Don Rodrigo’s Palace
The Villa of the man who blocked the marriage of Renzo and Lucia
A place of great literary fascination and deep religious spirit, the church of San Giovanni Battista detta del Beato Serafino is located in Lecco in the Chiuso district.
The little church is on the Manzoni Itinerary and lies on the main road that connects Lecco with Bergamo. Romanesque in origin with a gabled façade, the richness of the interior is astonishing. A cycle of frescos dating from the fifteenth century can be seen here, attributed to Giovan Pietro da Cemmo, a painter originally from Valcamonica.
In a side chapel, the urn and the chest that contained the remains of the Blessed Saint Serafino Morazzone who, according to tradition, was Alessandro Manzoni’s confessor. Indeed, he was the author’s inspiration for the character presented in the first draft of the story of Fermo and Lucia.
Mentioned in chapter 23 of the novel, in the episode of the meeting between the Unnamed and Cardinal Federigo Borromeo, this is the place where the famous conversion of the Unnamed took place.
You can also visit, near the church of Chiuso, the museum dedicated to the Blessed Serafino Morazzone, where documents and objects linked to the curate are preserved, and there is more. The original lithographs of The Betrothed made by Roberto Focosi around 1830 can also be viewed.
