Built, according to tradition, on the site of a temple dedicated to Mercury and where the first Christians in Como held their service (at the end of the 4th century), San Carpoforo features a pillared nave with two aisles and a raised presbitery. Despite the numerous modifications and restorations, during its long history, it is clearly one of the first Romanesque examples in Como. Curiously, there is no portal on the façade and the entrances are all lateral. The apse area and the bell tower date from the 12th century.

 

Erected in the 11th century, on the same spot where the early Christian church of Saints Peter and Paul once stood, the Basilica of Sant'Abbondio is a building with a nave and four aisles, an elongated choir and two bell towers. Having been modified and restored very often, its typical Como style modules are blended with examples of foreign intervention, e.g. Norman, Burgundian and German. Its severe and unadorned façade contains robust pilaster strips resting on four columns, which previously belonged to the arcades built on two storeys, between the 12th and the 14th centuries, and, afterwards, eliminated. The two bell towers reveal a structure of Norman origin and owe their light appearance to the mullioned windows with one or three lights. The apse is remarkable in its semicylindrical form, with geometrical and floral decorations and arch crowned columns. The interior features the narthex, supported by pillars; imposing hewn stone columns with cubic capitals (central nave) and monolitic capitals (side aisles); a trussed roof and paintings by Cerano and the Recchis. The frescoes of the apse are a significant example of the blending of local and Tuscan motifs.

 

 
 

Begun in 1.396, on the site of the Romanesque Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, the construction of the cathedral lasted four centuries. Looking at its structure, you will see the changing in styles which occurred throughout the centuries: the late Gothic of the façade, the Renaissance lines of the apse and the 18th century dome. Lorenzo degli Sprazzi, from Val d'Intelvi, Pietro da Breggia and Fiorino da Bontà, from Como, and Tommaso Rodari, from Maroggia, were among the numerous artists who took part in the construction of the Cathedral. The two statues of Pliny the Elder and Pliny the Younger, placed on the sides of the portal, are by Rodari. The great dome, finished in 1.744 was designed by F. Juvara. Items of interest, inside the Cathedral, are the two columniferous lions (12th century), a niche, a sarcophagus and a marble altar (14th century) saved from the demolition of the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore; altars, altar-pieces and portals by Rodari; 16th century paintings by B. Luini, G. Ferrari and B. Lanino; 17th century frescoes by Morazzone; 16th and 17th century tapestries from Ferrara and Flanders, Baroque stuccoworks by A. and F. Silva and 19th century stained glass windows by G. and P. Bertini.