Category Archives: History

Como’s Heart Lies in the Bronx

Posted on April 25, 2022 by comocompanion

Como’s loss is New York’s gain – the heart of Piazza Cavour transplanted in 1903 to the Bronx Zoo, leaving a barren space in the middle of the city. Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Culture, History, People, Uncategorized | Tagged Bronx Zoo, Daniele Travi, fountains, marble, Sebastiano Mondolfo, sorsasso, Villa Volonte, William Rockefeller | Leave a comment

Moltrasio: The Power of Civic Pride

Posted on April 14, 2022 by comocompanion

Moltrasio, 10 kms from Como, is well worth a visit and the volunteers of the local Pro Moltrasio association have worked hard to ensure you get the best of what the town has to offer. Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Art, Culture, Food, History, Itineraries, Lake, Places of interest, Walks | Tagged bellini, FAI, Imperialino, Moltrasina, Moltrasio, Pizzallo, Pro Moltrasio, Quarries, stone, Villa Passalacqua, Villa Salterio, waterfalls, Winston Churchill | Leave a comment

Como’s City Walls

Posted on March 29, 2022 by comocompanion

Como has a lot of ‘history’ and the city’s walls provide visible evidence of the fact. They survive to this day due to the strategic location of the city and its desire to enforce customs duties on all goods passing through its gates. Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Gardens, History, Places of interest, Uncategorized | Tagged Baradello, Castello della Torre Rotonda, Cittadella Viscontea, Como, Federico Barbarossa, Ghibellines, Guelphs, Hanging Gardens, History, Medieval Walls, Moltrasio stone, Porta Nuova, Porta Pretoria, Porta Torre, Roman remains, Roman Walls, Rusca, Teatro Sociale, Visconti, Vittani | 3 Comments

‘James Bond’ Returns to Lake Como

Posted on March 11, 2022 by comocompanion

Dick ‘James Bond’ Mallaby’s second secret mission to Lake Como has him posing as Capt. Richard Tucker with a proposal that would put him at the centre of a diplomatic maelstrom as victors and vanquished seek to shape a new European order following the collapse of Nazi Germany. Continue reading →

Posted in Events, History, Lake, People, Politics | Tagged Allen Dulles, Dick Mallaby, Don Giovanni Barbareschi, double agents, Fiamme Verdi, Jock McCaffery, Joseph Voetterl, KArl Wolff, OSS, Schuster, SOE, spies, Villa Carminati, Villa Locatelli | Leave a comment

Como to Chiasso – Trying to Escape the Holocaust

Posted on February 10, 2022 by comocompanion

Como witnessed the Holocaust – due to its border with Switzerland, Como became a place of both treachery and humanity – offering the opportunity for salvation or the road to extermination Continue reading →

Posted in History, People, Politics, Uncategorized | Tagged Antisemitism, Binario 21, Bisbino, CDEC, Guido Levi, holocaust, Holocaust victims, Joseph Votterl, Luigi del Monte, Luigina Ascoli, Race Laws, San Donnino, Shoah, Valle di Muggio, Villa Carminati, Villa Locatelli | Leave a comment

Lake Como Boatyards: The Champions

Posted on November 26, 2021 by comocompanion

Lake Como has a long tradition of boat building and through the 20th century achieved world class renown for producing sailing yachts and powerboats, thus earning a reputation for quality that lasts to this day. Continue reading →

Posted in History, industry, Lake, People, Uncategorized | Tagged 3 point hydroplanes, Abbate, Achille Castoldi, Alfa Romeo, Balbianello, boats, Cantiere, Ezio Selva, Ferrari, Folli, Guido Monzino, idrovolante, Lariovela, Laura, Lillia, mario verga, Moschettiere, Mostes, powerboats, regatta, Star Class, Taroni, Timossi, Tullio, yachts | Leave a comment

‘James Bond’ drops into Lake Como

Posted on June 8, 2021 by comocompanion

A real ‘James Bond’ secret agent drops into Lake Como, is immediately arrested but eventually acts as the facilitator of the Italian Armistice in September 1943 – a story truly stranger than fiction Continue reading →

Posted in Events, History, Lake, People, Politics, Uncategorized | Tagged Badoglio, Dick Mallaby, Eisenhower, Faggeto Lario, Lake Como, partisans, Pognana, San Donnino, secret agents, SOE, spies, Wolff | Leave a comment

The Romantic Era of Smuggling: A Game of Cat and Mouse on Lake Como

Posted on April 15, 2021 by comocompanion

The Romantic Era of Smuggling: A Game of Cat and Mouse on Lake Como. Smuggling was common along the entire length of Italy’s northern border but particularly prevalent around the lakes so much as to become a key element in local folklore. Continue reading →

Posted in crime, Culture, Folklore, History, Itineraries, Lake, People, Uncategorized, Walks | Tagged Burlanda, Cigarettes, Cinto, coffee, Colonno, contraband, contrabbandieri, Davide Van De Sfroos, Domenica del Corriere, Erbonne, finanzieri, guardia di finanza, Il Cimino, Lanzo, Lezzeno, Ment, smugglers, Smuggling, spalloni, Switzerland, val d'intelvi | Leave a comment

Escape to Switzerland via Monte Bisbino

Posted on January 25, 2021 by comocompanion

Escape to Switzerland via Monte Bisbino – the story of Anna Sacerdoti and her family and how they avoided deportation – to honour this year’s Holocaust Memorial Day. Continue reading →

Posted in crime, History, People, Politics, Uncategorized | Tagged Anna Sacerdoti, Bisbino, cernobbio, Chiasso, Christian Schiefer, holocaust, Leggi Razziali, Platform 21, Shoah, smugglers | Leave a comment

Como’s Pantero Pantera and other Admirable Admirals

Posted on November 20, 2020 by comocompanion

Como’s Pantero Pantera and other Admirable Admirals. With one of Como’s historical naval commanders called Pantero Pantera and the other Pliny the Elder the attraction of an alliterative title to this article was irresistible. Continue reading →