DK Travel : Milan and the Lakes : Lake Como : Places of interest

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Abbazia di Piona

At the tip of the Ogliasca peninsula sits this Benedictine abbey, cloaked in silence. The abbey was founded in the 9th century, and the little church has Romanesque carvings decorating the water stoups and the capitals and bases of the columns in the quiet cloister. The monks distil – and sell – some potent liqueurs too.
Basilica di Sant’Abbondio, Como

Standing forlorn in Como’s industrial suburbs, this stony Romanesque church retains a pair of bell towers and an extended choir that links it, architecturally, to the Westwerk style of medieval Germany. The apse is gorgeously frescoed with a series of Biblical scenes.
Bellagio

A popular town, containing the gardens of villas Serbelloni and Melzi, a Romanesque church, a café-lined harbour front and a pretty warren of medieval alleys (see Villa Serbelloni, Bellagio, Villa Melzi, Bellagio).
Bellano

On Piazza S. Giorgio sits the black-and-white striped façade of Santi Nazaro e Celso. A steep street leads to the entrance of the dramatic Orrido gorge.
Brunate Funicular, Como

The classic journey to this hillside village is to take a short boat ride from Como’s harbour to the funicular station, then ride the cog-train up to Bru-nate. You’re rewarded with vistas over Como and the lake, and the starting point of many trails into the surrounding hills (the tourist office has maps).
Civate

On tiny Lake Annone in the Brianza triangle between Como and Lecco, Civate is the access point to San Pietro al Monte, a wonderful 11th-century monastic complex.
Como

Italy’s silk capital was founded by the Romans and has a spectacular cathedral (see Duomo, Como), a handful of modest museums, lots of boutiques and two ancient churches.
Duomo, Como

Como’s statue-clad cathedral was begun in 1396, but not capped with its Juvara-designed dome until 1740. On the façade, the pilasters are lined with saints and the main door is flanked by the seated figures of two local ancient scholars, Pliny the Elder and his nephew Pliny the Younger. The interior preserves an intricately carved and painted wooden altarpiece of 1492 and nine fabulous 16th-century tapestries, produced in Flemish, Florentine and Ferrarese workshops.

Duomo, Como
Gravedona

The town has two excellent medieval churches: Santa Maria del Tiglio and, up on the hillside, Santa Maria delle Grazie.
Lecco

The capital of the lake’s southeastern arm is famous for sights related to native writer Alessandro Manzoni, who set parts of his I Promessi Sposi (see I Promessi Sposi (The Betrothed)) in the suburban hamlet of Olate.