www.lakecomo.it | 2019 Sommario A WORLD WITHIN A WORLD ......................... 1 Press Release A DISTILLATION OF ITALY .............................. 2 Treasure and Variety HISTORICAL BACKGROUND A WORLD WITHIN A WORLD OF COMO ...................................................... 3 Great Personalities Someone wants to spend some time on Lake Como in order to follow the paths of famous movie stars, looking for the locations of LOST IN NATURE ............................................ 4 “Star Wars” or “007 – Casino Royale”; someone wants to go for a Step by step ride instead, trying to imitate the great champions of cycling. Riding around Someone chooses to play golf in one of the 7 exclusive greens of the Ferry boat and funicular province, someone else wants to deeply “live” the nature, respecting the environment and choosing sustainable and low Flying over the Lake impact accommodations and tasting local food and wine. Como, the New Golf Destination Someone loves water sports, sailing the lake in a windy day, while ARTISTIC AND HISTORIC HERITAGE ................ 6 someone prefers to enjoy a relaxing walk with the whole family far The Villas away from traffic jams, or to savor the peace of the waters and the beauty of the banks during a relaxing boat ride. The Romanesque Style The Rationalism Someone may desire to re-experience the outstanding phases of the prehistoric settlements and someone else may be more interested The City of Silk in the circumstances of the Second World War, choosing to retrace A precious textile collection the last moments of Benito Mussolini’s life, before his final capture and killing. Archeological sites THE GASTRONOMIC PLEASURES .................... 8 Someone prefers to organize a romantic weekend between villas and beautiful gardens or to be part of an exclusive event in a Three worlds of flavors groundbreaking convention center, either for work or for pleasure, TOURISM IN COMO ........................................ 9 with a breathtaking view and a unique atmosphere. Numbers Everybody has his own “reason why” to choose the province of A Successful Conference Como and its lake: a place rich in variety and elegance, precious landscapes, nature and urban settlements. From snowcapped The locations mountains to the lake, from natural reserves in the North to ski Like Movie Stars slopes in the South, from the wild Alpine valleys to the industrialized urban areas, from little villages of just a few houses down to the INFO ............................................................... 12 refined city of Como; in few kilometers you will find everything you wish for, in a richness that makes our territory “A World Within A World”. 2 Getting there Lake Como is situated in the heart of the Lombardian foot Alps, about 50 km north of Milan and borders in the west with Switzerland. The area is divided in two provinces the one of Como and the one of Lecco. The distance between the towns Como and Lecco is 40 km both towns have railway stations. The main airports Malpensa, Linate and Orio al Serio are situated close by and linked to Como and A DISTILLATION OF ITALY Lecco by public transport. Treasure and Variety The province of Como runs along the whole of the western shore of Lake Como and includes the triangle territory between the two arms of the lake. Though the area is quite small and compact, in few other places you can find such a variety of environments, panoramic viewpoints and settlements. In just a few kilometers, you can easily pass from the city center to the wilderness, finding out a preciousness that we might describe as a distillation of Northern Italy. In the whole of the mountain region, and above all in the Upper Lake area, one finds entire valleys with practically no sign of the presence of man and where the natural beauty is on a level with the most famous national parks; also, the fauna both of the mountains and of the lake is prosperous and flourish. The heart of the Lower Lake is the city of Como, marked out for elegance and beauty. The sub continental climate contributes to make our area enjoyable all through the year. Welcome to Lake Como! A precious territory, which lies between history and innovation, tradition and future, sport and relaxation, breathtaking glimpses and artistic beauties. This unique atmosphere will show you a world to be fully discovered and lived. 3 In roman times, the importance of the territory of Como grew, leading to the foundation of “Novum Comum”, the current city of Como. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF COMO Brief Summary The geological origin of Lake Como is glacial. During the Quaternary period the whole territory was occupied by a big Great personalities glacier, the melting of which gave birth to our lake, also called Lario. Many personalities born in Como and in the nearby The first urban settlements took place in prehistoric times and, area are remembered for different reasons: from that period on, Lake Como has always had a fundamental Alessandro Volta (1747 – 1827) is the inventor of the role in the commercial trades from the North of Europe down to battery and discoverer of methane gas. The volt, the the Pianura Padana. unit used to measure electric tension, is named after In roman times, the importance of the territory of Como grew, him; leading to the foundation of “Novum Comum”, the current city Pliny the Elder (23 A.D. – 79 A.D.), cavalry officer, of Como. In origin, the town was a fortified military center, lawyer, councillor to Emperor Vespasian, admiral; placed in a strategic position thanks to the presence of the lake Pliny The Younger (61 A.D. – 113 A.D.) was a lawyer and of the mountains, which were both a defense against the and magistrate, as well as a writer; enemies and a starting point for possible attacks and conquests. the bishop Paolo Giovio (1483 – 1552) and the During the Dark Ages, the Barbarians occupied, conquered and archaeologist Benedetto Giovio (1471 – 1545); devastated the territory until 774, when Carlo Magno won Cesare Cantù (1804 – 1895), teacher and against the Longobards. th parliamentary deputy, also founder of the Historic The 12 century saw the conflict with the Ducato di Milano, in a Archive of Lombardy; continuous interchange of victories and defeats. After the War Mario Radice (1898 – 1987) and Leopoldo of the Ten Years (1118 – 1127), the city of Como passed under Metlicovitz (1868 – 1944), both painters, and the control of the Milanese families Visconti and Sforza. Francesco Somaini (1926 – 2005), sculptor; In the following years, Como went through the French invasion important writers were Massimo Bontempelli (1878 and the Spanish domination, until 1714, when the territory was – 1960), Carlo Emilo Gadda (1893 – 1973), Giuseppe taken by the Austrians. Finally, in 1859, with the arrival of Pontiggia (1934 – 2003) and Mario Biondi (1939); Giuseppe Garibaldi, the town was freed from the Austrians and Simone da Orsenigo and Pellegrino Tibaldi (1527 – became part of the newly formed Kingdom of Italy under the 1596) were two famous architects, while Tolomeo House of Savoy. th Gallio (1527 – 1607) is remembered because he The 20 is the century of the two World Wars and in particular commissioned two of the most beautiful villas of the during the end of the Second World War Como witnesses the lake region: the Garovo at Cernobbio - today Villa imprisonment and killing of Benito Mussolini by the partisans in D’Este - (1569) and Palazzo Gallio in Gravedona 1945. (1583), which now houses the Comunità Montana Alto Lario Occidentale (Mountain Community of the Northwest Como Region). Pope Innocenzo XI (1611 – 1689), born Benedetto Odescalchi, became Pope in 1676, was buried in Saint Peter Cathedral and was blessed by Pope Pio XII in 1956. Other important architects born in Como to be mentioned are Antonio Sant’Elia (1888 – 1916), strong supporter of the Futurism movement, and Pietro Lingeri (1894 – 1968), his principal follower. A special section later on (see page 11) will be dedicated to Giuseppe Terragni, famous architect and main representative of the Rationalist movement. 4 Ferry boat and funicular One of the best ways to obtain a memorable impression of the natural beauty of Lake Como is to use the lake boats and ferries, which allow a unique view of the lakeside villages and the villas with their gardens descending to the waterfront. Such sights were enjoyed by the selective travellers of the European Élite in the Grand Tour coming over the Alpine passes to visit the Italian heartland, and later on were experienced by aristocrats and big names of the artistic panorama from all over the world. LOST IN NATURE This is the most romantic way to visit Como and its lake, with its tiny villages stacked perilously up to the rocky slopes overlooking the lake, its lakeside resorts known the world over Walking around, riding a bike or a horse, sailing the lake: these are just some possible and its splendid villas surrounded by alternatives to discover and enjoy the territory of the province of Como, which offers lots century-old parks. of things in a small space and many possible itineraries outside the usual clichés: up to the Everything you would like to know mountains or down the hills, in the wilderness or through beautiful gardens on the lake, about how to organize your excursion experiencing quite tours with the ferry boat or thrilling flights with the seaplane. on the lake is available on the website In the last years, the tourist offer of the province has been enhanced giving much www.navigazionelaghi.it. attention to this precious environment, so that everyone, now and in the future, can live Greatly appreciated amongst the and enjoy it in the best possible way. A lot of different things in little space means many excursions on the way out of the city different opportunities for everyone.