Stories from Lake Como
Isola Comacina: history, destruction, and legend
Small and green in front of Ossuccio, Isola Comacina concentrates centuries of history in a few hectares. Today it is uninhabited and preserves important archaeological remains.
A contested fortress
In the early Middle Ages, the island was a Byzantine stronghold and resisted the Lombards until 590. During the Ten Years' War, it sided with Milan against Como.
In 1169, the people of Como, allied with Frederick Barbarossa, destroyed it. Bishop Vidulfo forbade its reconstruction: from this episode arose the legend of a curse against anyone who inhabited the island. The destruction is documented history; the curse belongs to tradition.
Archaeology and fire ritual
On the island, one can see the remains of the Basilica of Sant’Eufemia and the church of San Giovanni. In the twentieth century, three houses for artists were built based on a rationalist design.
The Sagra di San Giovanni, on the Sunday near June 24, commemorates the fire with fireworks and lanterns. In 1920, the island passed to the Italian State and was entrusted to the Accademia di Brera.
