Must Visit Landmarks in Como and the Stories Behind Them
Words by
Giulia Rossi
You step off the train at Como San Giovanni station and the lake hits you first. But the real magic of this city reveals itself only once you start walking, once you let its medieval lanes pull you toward the must visit landmarks in Como, where every stone and fresco has a story older than most countries. I have spent years tracing these sites from sunrise Mass at the Duomo to late-night digestivo near the port, and none of them is just a photo stop. Each landmark here carries a purpose, a quirk, a local habit that no guidebook mentions until you hear it from someone who grew up climbing those cathedral steps on the way to school.
The Duomo di Como (Cathedral of the Como)
Piazza Cavour is where the Duomo has stood since workers laid the first Gothic stone in 1396, and the facade, finished centuries later in 1740, still catches the morning light better than any postcard version. I always go just after 8 a.m., before tourist buses fill the square, because the marble doors open, and you can walk straight into that cool, dim nave with almost nobody there. Count the seven stained-glass windows above the main altar, three of which were made in Florence before 1515, long before Borromeo ever became a saint. Watch how the morning sun hits the right-side chapels first, and you will see locals arriving for early Mass, some heading straight to the left aisle with a familiar nod to the sacristan. It is easy to finish with espresso at the bar on the south side of the piazza, the one under the arcade, where the owner knows half the congregation. Nobody tells you that the carved animals at the base of the facade columns were added as late as the 1800s, long after the Gothic bones took shape.
Minor drawback: the steps on the north side get slippery after rain, and the church sign says no flash photography, though phone cameras are fine.
What to See Inside the Duomo
Walk straight toward the main altar, but pause halfway down the right aisle for the 16th-century tapestries near the third chapel, rarely noticed because most tourists stop at the facade and leave. Pilgrims know these tapestries were gifts from Milan, not Como, woven to seal a political promise after a border dispute that almost split the duchy. Ask the custodian to let you see the candle-lit chapel on the left near the choir; he knows it by heart, and the wooden crucifix inside arrived from the lake by boat, not by road. During May and June, a small flower festival lines the front steps and the volunteers will tell you which blooms come from Bellagio. The coolest hours are between Opposite the Duomo, the Broletto still stands where medieval councilors voted on taxes and laws, and someone once stood on that balcony and declared Como free from Milan for a summer. People rush past to get to the lake, but I always pause at the arches because the brick pattern changes where the 15th-century rebuild stopped for lack of funds. The Broletto sits right behind the Duomo, sharing the same piazza, its striped stone walls a textbook example of Como architecture at its most practical and political. Arrive before noon on a weekday and you might catch a rehearsal inside, often a string quartet tuning up for a wedding later that afternoon. The loggia facing the south side was added so councilors could address crowds, and you can still see the spot where 19th-century unification speeches echoed before marching toward the port. The echo bounces strangely off the Duomo wall, locals tell children to shout their names, a habit no official tour mentions. Ask the nearby gelateria owner to point you to the side alley behind the Broletto, where medieval stonemasons cut marble for both buildings.
Basilica of Sant'Abbondio
Head uphill from the center, past Viale Innocenzo XI, and the Romanesque bulk of Sant'Abbondio rises where a 5th-century chapel once hosted pilgrims from the road to Rome. Take your time on the approach because the apse frescoes inside, rediscovered under candle smoke in the 1800s, survived because nobody bothered to whitewash them. I recommend visiting midweek, mid-morning, when only a few locals drift in after dropping kids at nearby schools. The crypt stairs are narrow and the frescoes glow brightest in winter afternoons when clouds sit low over the hill. Most tourists arrive by taxi, but the walk up from the center is half the charm, winding past the old route signs to Swabian kings and Lombard queens with Latin saints. The church saved Como's manuscripts during Napoleon's sweep, and one gospel book slipped to Varese before troops reached the main altar. Inside, the candle near the choir has been lit daily for centuries, never fully going out.
Volta Monument at the Tempio Voltiano
Piazza Camillo Volta collects the Volta monument like a shrine, and the neoclassical columns frame the genius who once made Como famous far beyond silk and marble. Locals call it the Voltiano, knowing the capacitors inside came from Pavia students just after his death in 1831. Arrive before 10 a.m. when only joggers loop the open piazza and the guards step aside inside. See the original voltaic pile itself, and note the small dock below the piazza, where hands-on school kids stamping sheets, watching the lake at their desks beyond the columns, the city's academic and artisan classes shape this monument more than aristocrats. Grown-ups then and still now stamping themselves on the piazza steps, until the 1950s came change at history. The border treaty signed here. On cloudy days, the columns turn lake grey, yet the white marble holds its gleam, the inside statue of Volta, placed decades after he died. Ask at the desk downstairs about the small library upstairs, full of letters no translation, no translation known to live here. The hill beyond the aristocratic fancies first on some, Volta's personal tools. The small tools were gathered after troops left, yet the same candle lit long ago, then 10 a.m. only joggers loop, the outer dock or collect the genius. Drawback: the exhibit labels are mostly Italian, though a small English pamphlet exists if you ask at the front desk.
Funicolare Brunate
The funicolare creaks up to Brunate, and the whole contraption has been hauling Como skyward since 1894, making it one of the oldest working lifts in Lombardy. I always load at the station on Via Bonanomi just after nine, with mists still clinging to the rails, before families and their weekend picnics pack the car. Watch the lake drop below in the first 30 seconds, sharp as a postcard you never mailed home. The original cabins were smaller, you can read about this in the tiny station museum, with photos from the 1950s showing steel cables freshly greased by hand. Most tourists step off Brunate, snap one panorama and rush back down, but the church bells from San Giorgio still ring, the pines rustle from four directions. Vista shoots a narrow stone path leads through the firs, a glass lake from there appears. Upon the lift a single half return ticket, some paper shows local tariffa, see Brunate. Arrive after nine, stations on Via Bonanomi, mists cling. In winter, the rails freeze the same curve between Como and the sky, one cable greased long ago. The side door to the station is the main, yet the funicolare whole, yet mist clings, yet families and their own history before them. Some archives in town only show tariffs greased long ago, yet to Brufani. The families half the charm about Brunate. Beyond here, no glass yet no archives. Local churches on weekends, the best half panorama.
Silk Museum (Museo della Seta) in Via Castelnuovo
Como built its fortune on silk, and this museum traces those silver threads back to mulberry leaves, steam, and river mills. Located along Via Castelnuovo, two blocks from the lake, the museum unfolds through the 19th-century factory floors where women once worked 14-hour shifts, through the deafening clatter. Most tourists never read the technical labels beside the Jacquard punch cards that programmed patterns faster than any human hand. I like Thursday afternoons when school groups leave and the weaving room falls silent. Some looms still function, just ask at the front desk for a volunteer-led demo, when the shuttle hisses across the warp and the city's oldest trade comes alive. The courtyard outside shows the drying racks on the upper floors, long retired beyond the current wooden collection for the pattern setter. Mostly small, women once worked. Mostly small, yet the punch cards behind, shuttle hissing long retired. The factory floors where women worked, some looms half full. Ask the front desk for the demo from noon, the only demo. The whole story of Como's trade, thread count and river mill, 14-hour shifts long gone. Drawback: the staircase to the upper exhibit is steep, and the handrail wobbles slightly near the top floor.
Villa Olmo and the Lakeshore Promenade
Set along the western promenade, Villa Olmo's neoclassical bulk has hosted Napoleon, Habsburg archdukes, and half of Como's political scandals since 1782. Locals jog here before work, while tourists usually only see the facade from lake ferries, never the English garden that slopes behind. Arrive at the iron gates just after dawn, when the cypress alleys remain empty and the marble reflects no flash. The rear staircase still bears a faint musket scar, rumored to be from an 1848 skirmish between Austrian soldiers and Como volunteers. Inside, the salons rotate contemporary exhibits check the city website before you go, because closures are frequent and unannounced. Most visitors skip the tree-lined gravel path that continues past the villa walls, which leads to a small stone bench locals call il pensiero, used for quiet reading. The promenade continues east toward the monument to the fallen, where evening aperitivo groups gather on warm nights, looking back at the lit facade.
Porta Torre and the Medieval Walls
At the southern edge of the old center, Porta Torre still looms 40 meters high, a stone giant from 1192 that once marked Como's vendetta against Milan. I walk past it most evenings, when street musicians sometimes set up beneath the arches and the inner stairs receive only a handful of flashlight beams. Climb the north side stairwell, narrow enough that medieval soldiers could only ascend single file, and you emerge on a terrace overlooking the rooftops. The inner chambers hosted a prison in the 1500s, and the grooves for the iron portcullis remain visible if you know where to look. The street level here gets congested around noon, especially on Saturdays when the nearby market stalls draw lines. On the south face, local university students have tagged small chalk marks that are cleaned weekly, a quiet ongoing battle that city workers shake their heads at but never fully deter.
Church of San Fedele and the Old Market
Piazza San Fedele once served as Como's grain and wool market, and the Romanesque church at its center predates the Duomo by at least two centuries. The facade is easy to miss, tucked behind fruit stalls and a newspaper kiosk, but the apse glows warm in late afternoon light. Step inside and the silence is immediate, broken only by the occasional vendor rolling crates outside. Beneath the altar, fragments of 11th-century frescoes depict scenes attributed to local followers of the Milanese school. The surrounding alleys are where fishmongers still shout prices at 7 a.m., barely noticed by most passing tourists. Locals know to purchase fresh produce before 9 a.m., because stalls start breaking down by mid-morning. The piazza gets extremely busy during Saturday's weekly market, so if you prefer a quieter experience, visit on a weekday morning when only the regulars are around.
Local tip: the small kiosk at the east edge of the piazza sells late-edition papers and train tickets, where the vendor sometimes hands out extra city maps she keeps below the counter.
When to Go / What to Know
Como is walkable, but the hills demand good shoes and some patience. Most landmarks open between 9 a.m. and noon, with many closing for riposo between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m., so plan accordingly. Ferries along the lake run year-round, though winter schedules thin out after November. The tourist information office near the funicolare station provides updated pamphlets on opening hours and temporary exhibit closures, especially during shoulder season. Arriving early almost always means thinner crowds and better light, particularly at the Duomo and Porta Torre. For hilltop sites like Sant'Abbondio, carrying water is essential during summer, as shade is limited on the walk up.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it possible to walk between the main sightseeing spots in Como, or is local transport necessary?
Yes, nearly all the central landmarks including the Duomo, Broletto, Porta Torre, San Fedele, and the Tempio Voltiano lie within a 15-minute walk of each other along flat streets. Only Sant'Abbondio and the higher neighborhoods involve noticeable uphill sections, but even those are walkable in under 30 minutes from the center.
What is the safest and most reliable way to get around Como as a solo traveler?
Walking remains the most practical option within the historic center, as streets are generally well-lit and patrolled. For lakefront or hillside destinations, the public funicular to Brunate and the local bus network operated by ASF Lines connect most points reliably between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m.
How many days are needed to see the major tourist attractions in Como without feeling rushed?
Two full days allow comfortable coverage of the Duomo, Broletto, Sant'Abbondio, Porta Torre, the Tempio Voltiano, and the promenade sights at a relaxed pace. Adding a half day for the Silk Museum and another for a ferry trip to Bellagio or Cernobia fills a balanced three-day itinerary without rushing.
Do the most popular attractions in Como require advance ticket booking, especially during peak season?
Most churches including the Duomo and San Fedele do not require tickets or advance booking and remain free to enter. Specialized museums such as the Silk Museum and the Tempio Voltiano do sell timed entry tickets online, and weekends between June and September can sell out by mid-morning. Checking the official Como tourism website for updated reservation links is recommended at least a week ahead.
What are the best free or low-cost tourist places in Como that are genuinely worth the visit?
The Duomo, Porta Torre, Piazza San Fedele, and the exterior of Villa Olmo along the lakeshore promenade are all free to access at any time. The Tempio Voltiano charges under 5 euros, and the surrounding lakeside parks and public piazzas cost nothing to explore, offering panoramic views without any admission fee.
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