Roman Como

Description

The first Roman presence in the Como area cited by sources dates back to 196 BC, when the consul Marco Claudio Marcello defeated a coalition of Gallic tribes in the area, some of whom lived on the hills to the west of Como, where the ancient Comum oppidum was sited.

At the end of the conflict, the Romans formed a ‘foedus’ with the defeated tribes, being a type of “pact” that did not imply an occupation, but probably imposed tributes, such as the obligation to provide military aid in case of need.

Comum oppidum suffered an incursion in 91 BC by the Rhaetians coming from Valtellina and in 89 BC. it became a “pseudo-Latin colony” thanks to Pompey Strabo; the law, in fact, did not establish the sending of new colonists, but those who had held administrative positions were allowed to become Roman citizens. In this way Rome closely associated with the local elites, who consequently became protagonists of the Romanization process, that is, the acquisition of Roman laws, culture and customs.

It was not until 59 BC. when Gaius Julius Caesar had the intuition to found a new city on the shores of the lake, to exploit the great opportunities that the Lario (the Roman name for Lake Como) provided for connections between the plains and the Alpine passes. At that time, the central part of the valley was crossed by the Cosia, Fiume Aperto and Valduce streams, which effectively made it a swamp, not suitable for habitation. It was therefore necessary to carry out a massive drainage project, with the diversion of the Cosia towards the west and the Valduce towards the east.

By Caesar’s will, five thousand colonists were sent here, including five hundred Greeks; in 49 BC the city became a municipium and its inhabitants consequently acquired Roman citizenship.

In memory of the foundation of Como, the former students of the “Alessandro Volta” Classical High School placed a high relief panel made of precious Apuan cipollino marble on the exposed stone southern wall of Palazzo Cernezzi (via Perti – corner of via Vittorio Emanuele). Dated 1991 and the work of Francesco Somaini, the panel is engraved with the passage in which the geographer Strabo recounts the events of the 1st century. B.C. (Geografia, V, 1, 6).

The new city, founded on solid pilings, with buildings constructed of stone and brick, and paved streets probably connected to a sewage system, was called Common Novum (“New Como”), so as to distinguish it from the older town, Comum Oppidum, that had a very different appearance, being located on the hills to the west of the valley. The urban planning envisaged the construction of important buildings for urban life right from the foundation of the city, with the erection, a few decades later, of the amphitheatre and the port.

We can consider that by the 1st century Como was equipped with all the characteristic structures of a Roman city.
The layout of the city is typically Roman, with a square plan crossed by two main streets, the Cardo Maximus from north to south and the Decumanus Maximus from east to west. In the central part there was the main square, the Forum, the heart of the administrative, social and commercial life of the city. The secondary streets, the Cardini and the Decumani minors, were traced parallel to the two main streets, which gave the city the appearance of a chessboard: each square corresponded to a block (insula) occupied by both public and private buildings.

Right from the foundation of the city, the erection of a solid city wall was planned (about 450 metres long on the southern side), with openings at the ends of the main streets and strengthened by rectangular towers. It is likely that the city walls surrounded only three sides of the city, excluding the north side protected by the lake. This Roman defensive wall was razed to the ground by the Milanese at the end of the bloody “Ten Years” war, which ended, after a siege, with a terrible defeat inflicted on the Como people (1127). The walls we currently see, called “Federiciane”, were built from 1158-1159 thanks to the support of Emperor Frederick Barbarossa.

The presence of the lake has always been crucial for the city of Como which had a port from the very beginning, which, over time, became increasingly important, to the point of even hosting, in the late imperial age, a classis (a fleet of warships). The fleet was commanded by a praefectus (officer) with the rank of governor of the city. There were four military fleets in Italy: Como, Aquileia, Ravenna, Miseno. Pliny the Elder was the praefectus of the classis (fleet) based in Miseno.

Outside the Roman city, the land route (later called “via Regina”), winding along the western coast of the Lario, gave continuity to the connection with Milan to the south and with the Alpine and Rhaetian beyond the Alps to the north, towards Chur.

Read here to find out more about Roman Como:
F. Butti, B. Grassi, S. Jorio (ed.), Ri-trovamenti. 7000 anni di storia comense, Catalogo della mostra, Società Archeologica Comense, Como, San Pietro in Atrio, 1 December 2022 – 16 April 2023.
F. Cani, G. Monizza, Como e la sua storia. La Città Murata, Nodo Libri, Como 1994.
Guide della Provincia di Como – La città di Como, Province of Como, ISAL, Nodo Libri 2003.
Storia di Como, Volume I, TomoII, Società Archeologica Comense, Como 2013.
P. Gioacchini, F. Butti et al, Como nell’antichità. I passi della storia, Società Archeologica Comense, Como 2008 (Romanity is on pp. 55-106).

Ancient port of Como*
* structure completely disappeared

Information

Location: the ancient port of Roman Como was located approximately in the area of ​​today’s Piazza Cacciatori delle Alpi

Flooring: the road surface of Piazza Cacciatori delle Alpi is varied: the part immediately in front of the facade of the church of the B. V. of Loreto of the Collegio Gallio is made of granite composite tiles; the part overlooking Viale Varese is asphalted, because there is access to a private underground car park; around the plants (conifers?) the surface is soil and grass. The pavement that surrounds it on two sides (along via Garibaldi and Viale Varese) is made of slabs of porphyry.

Access: the square can be accessed most easily from its two sides, i.e. from via Garibaldi and from an asphalted stretch that branches off from Viale Varese.

Architectural barriers: the part of the square immediately in front of the church’s facade is marked out on the right (looking at the facade) by low stone bollards. On the left side it is marked out by two groups of three low iron posts holding chains; A raised flowerbed surrounding a tree was created between the two groups. In the square there are two stone vases surrounded by low semicircular benches also in stone.

Services: bicycle rental point in the square / via Garibaldi and in Viale Varese; parking available in Viale Varese, car park in Piazza Jasca and via Recchi / Viale Cavallotti; urban and extra-urban bus stops in the area; pharmacies in via Viale Varese and via Garibaldi; ATMs in Viale Varese, via Garibaldi, Viale Cavallotti and via Sant’Elia.

Leisure and Catering: a kiosk in the square; bars and cafes in the area; public gardens along Viale Varese with a dog area, benches and fountains and Parco Sant’Elia with the Labyrinth Rose Garden between via Recchi and via Sant’Elia
Other information: the part of the square in front of the church is not accessible to vehicles.

Description

Hidden under the current road surface of Piazza Cacciatori delle Alpi are the remains of the ancient port of Como, found when the underground car park was built in 2002.
The port dates back to the years immediately following the foundation of Novum Comum by Julius Caesar in 59 BC. and confirms the importance of the lake in choosing the site on which to found the Roman city.
The first port of Como was equipped with three parallel docks oriented north-east to south-west, made with limestone extracted from the Moltrasio quarries, with a technique that closely resembles that used in the city walls. The port docks faced from the west onto a wide and narrow lake inlet that ran along the walls and went south well beyond the western gate of the city.

Another factor that influenced the choice of the location of the port was the presence, just to the west, of the Cosia stream, connected to the port through a navigable canal. And the abandonment of the oldest port structure of Como is linked precisely to Cosia, since the frequent flooding of the stream soon led to the silting up of the inlet on which the port docks stood, making them effectively unusable.

The numerous architectural fragments discovered are displayed in the courtyards of the Archaeological Museum.

To know more:
https://www.academia.edu/67222020/Martinelli_E_Ferrario_M_F_Motella_S_Livio_F_Michetti_A_M_Brunamonte_F_Castelletti_L_2015_Evoluzione_paleoambientale_e_impatto_antropico_nella_Regione_Lariana_e_nell_area_urbana_di_Como_negli_ultimi_20000_anni

Western walls*
* structures partially disappeared

Information

Location: the western walls of the Roman city developed in a position halfway between the current Viale Varese and via Volta, but only a few sections have been found (see description)
Flooring: the road and its related pavement parallel to Viale Varese leading to the car parks is asphalted. The public garden is crossed by a path made of composite concrete tiles.
Via Cinque Giornate, Via Volta and the Passage Giardini di Ponente Luigi Zuccoli are paved in porphyry tiles; the first two have two stone-paved bands on the sides, the third one.
Services: bicycle rental point in Viale Varese; parking in the parking area along Viale Varese; urban and extra-urban bus stops available in the area; ATMs in Viale Varese; Pharmacy in Viale Varese;Como Municipal Library in Piazzetta Venosto Lucati
Leisure and Catering: bars and cafes in the area; public garden along Viale Varese with a dog area, benches and drinking fountain

Description

Along the western side of the city, only some sections of the ancient Roman walls are uncovered. They ran north-south, in a position halfway between the current Viale Varese and Via Volta, further back than the medieval boundary wall still visible today.

Following our route, looking out at the access gate to the underground garages of the building located in via Cinque Giornate 63, it is possible to see a stretch of walls approximately 10 meters below street level, partially covered by the overhang of the building above.

At the centre of the western side of the walls, more or less corresponding with the current Passage Giardini di Ponente Luigi Zuccoli, there was a door surmounted by a round arch, which constituted the Porta Principalis Dextera (Main Right Door) of the Roman wall and which gave access to the Decumanus Maximus, corresponding to the current Via Indipendenza. Of this door, now no longer visible, a section of the arch was found in 1926.

Other discoveries were made further south, mostly corresponding with the foundations of the internal facades of the buildings in via Volta 40, via Volta 64 – on the corner of via dell’Annunciata and in the Palazzo Mantero complex, in via Volta 72-74.

These uncovered sections show that the boundary wall of Roman Como was made out of regular blocks of Moltrasio limestone bound by mortar with an average width of 2 metres; it was interspersed, at regular distances, with rectangular towers – inserted into the masonry itself – at the base of which a plinth of 6 steps made the structure more stable.

To find out more about the Roman walls of Como:
Sito della Società Archeologica Comense
Wikipedia Le Mura di Como

The necropolis*
* structures completely disappeared

Information

Location: the Roman necropolis immediately outside the western walls of Novum Comum was located in the area between the current via Torriani, via Benzi and Viale Varese
Services: bicycle rental point in Viale Varese; parking in the dedicated area along Viale Varese; urban and extra-urban bus stops available in the area; ATMs in Viale Varese; Pharmacy in Viale Varese; Como Municipal Library in Piazzetta Venosto Lucati
Leisure and Catering: bars and cafes in the area; public garden along Viale Varese with dog area, benches and drinking fountain.

Description

This cemetery area ran alongside a road paved with gravel and small brick fragments to consolidate the road surface. This veered off just south of the Porta Principalis Dextera (Main Right Gate) of the city. This road, which passed north of the current Via Benzi, was 5 metres wide, had an east-west orientation and connected the city centre with the main road axis of the territory – the ancient Via Regina which connected Milan to Chur, running alongside the western shore of the lake.

Along this road, around the age of the Plinys, a first suburban neighbourhood arose, later also accompanied by a monumental building, recently interpreted as a temple dedicated to the imperial cult. It is interesting to remember that another temple in Como dedicated to the eternity of Rome and imperial glory (tempium Aeternitati Romae et Augustorum) had been started in the 1st century by Lucius Cecilius Secundus, father of Pliny the Younger and probably completed by the latter himself.

With the crisis of the 3rd century and the related political instability, the neighbourhood was progressively abandoned; instead, the necropolis area remained active until the beginning of the fifth century.

Archaeological excavations have revealed other necropolises from different eras, some of which are located along the Via Regina; another cemetery complex was found in via Carloni, along another route of the suburban road towards the south-east, under the commercial complex called “Dadone”, from which also comes the burial of a cymbal player (percussion instruments made up of two small plates metallic).

Roman columns
An example of re-use

Information

Location: the Roman columns can be seen in via Cesare Cantù 57, Como
Flooring: via Battisti is in porphyry tiles with stone-paved side bands; the steps leading to the portico are made of stone, while the flooring under the portico is made of concrete, with the exception of the band corresponding to the bases of the columns, which is made of stone.
Architectural barriers: the floor under the porch is separated from the street level by a low step (5 centimetres) which allows access. Continuing north along Via Cantù, the rise of the step progressively increases; at the entrance to the church of S. Cecilia and to the next-door entrance this step is divided into two lower ones to facilitate access.
Services: Car park in via Auguadri (800 parking spaces); urban and extra-urban bus stops available in the area outside the walled city; ATMs in via Giulini, via Milano-corner of Piazza Vittoria; public toilets in the Viale Spallino underpass; pharmacy in via Cesare Cantù; Como Municipal Library in Piazzetta Venosto Lucati
Leisure and Catering: bars, cafes and shops of various kinds in the area; small public garden between Viale Spallino and via Milano
Other information: pedestrian area with limited traffic.

Description

At the beginning of the nineteenth century, the architect Simone Cantoni, creator of Villa Olmo, in the midst of the neoclassical cultural climate, created a portico in front of the church of Santa Cecilia and the new headquarters of the Gymnasium and High School later named after Alessandro Volta, inserting eight columns of cipollino marble whose history dates back to the times of Novum Comum. 

These monolithic columns come from far away, perhaps from the Greek island of Euboea, and certainly come from an important monumental complex in Como, perhaps from a portico that surrounded one of the squares of Novum Comum, probably the Forum square itself. When the Roman Empire entered into crisis, this portico was demolished and the columns were reused in the corners of the baptismal font of the baptistery of San Giovanni in Atrio, built in the 5th century in what is now Piazza San Fedele, in front of the ancient cathedral dedicated to Saint Euphemia.

This baptistery continued to be used even when the ancient cathedral changed its name and was rebuilt in Romanesque style with a dedication to the martyr San Fedele in the 12th century. Once its use ceased, the baptistery was transformed into a warehouse from where, at the beginning of the 19th century, the columns were taken by Cantoni and reused.

On the front of the portico supported by Roman columns, the architect Cantoni wanted to place the busts of nine illustrious figures from the city’s history in special circular niches, four of which take us to the age of the Plinys: Caecilius (poet friend of Catullus), Caninius Rufus (poet friend of Pliny the Younger) and Pliny the Elder and Pliny the Younger themselves.

Porta Pretoria*
* structure partially disappeared

Information

Location: the remains of the Porta Pretoria are preserved in the basement of a building belonging to the “Teresa Ciceri” high school, which can be accessed from the door at number 8 of Largo Miglio in Como
Architectural barriers: presence of a descending flight of stairs, which can be avoided with an elevator
Services: parking in the dedicated area along Viale Varese; car park in via Auguadri (800 parking spaces); urban and extra-urban bus stops available in the area outside the walled city; ATMs in via Giulini, via Milano-corner of Piazza Vittoria; public toilets in the Viale Spallino underpass; pharmacy in via Cesare Cantù; Como Municipal Library in Piazzetta Venosto Lucati
Leisure and Catering: bars, cafes and shops of various kinds in the area; small public garden between Viale Spallino and via Milano
Other information: the remains of the Porta Praetoria are currently (2024) not open to visits, due to renovation works.

Description

At the centre of the southern stretch of the city walls stood the monumental Porta Praetoria (Praetorian Gate), the main entrance gate to the city, open on one side on the road that led towards Milan and then on towards Rome, on the other on the main north – south axis of the city, the Cardo Maximus.

The discovery of this structure occurred by chance in 1914, during the construction of the school building in Largo Miglio 8, now occupied by some classes of the “Teresa Ciceri” high school, which caused the partial destruction of the eastern tower of the door before works halted to allow for regular archaeological excavation.

Porta Pretoria consisted of an imposing driveway entrance with two openings surmounted by arches. On the sides stood two octagonal towers, originally between 8 and 10m high. The base of the western tower was crossed by a walkway closed by two doors. To close the two driveways there were two metal grates which, sliding along special tracks, were lowered at the end of the day to avoid dangers from outside.

Already towards the end of the 1st century AD, the expansion and strengthening of the Roman Empire made these defence systems superfluous, thus allowing for a rich decorative application made with slabs of marble applied to the masonry with special metal clamps, signs of which are still clearly visible on the stones flanking the openings.

Only towards the end of the Empire, political instability required reinforcing the city defences again and closing the eastern driveway, largely filled with materials from the ancient decorative application that had been previously dismantled. At this point there remained a single driveway, the western one, whose walking surface had in the meantime risen by about a metre due to the debris brought down by river floods, as can be seen from the level of the last threshold used – a granite slab which still bears the mark left by the passage of the wagons.
From the Porta Pretoria, as mentioned, the central road of the city, the Cardo Maximus, started, running through the urban fabric in a straight line from south to north and reaching the lake shore near the ancient amphitheatre, located on a peninsula overlooking the lake. The straight course of the street was compromised by subsequent building projects that affected the city, especially after its complete destruction by the Milanese, after the ten-year war that took place between 1118 and 1128. At the end of this war even the ancient Roman walls were completely razed to the ground and the new reconstruction, carried out thirty years later, did not always consider the ancient urban layout, so much so that the Porta Pretoria itself is currently off-axis compared to the current entrance to Como, marked by the medieval Porta Torre.

To know more:
Tourist site of the Municipality of Como
Website of the Municipality of Como
Website of the Archaeological Society of Como

Southern walls*
* structures partially disappeared

Information

Location: the southern walls of the Roman city developed parallel to the current Viale Cattaneo, Viale Spallino and Viale Battisti, but only some sections remain visible today (see description)
Services: car park in via Auguadri (800 parking spaces); urban and extra-urban bus stops available in the area outside the walled city; ATMs in via Giulini, via Milano-corner of Piazza Vittoria; public toilets in the Viale Spallino underpass; pharmacy in via Cesare Cantù; Como Municipal Library in Piazzetta Venosto Lucati
Leisure and Catering: bars, cafes and shops of various kinds in the area; small public garden between Viale Spallino and via Milano
Other information: the remains of the southern walls are not accessible to the public.

Description

Longer sections of the southern Roman wall, whose route developed east-west within the medieval walls, have been preserved and are clearly visible in the basements of some buildings, although unfortunately they cannot be visited at the moment.

A stretch of walls came to light between via Diaz and via Parini, in the complex between via Diaz and via Parini (via Diaz 100).

From the door at Largo Miglio 8 (from which you can also access the remains of Porta Pretoria), you enter the courtyard of the building now belonging to the “Teresa Ciceri” high school. In this courtyard, a section of wall is visible with the outlet of a sewer canal and a rectangular base probably belonging to one of the towers that marked the boundary wall. Today the walls of the southern side of the “Alessandro Volta” high school are grafted onto this stretch. Close to these walls, from the 1st century AD, private homes were built, overlooking a gravelled street which passed right around the walls.

Continuing east, we point out a stretch of walls still well preserved in the boiler room under the gym of the “Teresa Ciceri” high school (with access from Via Carducci 9), with the base made up of 6 steps and with the remains of an internally empty square tower, protruding out both to the exterior side and the interior side of the walls. The findings are completed by a further section of masonry which came to light in the garden of the adjacent Institute of the Canossian Sisters.
The excavations carried out over the years have also made it possible to identify the bases of towers added to the republican walls of Como, especially those on the southern side. These are towers applied at a time when the lack of security made it necessary to strengthen the existing walls, in two successive moments: in the 4th century, towers with a circular base were added, always secured to the boundary wall, like the one found inside a building in via Parini 1. Finally, after the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the continuous barbarian incursions led to the construction of further square-plan towers, often built using the material sourced from the plunder of previous buildings and used to fill the spaces between the existing towers.

To find out more about the Roman walls of Como:
Website of the Archaeological Society of Como
Wikipedia The Como Walls

Eastern walls*
* structures partially disappeared

Information

Location: the eastern walls of the Roman city were located along the axis roughly coinciding with the current Via Bellini; traces of a few sections emerged, no longer visible today (see description)
Services: Car park in Viale Lecco / via Dante (515 parking spaces); city ​​and suburban bus stops available outside the walled city; ATMs in via Giovio and in Piazza Duomo; Located in via Vittorio Emanuele; Pharmacy in via Vittorio Emanuele; Municipality of Como in via Vittorio Emanuele
Leisure and Catering: bars, restaurants and shops of various kinds in Viale Lecco, via Vittorio Emanuele; small garden with playground in via Vittorio Emanuele
Other information:

Description

Along the eastern side of Novum Comum only some sections of the ancient Roman walls have emerged, which ran north-south, parallel to the current Via Vittorio Emanuele but more internally compared with the mediaeval boundary wall, roughly corresponding to the orientation of the current Via Bellini.
These tracts have reemerged over the years either through accidental discovery or archaeological excavation.
The first section to be rediscovered, towards the south, was identified at the end of the 19th century in the garden of Palazzo Giovio, the current site of the Archaeological Museum: behind the nymphaeum a hanging garden rests westwards towards the ancient Roman walls and eastwards towards the mediaeval ones.
In 2021, new excavations brought to light a stretch of walls and the base of a square tower in via Vittorio Emanuele II 115, in the property bordering the Museum to the north. These remains are similar to those present in the basement of via Carducci 9.

To the north, in via Perti, in 1962, a second tower came to light when demolishing the building called “Manica Lunga” behind the historic Palazzo Cernezzi (municipal headquarters). It was totally similar to the previous findings.
Finally, other sections of walls and defence towers emerged in via Porta 16 and in via Bellini 10.
From what we have been able to ascertain, even the construction technique of the eastern walls was characteristic of the oldest buildings in Como. This consists in the use of blocks of Moltrasio limestone bound by mortar and arranged along regular courses. Also, on this eastern side the boundary wall was punctuated by square-based towers placed at regular intervals.
However, there are no traces of a defensive wall along the north side where probably the presence of the lake itself constituted a defence against external assaults.

To find out more about the Roman walls of Como:
Website of the Archaeological Society of Como
Wikipedia The Como Wall

The Two Plinys

Information

Location: Como Cathedral is located in Piazza del Duomo
Flooring: Piazza del Duomo is paved with porphyry tiles and stone slabs laid in a geometric ornamental pattern
Architectural barriers: –
Services: Info Point in Broletto; parking lot of the Arena del Teatro Sociale in via Bellini; urban and suburban bus stops behind the Duomo, Piazza Verdi – via Bertinelli, Trenord Como Lago railway station via Manzoni – Largo Leopardi; ATMs in Piazza Duomo, Piazza Grimoldi, via Plinio, via Maestri Comacini, Piazza Cavour; Pharmacies in via Plinio, via Vittorio Emanuele
Leisure and Catering: in the area there are bars, cafes, restaurants and shops of various kinds
Warnings: pedestrian area with limited traffic. Even without cars, the square can be quite crowded and is often occupied by various kiosks or information points

Description

The facade of Como Cathedral offers a unique case in which two pagan characters have the honour of an aedicule dedicated to them on the facade of a church. The city of Como thus wanted to honour two illustrious fellow citizens who lived in Roman times by immortalising their images in Musso marble. The statues are the work of the brothers Tommaso and Giacomo Rodari, famous Ticino sculptors who lived between the 15th and 16th centuries. They were responsible for much of the stone decoration of the Cathedral (Tommaso was also chief engineer of the Cathedral factory); their name is shown on the sides of the epigraph under the statue of Pliny the Elder.

On the left is the aedicule with the sculpture of Gaius Plinius Secundus, better known as Pliny the Elder (23/24-79 AD) who is depicted contemplating the sky holding a book in his right hand which represents his encyclopaedic work – the Naturalis Historia, with which the author passed on to posterity ancient knowledge in the most varied fields.

On the right, the statue of Gaius Pliny Cecilius Secundus (61-113 (?) AD), son of Lucius Cecilius Secundus and Plinia Marcella, sister of Pliny the Elder, and adopted by his uncle who had no children. The statue looks in front of him and holds a volume in his left hand, perhaps the one relating to the homage he paid to his emperor, the Panegirico di Traiano (the Trajan Panegyric), or the collection of artfully written letters sent to his acquaintances, often taking the opportunity to talk about his hometown, Como, which he loved so much. Pliny the Younger was also a great and generous benefactor to Como, with economic initiatives for the benefit of freedmen, needy boys and girls and for education and culture in general: the famous epigraph, known as “Pliny’s Testament” (C.I.L., V, 5262), which recalls his legacy to the thermal baths, also mentions the construction of a library and the establishment of a fund intended for its maintenance. Pliny also directly mentions the Library in a famous letter (I,8,2), referring to its inauguration.

And it is thanks to his nephew’s letters that the last moments of his uncle’s life are also known. He died in Stabia while, as praefectus classis (commander of the fleet) of Cape Miseno, he had gone to help the inhabitants of Campania affected by the calamitous eruption of Vesuvius.

However, the end of Pliny the Younger remains shrouded in mystery. We find him proconsul in Betica, the Roman province of Asia Minor, until 113 AD., after which no trace remains.

The achievements of Pliny the Younger also feature on the southern side of the Cathedral, at the corner with Piazza Duomo, where a celebratory epigraph, discovered by and mounted into the wall of the Cathedral by Benedetto Giovio, recalls Pliny as responsible for managing the flow of the Tiber in 105 AD. (C.I.L., V, 5263). It is accompanied by an epigraph dedicated by a probable freedman of the Plinys (C.I.L., V,5287).

Also, on the southern side of the Cathedral, just above Pliny’s epigraph, there is a statue of the poet Cecilio, friend of Catullus who, in a famous carmen (n. 35, vv. 1-6) invites his friend to leave his beloved Novum Comum, its walls and the Lariumque litus (banks of the Lario) to join him in Verona, where they could discuss joint poetic projects.

To know more:
Website of the Archaeological Society of Como

Amphitheatre*
* Partially disappeared structure

Information

Location: the ancient amphitheatre occupied the southern half of the block between Piazza Perretta, Via Cinque Giornate and Via Vitani in Como
Access: None
Services: Info Point in the Broletto in Piazza Duomo and in Via Albertolli; urban and suburban bus stops behind the Duomo, Piazza Verdi–via Bertinelli and on the lakefront; ATMs in Piazza Perretta, Via Albertolli, Via Fontana, Piazza Cavour, Via Boldoni; Pharmacies in Via Caio Plinio, Via Fontana, Piazza Perretta
Leisure and Catering: the area offers bars, cafes, restaurants, shops of various kinds
Warnings: pedestrian zone with limited traffic

Description

The amphitheatres, which have among the most famous examples the Colosseum in Rome and the Arena in Verona, were buildings intended for gladiatorial fights, both between differently armed men and with wild animals.
In Como its location was discerned from the profile of the blocks shown on the maps of the Teresian Land Registry, in particular for the building overlooking Piazza Perretta which originally had a curious curvilinear course.
Only in more recent years have archaeological excavations confirmed the existence of a building for public entertainment in the northern part of Novum Comum.
In 1990, 7 radial walls connected to granite (ghiandone) pillars emerged in the building at Via Vitani 13, preserved to a height of 3.5 meters and set on a slab of stones and mortar resting on alder wood pilings. Twenty years later, at the corner of Via Muralto, Via Boldoni and Piazza Perretta, under the floor, another masonry slab came to light, connected to a pillar that delimited the north side of an underground corridor.
The ancient amphitheatre occupied the southern half of the block between Piazza Perretta, Via Cinque Giornate and Via Vitani, overlooking the east at the end of the ancient Cardo Massimo. The reconstruction of the lakefront of ancient Como, carried out thanks to the most recent scientific investigations, has highlighted how the amphitheatre of Como stood on a sort of peninsula overlooking the lake, in a position as envious as that of the current city stadium.
However, we know that entertainment and circus shows were not appreciated at all by Pliny the Younger, who, in a letter addressed to his friend Calvisio (IX, 6) openly deplored them, considering it much more useful and sensible to devote oneself to culture.

Further readings:
https://www.academia.edu/67222020/Martinelli_E_Ferrario_M_F_Motella_S_Livio_F_Michetti_A_M_Brunamonte_F_Castelletti_L_2015_Evoluzione_paleoambientale_e_impatto_antropico_nella_Regione_Lariana_e_nell_area_urbana_di_Como_negli_ultimi_20000_anni

The Decumanus Maximus

Information

Location: the Decumanus Maximus of the Novum Comum corresponded to the current Via Indipendenza
Paving: Via Indipendenza is paved with porphyry tiles, with two stone paved bands on its sides
Architectural barriers: –
Services: parking in the dedicated area along Viale Varese; Multi-storey car park in Viale Lecco / Via Dante (515 parking spaces); urban and suburban bus stops available at the ends of the street; ATM in Viale Varese; Pharmacy in Viale Varese; Municipal Library of Como in Piazzetta Venosto Lucati
Leisure and Catering: bars, restaurants and shops of various kinds; public garden along Viale Varese with dog area, benches and drinking fountain; small garden with playground between Viale Lecco and Via Dante
Other information: Via Indipendenza is in a pedestrian area with limited traffic, as well as the entire historic centre

Description

The Decumanus Maximus was one of the main axes of the city, crossing from east to west, connecting the two gates Principalis Dextera and Sinistra. Even today it is possible to walk along the street, corresponding to the current Via Indipendenza, from one end of the walled city to the other without interruption, although the profile of the buildings overlooking the street makes the route relatively sinuous, due to the various renovations carried out over time.
Along this axis stood important public places, including perhaps the Forum itself, and private homes belonging to high-ranking personalities. One of these houses has been identified in the former complex of San Colombano in Balneo, between Via Indipendenza and Via Diaz 60-62, where excavations have brought to light seven rooms of an ancient domus built between the first century BC and the first century AD. This domus was also used in later times and in one of the rooms in the second century AD a splendid polychrome mosaic was laid covering a previous cocciopesto (Roman cement) flooring, characteristic of an older building.
The nearby area of the former Cressoni Theatre (at the corner of via Indipendenza with via Diaz 77-89) has also proved rich with discoveries, with architectural and epigraphic elements that suggest the presence of important public spaces overlooking the ancient Decumanus. This is the place where in 2018 the so-called “treasure of Como” was found, consisting of a thousand gold coins accumulated and carefully hidden in the fifth century AD, in the turbulent period of the collapse of the Roman Empire.
The rising water of the lake and the presence of modern buildings, whose stability can be jeopardized by too extensive excavations, always makes it difficult to investigate the Roman levels of ancient Como, which generally emerge only from excavations of limited extent.

The area of the forum*
* struttura scomparsa in parte

Information

Location: several clues lead us to believe that the Forum of Roman Como was in the area of today’s Piazza San Fedele
Pavement: Piazza San Fedele is paved with cobblestones, with a central rectangular area of granite slabs that marks the location of the ancient grain market that was held here; granite slabs mark the roadways and pave the arcades
Architectural barriers: the churchyard of the Basilica is bordered by 6 low iron posts without chains; the portico on the opposite side of the square on the right is bordered by two memorial stones
Services: Car park in Viale Lecco / Via Dante (515 parking spaces); urban and suburban bus stops available outside the walled city; ATMs in Via Giovio and Piazza Duomo; Post office in Via Vittorio Emanuele; Pharmacies in via Adamo del Pero, via Natta, via Vittorio Emanuele; Municipality of Como in via Vittorio Emanuele
Leisure and catering: bars, restaurants, and shops of various kinds in Viale Lecco, Via Dante, Via Vittorio Emanuele; a small garden with playground in Via Vittorio Emanuele
Other information: the square is in a pedestrian area with limited traffic, like the entire historic centre

Description

The location of the ancient Forum of Novum Comum – which, in cities of Roman foundation, traditionally stood at the intersection of Cardo Massimo and Decumanus Maximus – is not known with certainty. In the case of Como, several clues lead us to think that the ancient Forum was located in what is now Piazza San Fedele. Over the centuries, numerous architectural fragments and epigraphs have come to light and, above all, a head of Augustus, which presumably belonged to a statue displayed in some public building, perhaps a Basilica.
Moreover, the central role assumed by the square in the centuries following the fall of the Roman Empire suggests that there may have been a continuity in the role of the area. This square was the seat of the first cathedral of Como, dedicated to Sant’Eufemia, in front of which stood the baptistery of San Giovanni in Atrio; moreover, Piazza San Fedele was home to the grain market, a fundamental element in the life of medieval villages.
Even inside the Basilica of San Fedele there are references to ancient Como, such as two holy water fonts placed above two stylophorous lions, already used to support the columns of the vestibule of the ancient cathedral of Sant’Eufemia, and the presence of a Corinthian capital reused as a holy font.
The various references to the presence of a portico (or “atrium”) in the ancient buildings of San Giovanni in Atrio and San Pietro in Atrio and the presence of colonnades on various sides of the square, could also recall the colonnade that traditionally surrounded the square of the forum on at least three sides, while the fourth was occupied by a religious building.

Archaeological museum “Paolo Giovio”

Information

Location: the “Paolo Giovio” Archaeological Museum is in Piazza Medaglie d’Oro 1 in Como
Pavement: Piazza Medaglie d’Oro is paved with porphyry tiles, with stone paving bands (characteristic pavement of many streets of the walled city)
Access: Palazzo Giovio (where the museum itinerary begins) can be accessed from the main entrance at number 1; Palazzo Olginati, on the other hand, has its entrance on the adjacent side of the square, beyond Via Balestra
Architectural barriers: at the entrance of Palazzo Giovio there is a sort of semicircular stone slide, which connects the street level to the atrium level. However, care must be taken with the low opening of the solid wood entrance door. To access the ticket office there is a step. The museum itinerary runs over several floors, but there is an elevator
Services: Car park in Viale Lecco / Via Dante (515 parking spaces); urban and suburban bus stops available outside the walled city; ATMs in Via Giovio and Piazza Duomo; Post office in Via Vittorio Emanuele; Pharmacy in Via Vittorio Emanuele; Municipality of Como in via Vittorio Emanuele
Leisure and Catering: bars, restaurants and shops of various kinds in Viale Lecco, Via Vittorio Emanuele; a small garden with playground in Via Vittorio Emanuele
Other information: The Museum is currently (2024) closed for structural adjustment works. For information on its reopening, you can consult the website of the Municipality of Como https://www.comune.como.it/it/servizi/cultura/musei-civici/museo-archeologico/

Description

The Archaeological Museum of Como takes its name from Paolo Giovio born from a noble family from Como, doctor, humanist, historian and writer, Paolo Giovio was the creator of the very concept of a Museum, intended as a collection and exhibition of works of art. In fact, it was in Como, in his villa located by the lake in a spot dear to Pliny the Younger, that he collected (1537-1543) a famous series of portraits of illustrious people, thus creating the first museum in the world in the modern sense. In fact, the term Museum has more ancient origins, conceived in the third century BC in Alexandria in Egypt as a “place of the Muses”, that is, as a place designed to take care of the arts and culture, without necessarily referring to the presence of an exhibition collection.
The archaeological collections of the Museum are divided between the complex of Palazzo Giovio and Palazzo Lucini, whose hanging garden rests on a stretch of the Roman walls of Como, and the nearby Palazzo Olginati (a building that in another part houses the “Giuseppe Garibaldi” Historical-Risorgimento Museum), connected to each other by two passages suspended on Via Balestra.
On the first floor of Palazzo Olginati, four exhibition rooms are dedicated to Roman finds from private collections. One of these rooms is dedicated to writing and to Studia humanitatis, or classical studies. In this room there are some works from the library of the Giovio Counts, the oldest of which is an edition of Pliny’s Naturalis Historia dated 1507.
On the ground floor, overlooking the courtyard of Palazzo Olginati, there are various epigraphic, architectural and statuary finds attributable to Roman Como, some of which are also linked to the times of the Plinys, and also further materials recovered from residential and domestic contexts and from burials, relating to the same period.
From a late ancient tower located on the corner of Viale Varese and Via Cinque Giornate come several blocks of marble reused in the construction of the tower itself. They consist of four cube-shaped column bases, decorated mainly with refined mythological scenes in bas-relief and presumably intended for a small portico leading to a building. Together with these “cubes”, the base of a statue with an epigraph dedicated to Caius Pliny Caecilius the Second, or Pliny the Younger, was also found, a statue perhaps connected to the Library of which Pliny was the founder – the first library in Como! It is probable that this library stood near the tower that was built in later times, since – in the search for salvaged materials – it was a common practice to dismantle neighbouring buildings
The Museum exhibits a copy of the famous epigraph, divided into six plates, which recalls the cursus honorum, i.e. the career of Pliny the Younger and the actions he carried out for the benefit of the city. The original epigraph, also known as the “Testament of Pliny” was destroyed and only one of the original six slabs was saved, since it was stolen by the Milanese when, in 1128, they destroyed the city of Como. It is currently located in the basilica of Saint Ambrose (Ambrogio), walled up in the atrium of Archbishop Ansperto.
In the exhibition hall there are also several finds from the Como area associated with the Roman era, such as objects relating to the different aspects of daily life and burial items, in which personal ornaments are often on display.

Further readings:
Tourist site of the Municipality of Como
Tourist site of the Municipality of Como
Site of the Archaeological Society of Como
Website of the Municipality of Como
Website of the Municipality of Como

Suburban villa*
* struttura scomparsa in parte

Information

Location: the suburban villa was located in the area behind the “G. Rodari” Kindergarten, whose main entrance is in via Zezio 27 in Como
Access: Via T. Grossi
Services: Car park in Viale Lecco / Via Dante (515 parking spaces); urban and suburban bus stops in the area; Pharmacy in via Dante
Leisure and Catering: bars and shops of various kinds in Via Dante
Other information: Access is possible in agreement with the “Paolo Giovio” Archaeological Museum, Piazza Medaglie d’Oro 1, Como; Tel. 031.252550; museo.civici@comune.como.it

Description

A suburban villa is a building with a residential part, intended for the dominus, the lord, and a productive part, halfway between a noble house and a farm. To this category also belongs the villa uncovered in Como on the slopes of Mount Brunate, in the mid-70s of the last century, during the construction of a kindergarten between Via Tommaso Grossi and Via Zezio.
This ancient villa, built in the first century A.D., was spread out on three levels, with the one further downhill intended for production activities. This was completely destroyed during the construction of the kindergarten. On the other hand, it was possible to save the portion found further uphill, long believed to be the portico of the villa and, on the basis of more recent research, identified as part of a spectacular nymphaeum. This nymphaeum, which formed the end of the villa’s garden, had a basin paved with stone slabs, flanked by channels for the passage of water. The ornamentation of the basin was completed by semicircular niches that originally housed marble statues.
The villa occupied a panoramic position overlooking the lake and was occupied until the late imperial age, with various renovations that enriched its decoration.
The excavations have brought to light numerous mosaic tiles, both in black and white stone, and in coloured glass, sometimes gilded; in later times the mosaics were partly replaced by the opus sectile (marquetry), marble inlays made with variously cut slabs. Fragments of frescoes, parts of statues and a terracotta antefix were also recovered and are exhibited in the Archaeological Museum. The antefix was a tile placed by the roof gutter, configured with a gorgon’s head, a snake-haired woman similar to the more famous Medusa, intended to frighten and therefore ward off evil spirits that could threaten the inhabitants of the villa.
Among the materials recovered in the rooms located further downhill, a statuette stands out, depicting a modest Venus, originally preserved in a wooden casket, of which the metal parts have been retained.

Overall, the villa is in line with the taste of contemporary Roman villas overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea and is a prime example of sumptuous residential construction, so loved by Pliny the Younger and his friends, for whom the Lario will provide a setting of extraordinary beauty. In fact, Pliny the Younger wrote to his friend Caninius Rufus from Como: “What goes on in Como, my and your delight? What do you do with your pleasant suburban villa, that porch where it’s always spring, the shady plane tree, the canal with its green and crystal-clear waters, the lake at your feet and at your service? What do you do with that easy and solid avenue of yours, that bathroom that the scorching sun always fills with light, those rooms for ordinary guests and, for the happy few, those rooms for day and night? Have they taken possession of you and taking turns vying for your presence?” (Plin. Ep. Section 1.3.1).

Further reading:
Site of the Archaeological Society of Como