only here could the Knights of the Kingdom of Italy be baptized and obtain the title of Knight of the Kingdom. For over 500 years there have been several families of international noble origins linked to Lierna, or who own properties here. On the sides of the entrance door are painted the effigies of Saints Maurizio and Lazzaro, dating back to the seventeenth century, and an oil altarpiece, also from that period, which represents "a Christ with Martha and Magdalene", while above the altar there is a wooden statue depicting San Maurizio. It was designed to perform its functions even during sieges, which is why the apse faces the lake as a protective bastion and access is within the castle walls. Lierna Lake Como was the place of residence of the Empress Theodolinda, who built the Castle of Lierna, on the basis of a dwelling dating back to Ancient Rome, and would have lived there in the Lombard period, even after she was widowed by both Auteri and Agilufo. The queen of Italy Adelaide was secretly locked up in the castle of Lierna da Berengario to convince her to marry him. She was eventually freed by the monk Martino da Bellagio, and she was married in Germany to Emperor Otto I of Saxony, but she returned to the Castle Church of Lierna for a second wedding blessing ceremony. Queen Adelaide then continued to frequent Lierna in Italy also in the following eleven years with her husband who became Emperor of Rome. The whole castle with the Church of the Lierna Castle, are conceived as a defensive military fortress, and the foundations date back to ancient Rome, scholars have recognized in the plan of the area of the Church and of the Castle of Lierna a plan of Roman colonists with a measure of sixteen square feet divided into sixteen lots. Amedeo VIII of Savoy established the Order of San Maurizio in the small church of the Lierna Castle in 1934, suppressed in 1439. In 1572 Emanuele Filiberto of Savoy, known as the Iron Head, re-founded the Chivalric Order of San Maurizio in the Church of the Castle of Lierna, and with the Papal Bull of Pope Gregory XIII he obtained the refoundation of the Order to which a few months later the hospital order of San Lazzaro di Capua was also joined. The small church of the Lierna Castle thus took the name of the Church of Saints Maurice and Lazarus. The royals of various European countries in addition to the Savoy family, periodically go to the small church of the Lierna Castle on Lake Como in secret. Prince Emanuele Filiberto di Savoia will publicly return in 2005 to visit the small church of the Lierna Castle in memory of his ancestors, donating a bell with the coat of arms of the House of Savoy.