Saint Abbondio Cloister
The building complex is one of the best examples of Romanic Lombard architecture of the region. It was reopened in 2007 with a concert of Orchestra 1813 after eight-years restoration. At present, it holds the Faculty of Jurisprudence, University of Insubria.

Villa Olmo
The neoclassic Villa Olmo was commissioned by Marquis Innocenzo Odescalchi: its name is due to a secular elm (i. e. olmo) in that estate, no longer present. In 1797 the villa was inaugurated by Napoleon, on a visit with his wife Josephine and sister. In 1809 even the Italian poet Ugo Foscolo stayed there. The Town council bought it in 1925 and inaugurated it in 1927 with a great exhibition dedicated to Volta. Since then, the villa is the centre of Como cultural activities, where concerts, performances, symposium and exhibitions regularly take place. Since 1982 it is the seat of the Scientific Cultural Centre A. Volta.

Villa Grumello
Originally called ‘Castellazzo’, Villa Grumello looks at the lake with its park: with its secular plants, it has a sweet atmosphere and a great harmony. Built during the XV century, it was before owned by the Odescalchi family, after by the Giovio’s and finally by the Celesta’s. Among the others, Giordani, Monti, Volta and Foscolo have been entertained in this wonderful venue. Villa Grumello has been recently restored and today has returned to its ancient beauty: it is occasionally used for conventions, courses and business meetings.

Teatro Sociale di Como
It was founded in 1813, the same year of Giuseppe Verdi and Richard Wagner’s birth. Built from the ruins of a XII century castle, the building of the theatre started in 1811 and the architect Giuseppe Cusi drew the project. On the night of the 28th August 1813 the curtain of Teatro Sociale of Como raised for the first time: on stage Adriano in Siria of Antonio Fonseca Portugal and I Pretendenti delusi of Giuseppe Mosca. Many restoration works were made after: in 1855 extensions, in 1864 gas, 1899 electricity. In 1855, the architect Leopoldo Raspini enlarged the theatre with 38 boxes. To build the fifth gallery, the loggione, the theatre was raised and the original 1813 vault destroyed: it had been made by Alessandro Fiori and represented the incoronation of Vittorio Alfieri. Actually, the auditorium is U-shaped with 5 floors, consisting of 72 private boxes, the Royal box and 2 galleries. In 2005, Società dei Palchettisti together with As.Li.Co., Regione Lombardia, Comune and Provincia di Como, restored the theatre, including the vault, the stage and the seats in the parterre.

Casa del Fascio
Casa del Fascio is one of the masterpieces of Italian Rationalism, built by Giuseppe Terragni between 1932 and 1936: it is an elegant and well-proportioned semi-cube, each side of which presents a skilful alternated system of filled and empty spaces. The doors on the main frontage and the massive use of glass and concrete blocks blur the limits between interior and exterior and let in more light. The transparency of the structure is emphasized by the light effects, reflecting and duplicating images, that enhance the idea of volume and space available.

La Gallietta Gardens
The palace was built between 1626 and 1629 for Marco Gallio in Sant’Agostino square. It is completely independent from the lake and the garden surrounding the palace was created for recreation. The interior decors are frescoes by Giovan Battista Recchi. The building, originally made of the main entrance and a pavilion with a porch, was later enlarged: in 1790 Flaminio Della Torre di Rezzonico added the side wings, in 1858 i Braghenti’s enlarged and added a floor to the building, although preserving the character of a town building.

Piazza Verdi
The new Piazza Verdi was inaugurated in December 2009. It is surrounded by important buildings belonging to different historical moments, but here connected in a real unicum. On the northern side, a medieval Tower; on the southern side, Teatro Sociale, built in 1813 and founded on the ruins of the historic Castello della Rotonda. On the East side, the geometric rigor of Como’s Rationalist symbol, the Casa del Fascio, the ‘glass house’ at present seat of the Financial Police Dept. The circle of Piazza Verdi is ideally closed on the West side by the imposing mass of the Cathedral.

Town Museum
The first exhibition of scientific instruments and antiques was set up in two rooms of the Classical Highschool in Como, but the collection was soon to large to be held there. In 1897 the Town Museum was inaugurated in the palace that had been owned and lived by the Giovio’s. The medieval building was enlarged during the XVI century by Benedetto Giovio; it was then modified by Giovan Battista during the XVIII century (as it appears today), according to the canons of Lombard Late Baroque. The frescoes of the second floor are also painted in the XVIII century style: Sala Perrone is decorated with mythological scenes by Giovan Battista Rodriguez; Sala Barelli with trompe l’oeil designed by Giuseppe Coduri Vignoli. At first rented for the Museum, the palace was acquired by the town council in 1913. The archaeological collection rapidly increased, on behalf of many local researchers and well-known scholars. At present, excavations and researches continue updating and enlarging the Museum’s collections.

Tempio Voltiano
The Temple was built on the shores of Lake Como in 1927, in honour of the centennial of Alessandro Volta's death: it became a museum displaying a series of instruments built by the great scientist, destroyed by the fire of 1899 during the Great Exhibition for Volta in Como. Designer, developer and financier of the construction was the entrepreneur Francesco Somaini. Designed by Federico Frigerio, it has a neoclassical style and refers explicitly to the Pantheon: the form of a quadrilateral neo-classic temple, preceded by a spacious Corinthian pronao with the statues of Faith and Science; inside the vast circular room is surmounted by a dome.

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