One defensive project
It reads with the Baradello castle on the hill: both towers from the same period and purpose.
Maurizio Moro5153 — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Mister No — CC BY 3.0 · SebDaino — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Tomcorengia — CC BY-SA 4.0
A twelfth-century gate tower at the southern edge of Como's historic centre, and the clearest survival of the city's medieval walls. It was built in 1192 as part of refortifying Como after Milan destroyed it in the Lombard city wars, the same period in which Barbarossa rebuilt the Baradello castle on the hill to the south. The two towers read together as parts of one defensive project. What you see is a tall stone mass pierced with narrow openings, standing today in a modern square among ordinary buildings and shops. That contrast catches the eye more than the tower itself does. There is no entrance and no ticket, and the visit is a few minutes added to a walk through central Como. Combine it with Como cathedral and the lakefront, all within a short walk.
It reads with the Baradello castle on the hill: both towers from the same period and purpose.
A twelfth-century mass in a modern square among shops — the contrast is what catches the eye.
A short pause within a walk of central Como rather than a destination.
Piazza Vittoria, central Como
Como CathedralComo's cathedral is Italy's last Gothic cathedral and its first Renaissance one 7 minutes walk4.6
Giardini a Lago (Como Lakefront Gardens)Como waited roughly seventeen years to get its own waterfront back. The strip be14 minutes walk4.3
Tempio VoltianoOn Como's lakefront stands a domed neoclassical temple to no god but a scientist15 minutes walk4.3
Como-Brunate FunicularSeven minutes, five hundred metres of altitude. That is the whole of what the Co16 minutes walk4.5
Castello BaradelloA medieval tower on a hill above Como to the south, what remains of a castle reb17 minutes walk4.2Not normally. The tower is seen from outside and is not regularly opened to visitors. If you want a view from height, the Baradello castle on the hill to the south is the option, though its hours are seasonal.
It sits at the edge of the historic centre, so it pairs naturally with Como cathedral and a walk down to the lakefront. The three are within a short walk and make a comfortable morning in the city.