Today marked another foray into Italy this time to Como which sits on the Swiss-Italian border and is about 20 minutes away from Riva San Vitale. We got into the city late morning and started our personal tour from Hans. The first building we saw was called Novocomum by architect Giuseppe Terragni in 1929. It is a housing complex that is considered to be some of the first modern architecture in Italy. It had some nice moments but without seeing inside the apartments I couldn't form a real opinion on it.
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| Novocomum |
Next, we walked down to the water of Lake Como to see the Monument of the Fallen which is dedicated to the lives lost in World War I and was also completed by Giuseppe Terragni. It was a beautiful memorial completed in granite and marble. I enjoyed the location and the material and how the whole siting came together. We sat at the lake's edge and ate lunch and basked in the beautiful weather. It was nice not to have to go go go.
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| Monument of the Fallen |
Once lunch was finished, we walked around the lakeside to the Monument to European Resistance which is dedicated to those lost in World War II. It was a series of stairs of varying designs that each led up to its own platform. I didn't wholly understand the significance but it was interesting nonetheless. We continued to walk through the city crossing the old town. It showed quite a bit of Roman influence. We stopped for a brief look into Como Cathedral which was huge. We couldn't go inside so we kept on.
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| Como Cathedral |
The main building we planned to see is the Casa del Fascio completed in 1936 by Giuseppe Terragni. It was designed as an administration building for the National Fascist Party of Italy. It was very rationally designed. The exterior facades hint at what occurs on the interior. We couldn't go inside but we photographed all that we could. We carried on with the tour passing through a couple gates of the medieval walls that protected Como in the 12th century. One was Torre San Vitale and the other was Porta Torre. They were very imposing.
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| Casa del Fascio |
The last stop of the day was the Asilo d'Infanzia Sant' Elia which is a kindergarten that was once again completed by Giuseppe Terragni in 1937. This school is about large open spaces and natural light while connecting the children to the outside. It is a beautiful design and concept. I wish I had anywhere near this many windows in my high school. We finished touring the school fairly quickly since we were all very tired. We called it a day and went home.
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| Asilo d'Infanzia Sant' Elia |
The next day trip will be to Milan to the Salone del Mobile and Triennale on either Saturday or Sunday.
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