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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 monks' lake'All dates

1dates

Renaissance and foreign rule

1450–1699 · 1 date

  1. The convent at Varenna becomes a house

    Carlo Borromeo, Archbishop of Milan, suppresses the Cistercian convent at Varenna, where too few nuns remain. In 1569 Paolo Mornico buys it and makes it a house: this is the origin of Villa Monastero.

    Place: Villa MonasteroStory: The monks' lake

    Villa Monastero from the balustrade over the lake, among palms and cypresses, the point of Varenna beyond.