{"id":11897,"date":"2013-07-31T14:33:24","date_gmt":"2013-07-31T12:33:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.camminacitta.it\/ossuccio-citta\/isola\/"},"modified":"2021-02-12T12:44:17","modified_gmt":"2021-02-12T11:44:17","slug":"isola","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.camminacitta.it\/en\/ossuccio-citta\/isola\/","title":{"rendered":"Ossuccio Path 1. A small island amidst great history and old walkways"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Ossuccio,\u00a0 Path 1. A small island amidst great history and old walkways<\/h1>\n<\/div>
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The itinerary starts from the old Hospitale<\/em> of S. Maria Maddalena in Ossuccio, originally a place where pilgrims and wayfarers could find hospitality. You then take a boat to reach the Comacina Island, the only island on Lake Como, inserted in a spectacular environmental context, the undisputed protagonist of Como\u2019s history in the Roman and Medieval ages. A strategic base and military stronghold since the Roman times, to the point of being historically known as the \u201cCastle\u201d, across the centuries it witnessed clashes between Romans and Barbarians, Goths and Byzantines, Lombards and Byzantines, the Holy Roman Empire and the free towns. But, above all, it was one of the most important centres for the spread of Christianity in the Lake Como area and where one of the oldest parish churches of Como stood.<\/p>\n

A fortress and a religious centre full of churches and monasteries, the Island saw the tragic end of its glory in 1169 when, as a result of joining forces with Milan against Como, an ally of emperor Frederick I Barbarossa, was attacked and conquered by the people of Como, who burnt and razed everything to the ground. Laid under an interdict by the Empire and the Church, it fell into ruin and oblivion. Its long decline ended in the past century, when it was rediscovered and made the subject of study and research.<\/p>\n

The route allows an immersion into history to discover, step by step, the archaeological remains of its glorious past, including the Basilica of S. Eufemia parish church, the adjoining twin apse baptismal hall, the remains of the Benedictine monastery of Ss. Faustino and Giovita, plus the church of S. Giovanni Battista, whose seventeenth century reconstruction is linked to a legendary pilgrim, and the twentieth century Houses for Artists in rationalist style. The last stretch of the route, along the old Via Regina, takes you to the heart of the historic centre of Ossuccio, home of the church of S. Agata (formerly dedicated to St. Sisinnius) \u2013 where a Roman votive altar, dating back to the 2nd or 3rd century AD and dedicated to the Matrons and the genes of the pagus of Ausuciates<\/em> is preserved – and then to the church of S. Giacomo, yet another small Romanesque gem, under the benevolent gaze of a great Saint Christopher, the patron saint of pilgrims and wayfarers, whose fresco hangs within the church.<\/p>\n<\/div>

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