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Excursions a Como

The old city

If we want to know the city its preistoria we must begin from the Museum archaeological Giovio (PiazzaMedaglie d' Oro, tel. 031/271343, opened from the tuesday to the saturday from the 9,30 to the 12,30 and the 14,00 to the 17,00, Sunday from the 10,00 to the 13,00, closed the monday). To the inside of the beautiful palace belonged to the Giovio family a most interesting collection of reperti archaeological going back is found above all to the age of the iron and the bronze, coming from from numerous tombe of the Ca' the Dead woman. In the display windows of the several ones it knows them can be admired urns, is gone, jewels, you arm, objects of common use, classifies a chronological order second to you. To the ground floor and in the contiguous Olginati Palace open and recently organized review can moreover be taken to contact with the roman Como through one second an optimal didactic attempt.
Left the museum, in little minuteren the Door can be caught up Tower, ancient door of access to the city situated to the center of the southern side of walls. What it remains of the bastions laughed them to the Middle Ages: they were constructed from the Barbarossa after the destruction of Como to work of the from Milan ones to the end of the war of the Ten years. Part of the ancient ones walls Roman and the Pretoria Door is still found in the basements of the contiguous medium school, but they are not visitabili. The Barbarossa made to exactly reconstruct the city according to the previous roman model, encircling it on three sides from massive walls with powerful towers to the angles and doors of access to the center. From the Door Tower (the only one remained) the two towers can be seen: to the west the Gattoni Tower, to east the Tower Vital from which part a narrow lane that leads to the Giovio museum. The external tree-lined avenue to walls, a time defensive ditch, today is used (three times the week) in order to prepare a market to the open. The statue of Garibaldi in the before public square the Door Tower remembers that, in 1859, the city definitively was freed from the Austrian dominion

The heart of the city

The square before the church of S. Fedele is the true heart of the city. Some students suppose, that in this area the roman Forum was found. When the Christianity arrived on the Lario S. Eufemia, the ancient paleocristiano building that scomparve in order to make place that Romanesque one, was the church mother who, with the annexed baptistry (hour inglobato in a room), constituted the point of reference of all the religious population. During the Middle Ages you the market of the granaglie was carried out; the citizenship giornalmente flowed you for expenses and in order to exchange news. This public square, that it separated the city in two (to east it lived the middle class, to the west the noble ones), was also, for along time, place of transit for the merchants who had to o to the port. From S. Public square Fedele it can be caught up, to the west, the Way Natta and be admired omonimo the seicentesco palace, hour in phase of restoration, and be continued then, towards north, along Via Adam of the Pear tree (on the portone still camps the interesting coat of arms of the lineage) until Via Vittani, an other of the more ancient roads and more fascinating of the city, where palaces of various ages are found with fresco interesting.
Turning right to Via Muralto, is reached in the public square on which two prestigious monuments show oneself, the Dome and the Broletto, a whose cospetto it seems very small, nearly elegant one but receiving salottino. The edificazione of the cathedral began in 1397, with the attempt to magnify the church of S. Greater Maria who rose in that area, become by now they and strategic for the vicinity of the port centers. He was finished alone in 1770, and the artists who ollowed themselves in the realization adopted various styles second the fashion of the time. We have therefore a facade from the Romanesque shapes, but with beautiful gotiche decorations and a rosone that he seems a perimetrali stone lace, walls and rinascimentali apses, baroque cupola and decorations. The inside is imposing, with the enormous pillars that the three subdivide navate. The splendid scultorea and pittorica decoration, confers them a high artistic value; extraordinary they are the tapestries, the cinquecentesco altar of S. Abbondio, that the seicenteschi baroque of the Assumed one, organs and the ancient marble altar white man who comes from S. Greater Maria. In cathedral there are statues of the Rodari and paintings of Gaudenzio Ferrari, Bernardino Luini and Morazzone. The Broletto, the ancient Palace of the Reason, is an elegant building of 1215. Never he has not been large, but ulteriorly it was rimpicciolito for the widening of the cathedral: therefore its facade is asymmetric. A time served like theatre, today it is used after extensions and exposures. on Public square Greens, where the apses of the Dome show oneself, s' raises the neoclassico realized Social Theatre from Cusi architect at the beginning of the ight hundred. The building, from the imposing pronao embellished from six columns corinzie, is constituted from an enormous complex that a time included also an arena. Currently, beyond to the beautiful one it knows it where the operistiche rappresentazioni and the shows of prosa are carried out, they are available It knows it White woman and that one to it of the Zodiaco for cultural manifestations and peels some.

Romanesque Como

From the Door Tower, proceeding towards south, it is covered Via Milan and s' it feeds, on the right, Via Rimoldi that leads to the basilica of S. Carpoforo. If the day is beautiful and if you have wants to walk, before catching up the church you can take the road on the right that leads to the Castel Baradello (tel. 031/592805, opened festive thursdays, saturdays, Sunday and from the 14,30 to the 18,00).Of the medioevale castle, constructed to the age of Barbarossa emperor, the main tower remains alone, but from the situated one one is enjoyed beautiful sight on the convalle. The church of S. Carpoforo is one of the most ancient Romanesque constructions than Como: it was perhaps also the first cathedral founded from the Happy bishop. Placed outside from the ancient one lived, to the stratums of the Baradello hill, Queen found itself on the Way, important distance that she put in Rome communication with lands to here of the Alps. The building is an optimal example of that Romanesque comasco that the Magistri Cumacini diffused in all Europe: construction in stone is one moltrasina of style much strict one, date the lack of elements decorated to you; the inside to three is navate with semicircular apse and wide sopraelevato chorus, while the outside is characterized from the elegant bell tower with double lancet windows and blind bows.
Coming down towards the long city the ancient one Via Queen, we will be able to visit an important characterized Romanesque church from two bell towers: the basilica of S. Abbondio, built up on the ruins of that paleocristiana of the SS. Peter and Paul. The restorations of XX the century have brought back the Romanesque building to the ancient splendor. Its interest has increased from the splendid cycle of frescoes trecenteschi that decorate the walls and the washbowl of the apse centers them. The building, to five navate, is placed side by side from a monastero with a beautiful one chiostro currently in phase of restoration. On the same one via, some meter more ahead, can be seen the churchestta Romanesque, from little restored, dedicated to the SS. Cosma and Damiano, than conserve lacerti of antichi it frescoes dedicates to the two siblings martyrdoms to you, protecting of the doctors. For the visit of this church it must address to Archaeological Society (tel. 031/269022). Tower returns to you to Door, is proceeded towards the heart of the city in order to visit the other important city Romanesque building: the church of S. Fedele who shows oneself on the omonima piazzetta. The part of greater suggestion is constituted from the loggiato apse with elegant and its plant triloba. The inside, more times rimaneggiato, is enriched from frescoes trecenteschi representatives the martyrdom of S. Fedele and from baroque paintings of the Carloni, of Gaudenzio Ferrari and Isidoro White men, let alone from one beautiful cinquecentesca Madonna with the SS. Rocco and Sebastiano from Andrea de Magistris.

Como razionalista

From Piazza Verdi, and in particular way from the Palace of the People who close the space to east, it begins the razionalista route. Between the two wars, to Como a group of architects that, leaving from the international ideas of artistic renewal, began to plan houses of modern type, complete of systems of water, gas worked, electricity, heating: houses more know some, more it rations them and even more economic. All this was possible thanks to the use of new materials (reinforced concrete, plastic, glass-concrete, etc.) that the industry of the Lombardic territory made available easy.
The route continues outside from walls, in the zone to lago where there are the garden publics. The first not razionalista but equally important monument that we meet, is dedicated to the European Resistance and was inaugurated in the 1983 from then the Pertini president. The monument wants to be monito for the young people against the totalitarian and distruttrici ideas. Between the more important razionalisti buildings, constructed around the city stage, we remember the Novocomum or Transatlantico, complex of apartments realized from the Terragni in 1929, the swimming pool Sinigaglia, the Frigerio House, the canottieri Lario and the Monument to the Fallen, one simple tower mails between lago and city in order to honor the soldiers died during the first world war. In order to complete the razionalista route it must hour to use of the average publics or private and to carry towards the part south of the city, in Via Alciato, where the Kindergarten Sant' Elia is found, one of the last works of Terragni, and in Camerlata public square where erge Fontana, operates of perfect and fragile equilibrium between great circles you mail on of the spheres.

Walk to Villa Olmo

Exceeded the canottieri Lario and the point of departure of the seaplanes it begins the romantica walk, that it passes in front of beautiful villas of neoclassico style, pride of the quarter of Borgovico. Until the ight hundred this zone was outside considered used city and like pasture. With the romantica age Como she discovered the great fascination of the lago and some rich families decided to construct their residences of vacation along its sides. Someone preferred not to go away too much from the city, and here that in this zone six villas with relati parks and garden to you rose.
The first building is Musa Villa, that he is but more recent of the others, risen to the beginning of the nine hundred when he was fashionable the art-déco. Next there is the delicious Villa Carminati, the example more elegant than neoclassicismo in Borgovico. It was constructed from F. Soave with an only plan decorated from ionic semicolumns and statues. It follows Saporiti Villa, dictates also the Round one of the Pollack, today pertaining to the Provincial Administration. The inner conserve still the typical Lombardic ottocenteschi atmospheres with age furnishings, a beautiful elliptic hall that sporge to the outside and the scalone of honor of the Gagnola. The successive one is Gallia Villa, a risen seicentesco building where Paul Giovio had realized the first museum comasco. The villa was decorated newly in the ight hundred. Today it is property of the Provincial Administration that, in the beautiful ones knows them of the flat land rich of putties and frescoes, organizes cultural manifestations. Beyond the ponticello we find the austera Parravicino Villa whose ionic columns and the garden of limited proportions, contribute in with conferring them one style "city palace". They follow Canepa Villa, characterized from a supported soprelevato body from cariatidi, and Mondolfo Villa, leggiadra a construction style empire with two wings connected from a terrazzo centers them. To the end of the walk we meet most famous, Villa Villa Olmo, celebre for the centennial trees that adorn the great surrounding park. Constructed to the end of the seven hundred from Simone Cantoni for conte the Innocenzo Odescalchi, last then to marquis Raimondi and therefore to the family Visconti di Modrone, it is today property of the Communal Administration, often center of conferences and extensions. In the beautiful ones it knows them, rich decorated, has accommodated illustrious personages like Napoleone and Garibaldi. To the inside, beyond to the splendid one it knows it from dance, find one nail head gentilizia and a small theatre of 92 places made to construct, in 1883, from the Visconti di Modrone.

Voltiano Route

This tour demands an entire day because it previews of headed outside the cities. We begin with the visit of the Tempio Voltiano (Tree-lined avenue Marconi tel. 031/574705, opened novembre/marzo from the 10,00 to the 12,00 and the 14,00 to the 16,00, aprile/ottobre from the 10,00 to the 12,00 and the 15,00 to the 18,00, closed the monday), one construction in neoclassico style, realized in 1927 in occasion of the centenarian of the dead women of Time. It is in truth a museum that collects a series of constructed instruments and uses you from the great scientist, in order to execute its experiments on gas and electricity that they carried, in 1799, to the realization of the battery. Some are objects originate them, others are copies rifared from the university professors of the university of Pavia, other anchor are part of instruments recover you to the disastrous fire burst in the pavilion of the international exposure of 1899. Returning towards the city center we find Public square Time, one of the characteristic places of the city, dominated from the statue of the scientist of Pompeo Marquises. Continuing, towards the end of the way omonima, there is the house born them of Time, beautiful a building leaned to walls, than hour it accommodates you vary professional studies. On the way parallel, Via Diaz, the church of S. Donnino with the christening font and the certificate of baptism of the small still exists Alexander. In Via Carducci, the parallel on the left, is instead the grammar school city classic where Time taught, while to the angle the south-west of it walls we find Gattoni Tower that it was for Gattoni Abbot and its young friend, the ideal place in order to complete the first experiments on the electricity.
After a pause lunch, and with the use of means of transport, we can leave the city (Lecco direction) in order to go to Camnago Time. To the limit of the country a simple house of campaign with annexed agricultural land accommodated the family for long periods during the entire year; in the local cemetary Alexander rests Time. The tomba he is situated of forehead to the income gate: it is a nail head to flanked circular plant from the statues of Science and the Religion, the two ideals that have illuminated the great man during all its life. In order to end we go to Brunate, the hill that surpasses the city, and continue for the locality S. Maurizio where the Voltiano Beacon is found constructed in 1927. It is a spectacular panoramic point: from here, in a clear day, seven lagos can be seen, the chain of the Alps, the Canton Ticino and the Brianza. S. Maurizio is caught up with own means, salting along one tight and rather tortuosa road, or arriving to Brunate with the funicular and continuing on foot or small buses publics.