Free admission.
A small offering contribution is required for visiting groups. Organized group visits must be reported and agreed upon in advance, even if made during regular opening hours.
Do you want to hear music from an instrument that is five hundred years old?
In Almenno San Salvatore, the church of Santa Maria della Consolazione, also known as San Nicola, dating back to the 1500s, stands out amidst backdrops of beautiful vineyards.
Inside, the building preserves a very rare example of a 16th-century organ: built by the Antegnati family (1588), it has been preserved intact and, after exemplary restoration, is still used for concerts.
Established as a vow of hope during the terrible plague of 1483-84, the church of Santa Maria della Consolazione in Almenno San Salvatore tells a story of faith and rebirth. The inhabitants, having escaped the contagion, decided to erect a chapel to Saints Sebastian and Rocco, but the preaching of the Augustinian friar Albert of Sarnico inspired them to build a church and monastery dedicated to the Virgin instead.
In the 16th century the complex experienced its golden age: the Augustinians, men of prayer and culture, enriched the building with altars, chapels and works of art commissioned by the most influential families. In the following centuries, solemn feasts dedicated to St. Anne, St. Nicholas of Tolentino and the Virgin of the Belt spread, so much so that the church took the name of St. Nicholas.
Today, after three centuries of decline, the shrine is once again a center of devotion and sacred music, famous for its ancient Antegnati organ and its intense spirituality.
The church, with adjoining convent, is in a position to overlook the still well-cultivated countryside sloping down to the Brembo River. These are places of excellent wine and good food.
Free admission.
A small offering contribution is required for visiting groups. Organized group visits must be reported and agreed upon in advance, even if made during regular opening hours.
Summer period hours (until October 31):
Saturdays, Sundays and holidays | 2:30-6:00 p.m.
*Closed June 2 and June 20