Behind the plain marble facade and a portico whose columns rise out of the backs of lions lies an overly baroque gilt-covered interior hung with Renaissance tapestries. Gaetano Donizetti, the wildly popular composer of frothy operas, who was born in Bergamo in 1797 and returned here to die in 1848, is entombed in a marble sarcophagus that's as excessive as the rest of the church's decor. The finest works are the choir stalls, with rich wood inlays depicting landscapes and biblical scenes; they're the creation of Lorenzo Lotto. The stalls are usually kept under cloth to protect the sensitive hardwoods from light and pollutants, but they're unveiled for Lent. The octagonal Baptistery in the piazza outside the church was originally inside but removed, reconstructed, and much embellished in the 19th century.