Isola Comacina Things to Do Tips by tpal

Charming But Sadly Alone

When you explore Isola Comacina you have to wonder why the ancient Byzantines of the area thought it was such a great idea to build seven churches on this tiny island. I'm sure there's an historical scholar out there who could explain it but while we were there I just keep wondering, "What were they thinking?". Apparently the conquering people of Como weren't too hot on the idea either as they destroyed all the churches in 1169. Oddly there are ruins of churches and little other evidence that anyone actually lived there.

In any event, the Church of San Giovanni was built in about the 17th century. Still there didn't seem to be any immediate parishioners and hence it too was abandoned. There were several plaques posted amongst the graffiti referring to restoration efforts but work appears slow. And what a shame. The little church is wonderfully charming on the exterior and the interior. The doors were locked but I was able to capture it's faded beauty through the barred windows. If you look closely you can see the construction materials left inside waiting for efforts to resume.

Address: On Isola Comacina

Directions: Accessible only by boat. There are a limited number of ferry boat trips to the island so be sure to check the ferry boat schedule.

Ruins, Ruins and More Ruins

Isola Comacina has been inhabited since Roman times though there's not much easy evidence of this. There are, however, plenty of ruins. It seems the Byzantines found the island the perfect place build churches...lots of churches. In fact, they built a total of seven. This was great until 1169 when the State of Como decided to conquer the island and destroy nearly all of them. The ruins are spread all over the island but this one seemed the easiest for us to explore. The photo is of the apse of the Basilica di Sant' Eufemia which was built on the ruin of a Roman structure.

At first it seemed confusing because of the windows. Generally, an apse is pretty solid down low with windows only above. Now comes the speculation: I think what can be interpreted as windows are really penetrations in the niches to afford a view of the lake beyond. In any event, it's easy to imagine statuary located in each niche now long lost. For an archeological want-a-be like myself, this is pretty good stuff.

Directions: Accessable only by boat.