Category Archives: History

Campo Urbano – Public Art in Como 1969

Posted on October 14, 2019 by comocompanion

Campo Urbano – Public Art in Como 1969. How the generation of Como artists following on from the Astrattisti Comaschi continued to place Como in the vanguard of artistic developments. Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Art, Culture, Events, History, People, Uncategorized | Tagged abstractism, agitprop, Art, Campo Urbano, Casa Bini, Cinque Giornate, Francesco Somaini, Giuliano Collina, Ico Parisi, MAC, mario radice, Movimento Arte Concreta, public art, sculpture, Street art, Ugo La Pietra | Leave a comment

Stucco and Scagliola – Two of Como’s Baroque Specialities

Posted on August 9, 2019 by comocompanion

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 | Tagged Art, baroque, Carloni, Castiglione, churches, counterreformation, Intelvi Valley, Lanzo, paliotto, rococo, S.Sisinnio, Santa Anna, scagliola, Scaria, stucco, val d'intelvi | 1 Comment

Tourism on Lake Como – Then and Now

Posted on July 16, 2019 by comocompanion

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 | Tagged aristocrats, Art, environment, Giovio, Grand Tour, History, ISTAT, lombardy, Mary Shelley, nature, pliny, Shelley, sublime, tourism, tourists, Ugo Foscolo, villas, Volta | 7 Comments

Como’s Pope and other Odescalchi

Posted on July 6, 2019 by comocompanion

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 | Tagged Alzate Brianza, aristocrats, Castello, Como, heraldry, History, Innocent XI, Innocenzo XI, nobility, Odescalchi, Pope, property auction, religion, Rome, stemme | Leave a comment

Villa Platamone – An ‘Aristocratic’ Bed and Breakfast

Posted on May 15, 2019 by comocompanion

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 | Tagged B&B, Bed and breakfast, Clerichetti, Como, Lugano, luxury, Villa, Villa Bignami, Villa Ciani, Villa Platamone | Leave a comment

Torno’s Santo Chiodo & Conflicts with Como

Posted on May 1, 2019 by comocompanion

Torno’s Santo Chiodo & Conflict with Como: This Sunday, May 5th sees the annual blessing and evening procession through the town of its ‘Santo Chiodo’ or sacred nail – no less than one of the nails used in the crucifixion of Jesus. Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Events, Folklore, History, Places of interest, Uncategorized | Tagged Como, crucifixion, Folklore, isola comacina, lake battles, Lamberto Rusca, Rusca, santo chiodo, Tornaschi, Torno, wool | Leave a comment

A Castle in Distress: Tiina to the Rescue

Posted on April 29, 2019 by comocompanion

Carimate Castle has fallen upon hard times. It has been unoccupied and unmaintained since 2014. Now, long-time Carimate resident Tiina Hiekkaranta, also known locally as the (Finnish) Countess of Carimate, and her husband Timo want to save it Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Culture, History, Music, Places of interest, Uncategorized | Tagged auction, Carimate, Castello, Castle, Hotels, Il Torchio, Lucio Dalla, Stone Castle Studios, Tony Casetta, Visconti | 1 Comment

The Como Group of Artists – ‘Astrattisti Comaschi’

Posted on March 21, 2019 by comocompanion

The Como Group of Artists – ‘Astrattisti Comaschi’. How come a group of Como-based artists established themselves at the forefront of the abstract art movement in Italy and Europe in the 1930s? Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Art, Culture, History, People, silk, Uncategorized | Tagged abstract art, aldo galli, alvaro molteni, Art, astrattisti comaschi, carla badiali, galleria il milione, manlio rho, mario radice, Museo della Seta, ratti, silk, textile design | 2 Comments

Como’s Famous Daughters: Giuditta Pasta

Posted on March 9, 2019 by comocompanion

Como’s Famous Daughters: Giuditta Pasta – for International Women’s Day, a reminder of Como’s Diva with an international reputation! Continue reading →