Citywalking: Como
Discover Como as if keeping pace with a pilgrim: walking, without haste; not merely with a watchful eye, but trying to get into a mood that can help understand its charm, memories, tradition and history. Decipher our city, finding once again, with patience, with love, its hidden soul. Discovering that the dimension of footpaths is perhaps the only way which really allows you to understand what you see.
The town of Como is hereby reinterpreted through five pathways dedicated to the sacred sites, the environment, the hospitality and the modernity of the city, and, in the name of solidarity, revisited in light of their accessibility, in the belief that beauty, including the beauty of places, should be something for everyone. While the first route leads the visitor to discover the links of the main churches in town with the network of hermitages and convents in various places in the direction of Brunate, the second lets him follow the profound religious sentiment of the rites of Holy Week. By following the third itinerary it will be possible to visit the Holy Places, including pre-Christian places of worship, along the ancient routes connected with the cult of Saint Eutichio, bishop and hermit, and to the Rogation Prayers. The visitor wishing to follow the fourth itinerary will discover the ancient quarter of S. Giuliano in Pomario, one of the oldest in Como, and the network of hospitals and hospices which still have their place in the town. Finally, by following the fifth itinerary it will be possible to discover other treasures offered by this city, including those buildings, most of which scattered in its urban texture, that in the first forty years of the 20th century made Como the melting pot of rationalist architecture.
By following these itineraries the visitor will be able to discover that the places marking the history of Como, just as anywhere else in the world, constitute a “network” with solid cultural foundations and that the artistic heritage which they carry or represent comes from traditions which are distant in time but at the same time still alive and well rooted in local and national history.
The description of the paths is meant for foot travellers. As mentioned above, travelling on foot is the ideal dimension that can help us grasp the historical depth of the itinerary and appreciate without haste the beauty of these monuments, which sometimes is quite evident, and at others is more hidden and unpretentious. The aim was never to provide full and detailed information about each monument; rather to try and bring it back to life within the historical, geographical and devotional background which led to its origin. For the same reason, the length of the descriptions is not directly connected to the historical and artistic importance of the various places; rather to the importance of their role, past and present, within the pattern of the life of the city. We also set out to try and bring back lost aspects of Como. That is to describe and render to the imagination even those buildings which time has caused to disappear. In our opinion this is the only way the special places of our city may keep alive the connections to their history and the hope for a well deserved respect in the future.
