About comocompanion
I am an Englishman in Como, Northern Italy - definitely both a Euro and Italophile with an interest in modern history, walks in the hills and mountains, and food and wine. I favour 'slow' tourism alongside of 'slow' food.
Como’s Secret Gardens. On 21st and 22nd September, those in Como can, for the price of €8, visit a whole series of secret gardens and courtyards within the old city walls. Continue reading →
Posted in Architecture, Art, Culture, Events, Gardens, Itineraries, Places of interest, Uncategorized
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Tagged Alessandro Volta, Carlo Carloni, Collegio Gallio, Conservatorio, ester negretti, Frescoes, Gardens, iubilantes, mantero, Palazzo Lambertenghi, Recchi, Via Volta
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Argegno to Argegno: Up and Down the Telo Valley – an excursion up the Telo Valley offers opportunities to appreciate both art and nature while passing through the medieval centres of a variety of mountain villages. Continue reading →
Posted in Culture, Folklore, Food, Itineraries, Uncategorized, Walks
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Tagged Argegno, Art, baroque, Cerano, circular walks, Dizzasco, Intelvi, mills, Muronico, nature, San Zeno, Schignano, Telo, Walks
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Back at the start of the 17th Century, a new technique was developed in Northern Italy to create fake marble marquetry. This was called scagliola. It was a complimentary extension of the skills of the stucco masters – and the artists and craftsmen from the Province of Como’s Val D’Intelvi excelled in its execution, working on palaces and churches across Italy and Mid or eastern Catholic Europe. Continue reading →
Posted in Architecture, Art, Culture, History, People, Uncategorized
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Tagged Art, baroque, Carloni, Castiglione, churches, counterreformation, Intelvi Valley, Lanzo, paliotto, rococo, S.Sisinnio, Santa Anna, scagliola, Scaria, stucco, val d'intelvi
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Tourism on Lake Como – Then and Now. A look at current levels of tourism and its growth on Lake Como from Pliny, Stendhal to the Clooneys. Continue reading →
Posted in Architecture, Art, Culture, History, Lake, People, Uncategorized
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Tagged aristocrats, Art, environment, Giovio, Grand Tour, History, ISTAT, lombardy, Mary Shelley, nature, pliny, Shelley, sublime, tourism, tourists, Ugo Foscolo, villas, Volta
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Como’s Pope and other Odescalchi. Florence has the Medici, Mantua the Gonzagas, Milan has the Visconti who merged through marriage with the Sforzas. Como for its part has the Odescalchi, Raimondi, Lambertenghi etc etc. Continue reading →
Posted in Architecture, Culture, History, People, Places of interest, Uncategorized
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Tagged Alzate Brianza, aristocrats, Castello, Como, heraldry, History, Innocent XI, Innocenzo XI, nobility, Odescalchi, Pope, property auction, religion, Rome, stemme
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Como’s Four Seasons – 4: Summer, Open House – when Como becomes Mediterranean and musical events abound. Continue reading →
Posted in Events, Gardens, Lake, Uncategorized
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Tagged Brunate, church, Como, concerts, Duomo, ferragosto, Food, Funicular, isola comacina, nature, Navigazione, villa d'este
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Palanzo in Mostra (Palanzo on Show) includes events and exhibitions from now to 29th
June which celebrate the town’s unique virtues. Palanzo and its neighbouring towns in Faggeto Lario are all undoubtedly very special. Continue reading →
Posted in Architecture, Art, Culture, Events, Itineraries, Lake, Places of interest, Uncategorized
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Tagged Art, Faggeto Lario, Lake Como, Monte Palanzone, Palanzo, terracing, Torchio, wine press
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Exercising Outdoors – Various options for those of us who want to get out of the gym in June and enjoy Como’s natural splendour. Continue reading →
Posted in Events, Gardens, People, Sport, Uncategorized, Wellness
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Tagged Exercise, Gardens, Herbal Life, MammaFit, Nutrition, Parks, Pratiqiamo, Qi Gong, RowinFit, rowing, Sport, Tai Chi, Total Fit, Villa Olmo
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Swimability 2019: Lake Como’s Clean Water. Looking down into the clear waters of the lake on a warm summer’s day invokes the desire to jump in and swim! But can we be sure the water is safe for swimming? Continue reading →
Posted in Lake, Places of interest, Uncategorized
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Tagged bacteria, bathing, beach, beaches, brienno, Careno, Como, e-coli, effluent, Enterococci, health, Lake, Lake Como, Moltrasio, pollution, swimming, Tremezzo, water quality, wild swimming
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Villa Platamone – An ‘Aristocratic’ Bed and Breakfast. The holiday lodge built in the 1820s for Michele Platamone in Como has now been restored to former glory and opened today for the first time to paying guests. Continue reading →
Posted in Architecture, Culture, Gardens, History, Uncategorized
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Tagged B&B, Bed and breakfast, Clerichetti, Como, Lugano, luxury, Villa, Villa Bignami, Villa Ciani, Villa Platamone
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