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Recent Posts
- Carlo Carloni: From Baroque to Rococo in Como September 29, 2026
- Lake Como: Problems in Paradise July 14, 2026
- Como, April 25th 1945: Mussolini’s Fight or Flight Moment April 22, 2026
- Como: Looking for Culinary Authenticity April 7, 2026
- Escaping the Holocaust- Via Switzerland? January 30, 2026
Author Archives: comocompanion
Lake Como and the Grand Tour
The launch of the Romantic movement at the start of the nineteenth century caused many literary and artistic travellers to include Como and its lake in their Grand Tour of Italy. A collection of excerpts from these accounts has recently been published and forms the inspiration for this article. Continue reading
Moltrasio’s stone and its ‘Ecomuseo’
Moltrasio stone was the dominant building material used in and around Como from Roman days until the turn of the twentieth century. It is found at the heart of most buildings even if some may have then be adorned with a veneer of render or a dressing of Musso and Varenna marble. Continue reading
Posted in Architecture, Culture, History, Lake, Places of interest, Sustainability, Walks
Tagged Careno, country crafts, dry stone walls, ecomuseo, marble, Moltrasio, proloco, Quarries, stone, Sustainability, tourism
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Escaping the Holocaust: Hiding from Home in Varese
Personal testimonies can help us understand the reality of living through historical events. These diary extracts convey some sense of the constant anxiety in avoiding deportation to a Nazi death camp. Continue reading
Posted in crime, History, People, Uncategorized
Tagged Auschwitz, cernobbio, Como, De Danonis, Fargion, germany, History, holocaust, Italian Jews, jews, nazifascists, Race Laws, Shoah, Varese, Wartime
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Como’s Christmas Spirits
Città dei Balocchi revive the Christmas spirit in Como this year and the lake in turn inspires a range of spirits to try out over the holiday season. Continue reading
Posted in Events, industry, Lake, silk, Uncategorized
Tagged alcohol, amaro, Christmas, Città dei Balocchi, Como, drinks, gin, illuminations, italy, Lake Como, Rivo, Teatro Sociale, Tivan, tourism, travel, whisky
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Lake Pusiano, Cypresses and Wallabies
A gulp of cormorants, a creep of tortoises and a troupe pf wallabies – the varying fortunes of the magical Isola dei Cipressi on Lake Pusiano. Continue reading
Posted in Gardens, History, Lake, Places of interest, rowing, wildlife
Tagged Brianza, Como, cormorants, Eugene Beauharnais, fish, italy, Lake Pusiano, nature, Palazzo Carpani, Resegone, tortoises, travel, wallabies
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Lake Como and Leonardo’s ‘Mona Lisa’
Experts now claim that Leonardo Da Vinci set two of his best known paintings amongst the landmarks on Lake Como’s eastern leg by identifying the landscape depicted in the background of the ‘Mona Lisa’ and his ‘Virgin of the Rocks’. Continue reading
Posted in Art, Culture, History, Itineraries, Lake, People, Uncategorized
Tagged Adda, Art, Azzone Visconti, canals, Como, Garlate, History, Le Grigne, lecco, Leonardo, leonardo-da-vinci, Mandello, milan, mona-lisa, Paris, Resegone, Vaprio D'Adda
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Fatal Accident on Lake Como: The Soldiers’ Story
“I can’t stand this any longer” – the final cry of a British Army Officer who drowned along with Mussolini’s daughter-in-law on Lake Como, May 1946. Continue reading
Posted in Events, History, Lake, People, Uncategorized
Tagged blevio, Como, drowning, Excelsior, Gina Ruberti, History, Hotel Vapore, Imperiale, italy, Lake Como, Mandarin Oriental, Medloc, medloc feeder, post war, Roccabruna, tragedy
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Lake Como’s Prizewinning Olive Oil
Overlooking the town of Lenno at 385 metres above sea level, a small holding of twenty acres has consistently produced an olive oil that has won world class prizes – it is the Azienda Agricola Roveglio. Continue reading
Posted in Food, Lake, People, Uncategorized
Tagged agriculture, Azienda Agricola, Cheese, Como, Frantoio, Lenno, Olive fruit fly, Olive knot disease, olive oil, rentals, Rogna
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