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Home > Travel Italy > Italy Destinations > Como
Como
Italy, officially the Italian Republic or Repubblica Italiana, is a Southern European country comprising of the Po River valley, the Italian Peninsula and the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. It is shaped like a boot and for this reason Italians commonly call it lo Stivale, the boot or, due to its prevalent peninsular geographical nature, la Penisola, the Peninsula.
Como is a city in Lombardy, Italy, 45 kilometer north of Milan. It is situated on Lake Como. It is the capital of the province of Como. The hills surrounding the current location of Como were inhabited in prehistoric times, at least since the Bronze Age. Remains of settlements are still present on the wood covered hills to the South West of town. The people that inhabited these settlements were known as the Orobii, a Celtic tribe.
Around the 1st century BC, Before Crist the territory became subjected to the Romans. The first center was situated on the nearby hills, but it was then moved to its current location by order of Julius Caesar, who had the swamp near the southern tip of the lake drained and laid the plan of the walled city in the typical grid of perpendicular streets. The newly founded town was named Novum Comum and had the status of municipium. In 774, the town surrendered to the invasion of the Franks led by Charlemagne and it became a center of commercial exchange. In 1127, Como lost the decade-long war against the nearby town of Milan.
From then on the history of Como followed that of the Ducato di Miilano, through the French invasion, then the Spanish domination until 1714, when the territory was taken by the Austrians. Napoleon descended into Lombardy in 1796 and ruled it until 1815, when the Austrian rule was resumed after the Congress of Vienna. Finally in 1859, with the arrival of Giuseppe Garibaldi, the town was freed from the Austrians and it became part of the newly formed Kingdom of Italy under the House of Savoy.
At the end of World War II, after passing through Como on its escape towards Switzerland, Mussolini was taken prisoner and then shot by Comaschi partisans in Giulino di Mezzegra, a small town on the north shores of Como Lake. Como can also be considered as the preeminent, historical and potential tourism destination that enjoys a very positive reputation with worldwide travelers to become one of the most visited places.
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