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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

2dates

Nineteenth century

1800–1899 · 1 date

  1. The little railway from Menaggio to Porlezza

    The narrow-gauge railway linking Lake Como with Lake Lugano is inaugurated on 8 October and opened to the public on 17 November. To climb above Menaggio the train reverses in a manoeuvre called the regresso; the service ends in 1939.

    Place: MenaggioStory: When the railway reached the lake

    Menaggio seen from the Hôtel Victoria, as the printed caption says: in the foreground the tracks of the railway to Porlezza, then the village and the lake at sunset.

Twentieth century

1900–1999 · 1 date

  1. The car ferry

    The first autochiatta, the car ferry, goes into service. Since then Bellagio, Varenna, Menaggio and Cadenabbia have been linked by the centre-lake crossings, the only way to take a car to the other shore without driving round the branch.

    Place: VarennaStory: Two hundred years under steam

    The car ferry Lario under way, cars and motorbikes on the loading deck and passengers on the stairs.