Como and Bellagio, Italy

What a truly lovely day here on Lake Como and although it was overcast all day there was no rain and about 35 or 40 degrees so comfortable enough for winter and perfect for a leisurely day exploring Como, the main city on Lake Como and Bellagio which is directly across the lake from our hotel.




In Como I walked through town where the bus let us off and went past the weekly town mercato selling everything from food to discount linens and then I continued through the ancient stone wall remnants that still remain in good condition and which protected the town centuries ago and stopped off at Chiesa di San Fedele which was pretty busy with parishioners attending confession prior to Christmas Eve or Christmas day mass. The church was originally constructed in 1120 and has a dark interior partly due to them having most of the lights dimmed, I would presume to save on the electric bill. The nativity scene was gorgeous and spread out in one side of the church with a timed light show showing the scene from day break to sun set.

Como is a wonderful walking town so I strolled around and visited the Como Cathedral (Italian: Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta; Duomo di Como) is the Roman Catholic cathedral of the city of Como, Lombardy, Italy, and the seat of the Bishop of Como. It is dedicated to the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The cathedral, located near Lake Como, is one of the most important buildings in the region. It is commonly described as the last Gothic cathedral built in Italy, construction on it having begun, on the site of the earlier Romanesque cathedral dedicated to Santa Maria Maggiore, in 1396, 10 years after the foundation of Milan Cathedral. The construction works, begun under the supervision of Lorenzo degli Spazzi di Laino, did not finish until 1770 with the raising of the Rococo cupola by Filippo Juvarra. The imposing west front was built between 1457 and 1498 and features a rose window and a portal between two statues of Pliny the Elder and Pliny the Younger, natives of Como. It is 87 metres long, from 36 to 56 metres wide, and 75 metres high into the top of the cupola. It has a Latin Cross floor plan with three aisles, separated by pillars, and a Renaissance transept, with the imposing cupola over the crossing. The apses and the choir are from the 16th century. The interior has some important tapestries from cartoons by Arcimboldo, and others of the 16th and 17th centuries, made in Ferrara, Florence and Antwerp. There are also a number of 16th century paintings by Bernardino Luini and Gaudenzio Ferrari.

The church is so beautiful especially to the right and left of the alters where there are stunning statues on high alters and the Virgin Mary statue is breathtaking and was lit beautifully being that it is Christmas Eve.  Mass was going on so I stayed and enjoyed looking at the details that make this such a special church. I also learned from our tour guide that the gold globe that is at the base of the cross found at the very top of the dome (you can see it in my picture included) is like all other churches with those globes under a cross at the top of a dome or church roof and holds the plans for the church just in case there is an earthquake or something that destroys the church the globe and cross would be the last to fall and therefore easy to find. The rescued plans would then be used to rebuild the structure to it's original design where possible. I noticed more of those globes on other churches we passed and I know now I'll be looking out for them. In all the years I've been touring around and in and out of churches I've never had anyone tell me that so I'm excited to see how often they appear.

There was a small Christmas market in the piazza near the cathedral so I stopped at some of the booths to taste the cheese and meats, again yum, yum. I didn't buy anything to eat because the bus was picking us up soon to take us the hour back to the hotel for lunch.

The ride was spectacular and the road, narrow and winding, takes a great deal of time and patience to navigate but lucky the driver seemed at ease with all the close corners. The villa's we've seen are spectacular and many have been turned into hotels but some still remain as private homes and people like George Clooney own them or royalty or just families whose ancestors have owned them for centuries in some cases.

After a scrumptious lunch we took a small ferry to Bellagio where we got to walk around for an hour and half and enjoy the charming streets and beautiful small buildings and large, elaborate villas. It was pretty quiet as most hotels and shops are closed for the winter season but I liked it better this way with few tourists and just a few shops to look in the windows and enjoy the vibrant colors of glass art and silk scarves. Apparently this area of Italy was and in some cases is still known for their silk works and in particular now, for dying silk that comes in from China.

I met several nice people who are on my bus but I guess I just never got the chance to speak to them until we were all slowly walking up a hill in Bellagio. You'll see in the pictures me with Cheryl and then the very sweet couple Jerry and Annette. Both couples now married over 50 years.

The ferry then took us on an hour and half boat ride around the middle part of the lake looking at gorgeous villas and stunning views of the mountains that stand on guard above the lake and from what the tour guide said they are the pre-Alps. I never heard of such a thing so that may be her special term.

After a little break in my room to regroup from being outside for so many hours and then off to another delicious dinner. The meals are all served buffet style although I'm told Christmas dinner is sit down. And the staff are so gracious and friendly here and the men serving have been very kind and rather chatty. Most of them I imagine are married but it doesn't keep them from flirting with all the women but like the others I think it's is nice to get all this attention when you're on holiday. And one of our servers, Vali, is especially friendly but I had actually heard about him from three women I chatted with at the bus changing point in Dover. They were headed to Spain this year but were in Como last year and told me to give a server named Vali their regards if he was still here and they had said he was a big flirt which he is. He's only about 5 feet tall but very sweet and makes the rounds regularly to all the tables complementing the women.

Below is a brief history of Como and Bellagio and they're both such interesting towns. And this whole area has a rich history beyond being a playground for the rich and famous. As you'll read below Mussolini was executed not far from where the hotel is.

History of Como - According to documented records, inhabitants of prehistoric times were located around the current location of Como, at least since the Bronze Age.  Remains of settlements are still present on the wood covered hills to the south west of town. The people that inhabited these settlements were known as the Orobii, a Celtic tribe. Como developed during the Roman Empire to be the capital of a territory bordering with Milan and Bergamo. The newly founded town was named Novum Comum and had the status of municipium. The remains of a Roman city, where for sure there were a stadium, gym, public baths and a theatre can still be spotted in modern Como today, like eight greenish striped Roman limestone columns in the portico of the Volta Liceum, various bits of the old city walls, and the remains of the Porta Praetoria.

With the invasion of the Franks led by Charlemagne, Como became a center of commercial exchange. Consequently, it shared the vicissitudes of the surrounding region. In the X century the Bishops of Como were also its temporal lords and in the XI century the city became a free commune.  In 1127 the city lost the decade-long war against the nearby town of Milan but with the help of Frederick Barbarossa, the city could avenge the 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.

Then followed the rule of the Rusca family, in1355, which freely ceded the town to the Visconti. From there on the history of Como followed that of the Ducato di Milano. It followed the French invasion, then the Spanish domination until 1900, when the territory was finally 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 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. The role of the Partisans was very important for the end of the WWII. Here on its escape towards Switzerland, Mussolini was taken prisoner and then shot by the Comaschi partisans in Giulino di Mezzegra, a small town on the north shores of Como Lake.

 

 

 

From internet - "Bellagio is situated upon the extreme cape of the region that divides the Lake Como in two biforcations. The tourist centre occupies the extreme part of the promontory, while the numerous districts are disseminated both along the lake shores and upon the slopes of the hills. The great Pleistocene freezings with their imposing flows coming from the Valtellina and Vlchiavenna modelled the actual landscape of the Como lake: for at least four times the glaciers went as far as the Brianza in the South. From an only glacial blanket only the highest tops emerged, one of them was the mountain S.Primo, which obliged the glaciers to divide themselves into two arms: from this mountain you can see the Lariano Triangle upon which Bellagio rises. The place, which was frequented in the prehistory, became a settlement in roman times, when it was the seat , as a hypothesis says, of a villa of Plinio il Giovane. Iin longobard time it was a fortified place with walls , in comunal time it lined up with the adverse to Como faction, and then the Visconti subjugated it and planned the fortifications. Towards the end of the XV century Ludovico il Moro gave it in feud to the Stanga; after that it passed to the Sfrondati, who possessed almost all the East side of the lake, and in the 1647 partially to the Airoldi. These and other families built villas and building , creating restructured and amplified parks especially in the XVIII century until when Bellagio became one of the most notorious holiday resort in Europe.   Bellagio, placed at the vertix of the Lariano Triangle, at the base of the promontory which divides the lake into two arms, the one of Como and the one of Lecco, is one of the most famous and distinguished holiday resort, with beautiful and noble residences and natural landscape features of notorious charm."