Category Archives: People

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

Exercising Outdoors – Some Options

Posted on June 6, 2019 by comocompanion

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 | Tagged Exercise, Gardens, Herbal Life, MammaFit, Nutrition, Parks, Pratiqiamo, Qi Gong, RowinFit, rowing, Sport, Tai Chi, Total Fit, Villa Olmo | Leave a comment

Sarah Aller: Como’s New York Artist In Residence

Posted on April 26, 2019 by comocompanion

Sarah Aller: Como’s New York Artist In Residence – an appreciation of her work ‘At their best, Sarah’s stories perform a function not dissimilar to the way our brains perform a subconscious ordering of experience through dreams.’ Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Culture, Events, People, Uncategorized | Tagged AAF, Art, Como, contemporary, ex-pat, Eye Contemporary Art, Genoa, image transfer, Sarah Aller, stencil, Tablinum | Leave a 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 | 3 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 →

Posted in Art, Culture, History, Lake, Music, People, Places of interest, Uncategorized | Tagged bellini, blevio, Cinque Giornate, Como, donizetti, famous women, giuditta pasta, Moltrasio, norma, Opera, teatro alla scala, Teatro Sociale | 4 Comments

Como’s Celtic Connection

Posted on February 23, 2019 by comocompanion

‘Oro di Scozia’ is both a shop and a cultural association aimed at spreading ‘the tastes and flavours of [Scotland] with its rich historical background’ in the words of one of its founders. Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Events, Food, People, Uncategorized | Tagged bagpipes, Barga, beltane, celtic, Como, Glasgow, Music, scotland, scottish dancing | 1 Comment

Testimonies and Remembrance: Como Recalls the Shoah

Posted on February 6, 2019 by comocompanion

Testimonies and Remembrance: Como Recalls the Shoah. Ines Figini and Alessandro Lukacs at Villa Olmo on Holocaust Memorial Day Continue reading →

Posted in Events, History, People, Politics, Uncategorized | Tagged cernobbio, Enrico Caronti, Giorgio Perlasca, holocaust, Ines Figini, Jehovah Witnesses, Memorial Day, Pizzo, Schiavi di Hitler, Shoah, Villa Olmo | Leave a comment

Noir 2018: Moral Ambiguity and Death

Posted on December 6, 2018 by comocompanion

Italian society seems ready made for the ‘noir’ genre and Como is the ideal location for appreciating it since its stunning natural location will calm the spirits after the moral turbulence provoked by this annual ‘Noir in Festival’. Continue reading →