Address: 57 Pignolo Street, Bergamo
The church of San Bernardino in Pignolo was erected in the second half of the 15th century probably as a chapel for the nobles and wealthy merchants residing in via Pignolo and to testify to the deep devotion the saint enjoyed in Bergamo’s land. The interior has a single nave, with a gabled ceiling, enlivened three chapels on each side and beyond the triumphal arch, a cross-vaulted presbytery under which Lorenzo Lotto’s altarpiece, Madonna and Child Enthroned, Angels and Saints of 1521, makes a triumphant display. Particularly interesting, Lotto’s altarpiece is characterized by dazzling colors and a decorative scheme that places the Virgin and Child enthroned silhouetted against a green background; of great effect is Mary’s arm outstretched toward the viewer as if to bring the human closer to the divine and the angel scribe at the foot of the throne. Enriching the complex are, among other works, the altarpiece with St. Onofrio and St. Anthony of Padua attributable to a painter who must have gravitated around the figure of Previtali, the 19th-century frescoes by Giovanni Antonio Maironi da Ponte and the canvas with the Pietà by Giovan Paolo Cavagna
FOR MORE INFORMATION: https://www.touringclub.it/destinazione/localita/chiesa/214422/s-bernardino-in-pignolo-bergamo
