We met in Piazza Cavour which used to be the principal port from the XIVth century until the late XIXth century, when it was transformed into the main town square on the lake. The original port was judged to be too small and a new marina for leisure activities was created on the lake itself.
Our bilingual guide gave us a brief history of Como built in Roman times but the surrounding hills were already inhabited since the bronze age or earlier. The town was moved down to its present position on the order of Julius Caesar. He had had the swamp drained at the corner of the lake, so that the town could be built on Lake Como, also called Lario.
We visited the cathedral, where the statues of two of Como’s most famous sons, Pliny the Elder and Pliny the Younger, are set into the west front. We had walked through the old streets past the city hall to Santa Maria Assunta, the beautiful cathedral built on the site of an older church, Santa Maria Maggiore.
After a pleasant interlude with a light lunch at Pane e Tulipane, we set off to visit San Fidele, also built on the site of an old church, Santa Euphemia. On our way we admired all the little useful shops crammed full of relatively inexpensive items.
The day was most enjoyable and we have decided to do a ‘Como bis’, if possible with the same guide, probably in the spring, as there is so much more to see.
