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Stories from the lake

Lake timeline

Two thousand years of the lake in order of date: from the Roman road along the western shore to the first steamboat, from the fall of the Isola Comacina to the Olginate dam. Each date leads to the story that tells it and to the place where it happened.

Dates
82
Stories
27
Periods
6
Como harbour with the jetty and moored boats, the cathedral dome on the right and the Brunate hill behind the town.
Photochrom Print Collection · Public domain

Only the dates from the story ‘The Comacine masters'All dates

2dates

Antiquity

To the 5th century · 1 date

  1. 5th or 6th century

    The baptistery of Gravedona

    A baptistery with a mosaic floor and an octagonal basin for baptism by immersion is built at Gravedona. The Romanesque church of Santa Maria del Tiglio, in bands of light and dark stone, later rises over its remains; the baptistery came to light in the excavations of 1953.

    Place: Santa Maria del TiglioStory: The Comacine masters

    The banded tower of Santa Maria del Tiglio at Gravedona, floodlit at night.

Middle Ages

6th century to 1449 · 1 date

  1. 1252–1257

    The cloister of Piona

    Prior Bonaccorso de Canova, from Gravedona, has the abbey's cloister built at his own expense, as two inscriptions record. The capitals, each one different, carry hooked leaves, eagles with spread wings and small heads; the builders' names are unknown.

    Place: Piona AbbeyStory: The Comacine masters

    The Romanesque cloister at Piona abbey, its paired colonnettes around an inner lawn.