 Introduction
Arrival By Plane
The nearest airports are Milano Malpensa and Lugano Agno. Milano Malpensa can be reached in about 1 hour either by bus (line C250) or by train.
By Train
The Servizio Ferroviario Regionale connects Como by train to other major cities in Lombardy (R lines). Services are provided by Trenitalia (a.k.a. Ferrovie dello Stato: FS) and LeNORD through two main stations: Como S. Giovanni (Trenitalia) and Como Lago (LeNORD).
There is another urban station served by Trenitalia (Albate) and three more urban stations served by LeNORD (Como Borghi-Universita, Como Camerlata and Grandate Breccia).
From 2008 Como will also be connected to Milan with the line S9 of the Servizio Ferroviario Suburbano (S).
By Car
From Switzerland or Milan, through motorway A9, exit at Como Monte Olimpino or Como Nord.
By Bus
The local public transport network counts 10 urban (within city limits) lines and “extra-urban” (crossing city limits) (C) lines connecting Como with most of its province centers. They are provided by SPTLinea.
History and Culture
In 774 the town surrendered to the invasion of the Franks led by Charlemagne, and it became a center of commercial exchange.
In 1127 Como lost the decade-long war against the nearby town of Milan. A few decades later, with the help of Frederick Barbarossa, the Comaschi could avenge their defeat when Milan was destroyed in 1162. Frederick promoted the construction of several defensive towers around the city limits, of which only one remains, the Baradello.
From then on the history of Como followed that of the Ducato di Milano, through the French invasion, then the Spanish domination until 1714, when the territory was taken by the Austrians. Napoleon descended into Lombardy in 1796 and ruled it until 1815, when the Austrian rule was resumed after the Congress of Vienna. Finally in 1859, with the arrival of Giuseppe Garibaldi, the town was freed from the Austrians and it became part of the newly formed Kingdom of Italy under the House of Savoy.
At the end of World War II, after passing through Como on his escape towards Switzerland, Mussolini was taken prisoner and then shot by Comaschi partisans in Giulino di Mezzegra, a small town on the north shores of Como Lake.
As a curiosity, the Rockefeller fountain that today stands in the Bronx Zoo in New York City was once in the main square by the lakeside. It was bought by William Rockefeller in 1902.
Churches and Museums
Duomo (cathedral), begun in 1398 on the site of the previous Romanesque church of Santa Maria Maggiore. The facade was built in 1457, with the notable rose window and two Renaissance statues of the famous Comaschi, Pliny the Elder and Pliny the Younger. The interior is on the Latin cross plan, with a nave and two aisles divided by pilasters. The transept wing and the relative apses are from the 18th century. It includes a carved 16th century choir and tapestries on cartoons by Giuseppe Arcimboldi. The dome is by Filippo Juvarra.
San Fedele
San Fedele, a Romanesque church erected around 1120 over a pre-existing central plan edifice. The contemporary bell tower was rebuilt in modern times. The main feature is the famous Door of St. Fedele, carved with medieval decorations.
Sant'Agostino
Sant'Agostino, built by the Cistercians in the early 14th century, but largely renovated in the 20th century. The interior and the annexed cloister have frescoes from the 15th-17th centuries, but most of the decoration comes from the Baroque era.
Church of Sant'Abbondio
This church was consecrated in 1095 by Pope Urban II. The interior, with a nave and four aisles, contains beautiful paintings dating to the 11th century and frescoes from the 14th.
San Carpoforo
San Carpoforo (11th century, apse and crypt from 12th century). According to tradition, it was founded re-using a former temple of the God Mercury to house the remains of St. Carpophorus and other local martyrs.
Important museums are
- Musei Civici
- Museo archeologico “P. Giovio”
- Museo Storico
- Pinacoteca
- Tempio Voltiano, a museum devoted to Alessandro Volta's work.
- Museo della Seta
- Museo Liceo classico “A. Volta”
- Villa Olmo (expositions)
Historical buildings and monuments
The Villa Carlotta was built for the Milanese marchese Giorgio Clerici in 1690 and occupies a site of over 70,000 sq. m at Tremezzo, facing the Bellagio peninsula. An Italian garden, with steps, fountains and sculpture was laid out at the same time. The villa was later sold to the banker and Napoleonic politician Giambattista Sommariva. Stendhal was his guest in 1818, and his visit is recalled at the start of La Chartreuse de Parme. In 1843 it was purchased by Princess Marianne of Nassau as a wedding present for her daughter Carlotta, after whom the villa is now named. The latter, together with her husband, Georg II of Saxen-Meiningen laid out the wooded park in the Romantic style. The villa today includes a museum of agricultural implements as well as important works of sculpture by Sommariva's friend Antonio Canova and by Luigi Acquisti.
The Villa Melzi
The Villa Melzi, at Bellagio was built in the neo-classical style by the architect Giocondo Albertolli in 1808-1810 as the summer residence of Francesco Melzi who had been vice-president of the Napoleonic Italian Republic. The park includes an orangery, a chapel, statues and a Japanese garden, and is planted, as often on Lake Como, with huge rhododendrons. Nineteenth-century guests at the Villa included Stendhal and Franz Liszt.
Casa del Fascio
Casa del Fascio, (Broletto's ancient Town Hall) possibly Giuseppe Terragni's most famous work. It has been described as an early “landmark of modern European architecture”.
Places of Interests
It is a lake of glacial origin, with an area of 146 km squared, making it the third largest lake in Italy, after Lake Garda and Lake Maggiore. At over 400m deep it is one of the deepest lakes in Europe and the bottom of the lake is more than 200 m below sea-level.
The lake is shaped like an upside-down “Y”. The northern branch begins at the town of Colico, while the towns of Como and Lecco sit at the ends of the southwestern and southeastern branches respectively. The small towns of Bellagio, Menaggio and Varenna are situated at the intersection of the three branches of the lake: a triangular boat service operates between them.
Villa d'Este
The Villa d'Este, at Cernobbio, was built in 1568 by Cardinal Tolomeo Gallio, a native of the town. In 1816-17 the villa was home to Caroline of Brunswick, estranged wife of the Prince of Wales and shortly to become Queen Consort of King George IV of the United Kingdom. The landscaped gardens in the English style are a product of this period. Later in the century it was turned into a luxury hotel. Today the Villa d'Este is known for attracting such celebrity guests as Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, Paul McCartney, Oscar Kiss Maerth, Sharon Stone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Yves St. Laurent, Alfred Hitchcock and Mikhail Gorbachev.
Villa del Balbianello
The Villa del Balbianello, famous for its elaborate terraced gardens, lies on a promontory of the western shore of the lake near Isola Comacina. Built in 1787 on the site of a Franciscan monastery, it was the final home of the explorer Guido Monzino and today houses a museum devoted to his work.
The Villa Serbelloni
The Villa Serbelloni, also at Bellagio, houses the Bellagio Study and Conference Center, a residential center set up and managed by the Rockefeller Foundation since 1959, which operates a “scholar-in-residence” program for scholars from around the world. This is believed to have been the site of Pliny the Younger's villa “Tragedia”. Its well-known park was created at the end of the eighteenth century by Alessandro Serbelloni.
Events
It is a fair of merchandise and animals, with numerous street stalls along the eastern bank of the fork of Lake Como.
Bonfire Competition (Palio dei Falo) - March
This tradition goes back to 1120 when Lezzeno (back then called Leucini) was sacked and set ablaze by the natives of Como. Other historians claim that the palio is in memory of the fires where numerous witches of the time were burned. The city neighborhoods organize themselves into groups that compete to build the biggest, the most beautiful and the most unusual bonfire. The spectacle creates fantastic special effects on the banks of the lake, where bonfires with flames up to 20 meters high reflect off the still sheet of water.
The Green Asparagus Festival (Feste dell'Asparago Verde) - May
A spring festival devoted entirely to the woody-stemmed, tender-tipped vegetable that is a favorite in Italian cuisine. There is live music, a market, stalls and every type of imaginable preparation of the phallic stalks.
Antique and flea market - May
Exhibitors gather in the Piazza Portici dei Torchio from nine in the morning to seven at night. Specialties include silver, jewelry and books.
The Sagra di San Giovanni - June
The oldest historical event to take place on Lake Como is celebrated the last weekend of June in the town of Como with folk arts and fireworks and in Ossuccio with a festival, boat procession, and boat race.
The Palio del Baradello - September
A historical re-enactment, Medieval Games and Pageant, is the first week of September.
Palio Remiero del Lario - September
It's a traditional rowing race.
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イタリア コモ(Como)の旅行ガイド
Double room - 90€より
Single room - 88€より
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appartamento Sisco - 75€より
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Double room - 75€より