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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 Cadorna Line on the Lario'All dates

4dates

Twentieth century

1900–1999 · 4 dates

  1. The fort at Colico is armed

    On the Montecchio hill, where the roads coming down from the Splügen, Maloja, Bernina, Stelvio and Tonale passes meet, the fort is ready, with four 149-millimetre guns under revolving steel domes. The guns have stayed where they were.

    Place: Forte Montecchio NordStory: The Cadorna Line on the Lario

    The fort's four steel domes seen from above, in a row on a concrete roof divided into squares: a gun barrel sticks out of each, and above them runs a strip of earth and dry grass closed by a wall.

  2. The fortified line on the northern border

    Warned of a possible German invasion of Switzerland, Luigi Cadorna orders a fortified line from the Ossola valleys to the passes of the Orobie. In the province of Como it runs from Monte Bisbino to the Crocetta above Menaggio, with trenches, tunnels and gun positions that will never see a battle.

    Place: La CrocettaStory: The Cadorna Line on the Lario

    The Alpini chapel at the Crocetta, with the lake and the mountains behind.

  3. Partisans stop Mussolini at Dongo

    On the upper lake, partisans of the 52nd Garibaldi Brigade stop a German column heading for Switzerland and recognise Benito Mussolini among its passengers. After his capture they take him to Palazzo Manzi in Dongo, which houses the Museum of the End of the War.

    Place: Museum of the End of the WarStory: The Cadorna Line on the Lario

    The neoclassical front of Palazzo Manzi, Dongo's town hall, with the museum entrance.

  4. The fort at Colico fires its only shots in war

    The German column that had handed Mussolini over to the partisans at Dongo is stopped at Colico under the threat of the Montecchio guns, which fire five rounds, none on target. The next day, at the Isolabella hotel, the Germans sign their surrender.

    Place: Forte Montecchio NordStory: The Cadorna Line on the Lario