Author Archives: comocompanion

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.

Escaping the Holocaust: Hiding from Home in Varese

Posted on January 29, 2025 by comocompanion

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 | 2 Comments

Saint Barbara at Como

Posted on December 17, 2024 by comocompanion

Why is there a third window at the top of the Porta Torre? Why was a painting of Saint Barbara commissioned for Como at the end of the war? Why do firefighters still celebrate her on 4th December? Answers lie in the legend of this saint. Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Culture, Folklore, History, Uncategorized | Tagged Baradello, bombs, Byzantium, christianity, Como, Duomo, faith, History, iconography, Martyrs, Porta Torre, Raphael, Saint Barbara, saints, travel | Leave a comment

Como’s Christmas Spirits

Posted on December 6, 2024 by comocompanion

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 | Leave a comment

Como’s Hidden Gems – Palazzo Rusca, Palazzo Olginati Rovelli and Palazzo Vietti Rovelli

Posted on November 20, 2024 by comocompanion

Como has many hidden artistic gems. Here we uncover what is to be found in the Palazzo Rusca, Palazzzo Viettti Rovelli and Palazzo Olginati Rovelli. Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Culture, History, People, Places of interest, Uncategorized | Tagged Art, baroque, Como, Culture, drawing, Frescoes, Garibaldi, Lake Como, Odescalchi, Olginati, painting, Pietro Bianchi, Plague, poetry, rococo, Rovelli, Rusca, writing | 2 Comments

Lake Pusiano, Cypresses and Wallabies

Posted on October 22, 2024 by comocompanion

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 | Leave a comment

Lake Como and Leonardo’s ‘Mona Lisa’

Posted on October 5, 2024 by comocompanion

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 | Leave a comment

Fatal Accident on Lake Como: The Soldiers’ Story

Posted on September 11, 2024 by comocompanion

“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 | 3 Comments

Lake Como’s Prizewinning Olive Oil

Posted on August 16, 2024 by comocompanion

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 | Leave a comment

Como’s Olympic Rowers: Past and Present

Posted on July 17, 2024 by comocompanion

On the 27th July three athletes from Como’s rowing club, Canottieri Lario, and a further three from the neighbouring Canottieri Moltrasio will be leaving for Paris to compete in the 2024 Olympics. The three Comaschi are Aisha Rocek, Giorgia Pelacchi and Jacopo Frigerio. The Moltrasini are Elisa Mondelli, Matteo Della Valle and Davide Comini. They will be accompanied by Stefano Fraquelli, Canottieri Lario’s Technical Director who is the National Italian Rowing Team’s Female Coach Continue reading →

Posted in Events, Places of interest, rowing, Sport, Uncategorized | Tagged Athletes, Athletics, canottieri lario, canottieri moltrasio, Como, Gruppo Sportivo, news, Olympics, Paris, rowing, sinigaglia, sports, summer-olympics | Leave a comment

Como’s Nostalgia For…..Wash Houses

Posted on June 23, 2024 by comocompanion

The wash house (Lavatoio in Italian) is a common architectural feature across Italy and no less so in the mountain communities around Lake Como. Technological and social changes have rendered them almost entirely redundant yet many still remain and a significant number have even been renovated and restored. Continue reading →