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COMO (anc. Comum)

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Originally appearing in Volume V06, Page 794 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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COMO (anc. Comum) , a See also:city and episcopal see of See also:Lombardy, See also:Italy, the See also:capital of the See also:province of Como, situated at the S. end of the W. See also:branch of the See also:Lake of Como, 30 M. by See also:rail N. by W. of See also:Milan. Pop. (1881) 25,560; (1905) 34,272 (See also:town), 41,124 (See also:commune). The city lies in a valley enclosed by mountains, the slopes of which command See also:fine views of the lake. The old town, which preserves its rectangular See also:plan from See also:Roman times, is enclosed by walls, with towers constructed in the 12th See also:century. The See also:cathedral, built entirely of See also:marble, occupies the site of an earlier See also:church, and was begun in 1396, from which See also:period the See also:nave See also:dates: the See also:facade belongs to 1457—1486, while the See also:east of the exterior was altered into the See also:Renaissance See also:style, and richly decorated with sculptures by Tommaso Rodari in 1487—1526. The See also:dome is an unsuitable addition of 1731 by the Sicilian architect Filippo Juvara (1685—1735), and its See also:baroque decorations spoil the effect of the fine See also:Gothic interior. It contains some See also:good pictures and fine tapestries. In the same See also:line as the facade of the cathedral are the Broletto (in See also:black and See also:white marble), dating from 1215, the seat of the See also:original rulers of the commune, and the massive See also:clock-See also:tower. The Romanesque church of S.Abondio outside the town was founded in 1013 and consecrated in 1095; it has two fine campanili, placed at the ends of the aisles See also:close to the See also:apse. It occupies the site of the 5th-century church of SS.

See also:

Peter and See also:Paul. Near it is the Romanesque church of S. Carpoforo. Above it is the ruined See also:castle of Baradello. The churches of S. Giacomo (1095—1117) and S. Fedele (12th century), both in the town, are also Romanesque, and the apses have See also:external galleries. The Palazzo Giovio contains the Museo Civico. Como is a considerable tourist resort, and the steamboat See also:traffic on the lake is largely for travellers. A See also:climate station is established on the See also:hill of Brunate (2350 ft.) above the town to the E., reached by a funicular railway. The Milanese possess many villas here. Como is an See also:industrial town, having large See also:silk factories and other See also:industries (see LOMBARDY).

It is connected with Milan by two lines of railway, one via See also:

Monza (the See also:main line, which goes on to Chiasso—Swiss frontier—and the St Gotthard), the other via See also:Saronno and also with See also:Lecco and See also:Varese. Of the Roman Comum little remains above ground; a portion of its S.E. See also:wall was discovered and may be seen in the See also:garden of the Liceo See also:Volta, 88 ft. within the later walls: later fortifications (but previous to 1127), largely constructed with Roman inscribed sepulchral urns and other fragments, had been super-imposed on it. Thermae have also been discovered (see V. Barelli in Notizie degli scavi, 188o, 333; 1881, 333; 1882, 285). The See also:inscriptions, on the other See also:hand, are numerous, and give an See also:idea of its importance. The statements as to the tribe which originally possessed it are various. It belonged to Gallia Cisalpina, and first came into contact with See also:Rome in 196 B.C., when M. See also:Claudius See also:Marcellus conquered the See also:Insubres and the Comenses. In 89 B.C., having suffered damage from the Raetians, it was restored by Cn. Pompeius See also:Strabo, and given Latin rights with the See also:rest of Gallia Transpadana. Shortly of ter this 3000 colonists seem to have been sent there; 5000 were certainly sent by See also:Caesar in 59 B.C., and the See also:place received the name Novum Comum. It appears in the imperial period as a See also:municipium, and is generally spoken of as Comum simply.

The place was prosperous; it had an important See also:

iron See also:industry; and the See also:banks of the lake were, as now, dotted with villas. It was also important as the starting-point for the See also:journey across the lake in connexion with the Splugen and Septimer passes (see CIIIA vENNA). It was the birthplace of both the See also:elder and the younger See also:Pliny, the latter of whom founded See also:baths and a library here and gave See also:money for the support of See also:orphan See also:children. There was a praefectus dassis Comenses under the See also:late See also:empire, and it was regarded as a strong fortress. See Ch. Hulsen in Pauly-Wissowa, Realencyclopadie, Suppl. Heft i. (See also:Stuttgart, 1903), 326. Como suffered considerably from the See also:early See also:barbarian invasions, many of the inhabitants taking See also:refuge on the Isola Comacina off See also:Sala, but recovered in Lombard times. It was from that period that the magistri Comacini formed a privileged See also:corporation of architects and sculptors, who were employed in other parts of Italy also, until, at the end of the 11th century, individuals began. to come more to the front (G. T. Rivoira, Origini del-l' architettura Lombarda, Rome, 1901, i.

127 f.). Como then became subject to the archbishops of Milan, but gained its freedom towards the end of the 1 rth century. At the beginning of the 12th century See also:

war See also:broke out between Como and Milan, and after a ten years' war Como was taken and its fortifications dismantled in 1127. In 1154, however, it took See also:advantage of the arrival of See also:Barbarossa, and remained faithful to him through-out the whole war of the Lombard See also:League. After frequent struggles with Milan, it See also:fell under the See also:power of the See also:Visconti in 1335. In 1535, like the rest of Lombardy, it fell under See also:Spanish dominion, and in 1714 under See also:Austrian. Thenceforth it shared the fortunes of Milan, becoming in the See also:Napoleonic period the See also:chief town of the See also:department of the Lario. Its silk industry and its position at the entrance to the Alpine passes gave it some importance even then. It See also:bore a considerable See also:part in the See also:national risings of 1848–1859 against Austrian See also:rule. (T.

End of Article: COMO (anc. Comum)

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