Cathedral Cities of Italy

by W. W. Collins

COMO

ON a flat piece of land at the southern extremity of Italy's most beautiful lake, the ancient Lacus Larius, stands a city whose history dates back to the days when a Grecian colony nestled at the foot of the mountains which lie east and west of the modern Como. Numerous relics of Roman days found at different times, testify to the truth of the younger Pliny's letters that the Comum Novum of Julius Cæsar was in a flourishing condition during the writer's life, and enjoyed all the privileges attached to a municipium.

At the present day Como is best known as a starting-point for tourists who board the steamers at the quay and leave their decks at one of the many delightful spots which fringe the shores of a lake whose attractions cannot be overwritten. The sun shines on an endless panorama which changes every minute as the steamer pants over the blue waters, breaking up and dispelling the reflections of verdure-clad slopes and stern crags which lie mirrored on the surface. Hamlets like Nesso cling to the rocks and bridge the orriao or torrent, as it enters the lake in a foaming cascade. Monster hotel settlements like Bellagio and Cadenabbia lie further up the water, opposite to Varenna with its golf course and English caravanserai. Little is left to remind one of those bloody sixteenth-century days when Il Medeghino from his stronghold of Musso ruled the lake, and with his fleet of seven big ships and countless smaller craft blockaded the City of Como, held for Charles V. by the Marquis of Pescara, and compelled the Spaniards to come to terms. Nothing more warlike nowadays ruffles the serenity of the waters than the evil-looking little dogana craft which flash their light along the shores, sweeping every tiny bay in search of contrabbandieri. Though much could be written about the internecine wars the mountains have seen, it is not with Gian Giacomo de' Medici this chapter is concerned, but with the city itself, which lies away out of sight of the great corsair's Castle of Musso.

The Cathedral of Como, built entirely of marble, was commenced in 1396 from the plans of Lorenzi de' Spazi. The west façade, begun in 1460, was finished by Tomaso Rodario in the last few years of that century. It is Italian Gothic, with the exception of the three doorways, which are rich Lombard work; and, like all façades of the same style in Italy, has the appearance of simply facing or being stuck on to the building itself. Despite the adornment of statues and bas-reliefs, scrolls and arabesques, it has a very severe and flat look, which is unrelieved by the recesses containing busts of the two Plinys on either side of the central doorway, or the deep-set windows and canopied niches above. A fine wheel window occupies a position above the principal door and between these is a good Gothic screen with figures in five niches flanked by a couple of windows on either side.

The north side of the façade adjoins the Brotello, through the arches of which one reaches the north doorway. This is decidedly good. The porch is supported by elegant pillars and adorned by arabesques with birds, animals, and other figures. It was executed from designs by Rodario, and with the south portal possesses all the merit that good Renaissance work gives to both. The windows of the aisles are beautifully ornamented with decoration of the same character, and the slender pinnacles with their pierced galleries, albeit they remind one in their whiteness of the superior pieces of an ivory chess set, break the line of the roof in a most agreeable manner. The dome lacks proportion and is of the over-done style of French eighteenth-century work.

The interior of the cathedral is Gothic and Renaissance. The nave and aisles belong to the earlier date. The groining is good, but spoilt, as is generally found to be the case throughout Italy, by gilded and coloured bosses which mar the otherwise simple effect of the vaulting. The transepts and choir are Renaissance, and though the sympathies of the northman are more with the sterner style, it must be owned that in Como's cathedral the scheme of decoration found in these is more fitting and better of its sort than in the Gothic half of the building. At the west end of the nave stands the circular Baptistery attributed to Bramante, close by which are a lion and lioness, the former grasping a deer and the latter suckling her young. They support the two holy water basins. Among the pictures of interest which the cathedral contains is a good Bernardino Luini of the Virgin, and two glazed and framed frescoes of the Nativity and Adoration by the same hand.

The illustration shows the Brotello or old town hall, and the pinnacles and north walls of the Cathedral. The Brotello is faced with banded black and white marble, the common device for exterior walls in most Italian Gothic churches, and in this case justified by the beautiful colour it has taken on with age. The building stands mellowed by the hand of Time, a memorial of the days of the old Italian Republics; and its counterpart existed in every Lombard city. Above the arches, under which the good citizens were wont to discuss the affairs of their town while sauntering to and fro in the cool shade, is the great hall wherein the chief of the municipality assembled. From the window in the centre access was obtained to the bar, or ringhiéra outside, from which addresses were delivered to the crowd below, who in constitutional language formed the parliamento and from whom the powers of government emanated.

Two of the old city gateways still exist, the latter of which, the Porta del Torre, leading out on the high road to Milan is to-day but an empty five-storied shell. The old walls may be traced even now on the three sides of the city away from the water-front. But for these there is very little left to show the extent of a place which was once a serious rival to Milan. The staple industry is stone-working, for which the Comaschi have for centuries been widely known. In former times Como was justly celebrated for the products of its looms, excelling in number those at Lyons. Nowadays it exports the raw silk; the looms have sadly fallen off and diminished, and small industries have taken the place of those that brought considerable wealth to the pockets of its merchants.