CITY DESTINATION: An Overlook to The Como Cathedral in Northern Italy

 By Jorge R. Jefferds August 14, 2021

The clear architecture of the Cathedral overlooks the historic center of Como and imposes itself on the sight of the traveler who arrives to the city from the four corners of the globe.

Located not far from the lake shore, due to its proximity to the ancient Episcopal Palace overlooking a dock, it is the strongest historical sign of the period in which Como, through the Lario communication routes, was a city of connection between the Center and the North: Europe and Italy. The architecture, sculptures and paintings of the dome document the encounter between transalpine figurative culture and Italian schools.

The Cathedral, whose edification began in 1396, was built in successive phases over three and a half centuries, the dome having been completed in 1744. The articulated and complex architecture merges interpretations of space and different stylistic expressions in a single building. The continuity of the construction over time (the Gothic facade and naves were built in the 15th century, the presbytery and side apses in the 16th century, and the dome in the 18th century) has maintained a harmony renewed from time to time, connecting the layout of the new parts to the proportions defined in the previous epoch.

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The architecture of the Cathedral represents a joyful case of harmonization of the different historical periods in which it was built. The subsequent stylistic phases (Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque) are mutually accorded by the wisdom of the architects and the expertise of the workers who labored there.

On the three Gothic naves, with pointed arches and ribbed cross vaults, built in the fifteenth century, the three Renaissance apses were grafted, built between the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Thereafter, a dome was foreseen which, after many unrealized projects, Filippo Juvarra raised under late baroque drawing.

Just like the Milan Cathedral, the name of the architect who designed the Gothic factory is not known for that of Como. In fact, the first attested name is that of an architect from the Intelvi Valley, Lorenzo degli Spazi, employed by the Fabbrica del Duomo in Milan, who came to Como for consultancy. It was Pietro da Breggia from Como who oversaw the elevation of the pylons and the roofing of the vaults. Florio da Bontà (1460-1463) from Como initially began the construction of the façade. The Milanese Luchino Scarabota is the architect who completed the rose window and the main spire on the façade.

To complete the numerous statues on the façade, Tommaso Rodari da Maroggia from Ticino on Lake Lugano was called in 1484. Three years later, Rodari was appointed engineer of the factory and continued to produce sculptures until 1526, the year of his death. With his brothers Giacomo and Donato, together in his workshop they completed: the sides of the basilica, all the portals with the lunettes dedicated to the Childhood of Jesus, including the splendid Porta della frog, the statues of the apostles on the internal pillars, up to the setting of the main apse on a project modified by Cristoforo Solari known as the Gobbo who introduced the classical style with fluted semi-columns of Corinthian and composite order, entablatures and round arches.

Interiors

In the Cathedral there are precious tapestries and sculptures of different stylistic phases already in the previous basilica: the Romanesque lions readjusted as a holy water font and the high altar with Gothic reliefs in white marble from 1317, the sarcophagi of Bishops Avvocati († 1293) and Bonifacio da Modena († 1352); the Renaissance altars in carved and originally painted stone, three of which by Tommaso Rodari, the altars of Sant'Abbondio and the Crucifix of the Pavese carver Giovan Angelo del Maino, the Baroque altar of the Madonna by Gerolamo Quadrio built around the statue of Tommaso Rodari; the stuccoes of the apse calotte with the figurative scenes of the Assumption by Francesco Silva and the Resurrection by Agostino Silva, the Evangelists by Gaspare Mola di Coldrerio in the spandrels of the dome, the neoclassical sculptures by Pompeo Marchesi (central apse and altar of St. Joseph).

Among the painters of the sixteenth century, Bernardino Luini, Gaudenzio Ferrari, Antonio Sacchiense from Pordenone, and Morazzone from the seventeenth century stand out. Remarkable are decorations of the vaults by Carlo Fontana and Francesco Gabetta (1839) and the stained glass windows by the Bertinis (19th century).

Organs

The oldest evidence on the organ of the Como Cathedral dates back to 1441. The ancient instrument was the subject of various adaptations and repairs in the 16th century, until the Antegnati, masters of Renaissance and Baroque organ-making, intervened. Costanzo Antegnati attributes the construction of the organ "which is still played at present" (1608) to the ancestor Bartolomeo.

From 1625 to 1642 the chest of the left aisle was built, in the structure that we still see today. In it Giovan Battista Olgiati arranged, in 1647, the reeds, bellows and wind chests of the instrument already present in the Cathedral.

In 1649 the structures of the right case were also completed, where a new organ was installed, created by the Jesuit William Hermans, consisting of two superimposed sound bodies: the Large Organ with 14 stops and the Small Organ with 8 registers. The inauguration of this work took place on 25 March 1650, the feast of the Annunciation.

The Cathedral of Como thus possessed two instruments placed in two different cases: the “Maggiore” or southern one and the “Minor” or northern one. Restorations and revisions followed in the history of the following centuries: in 1808 Hermans’ organ was renovated by Giuseppe Antonio and Carlino Serassi; in 1862 Antonio De Simoni carried out a general cleaning and some additions to Hermans’ organ. At that time, the organ of the Duomo had three keyboards, 56 registers and a pedal board with less than 20 keys.

In 1887 Marco Enrico Bossi, organist and teacher of the Chapel, promoted a radical makeover of all the sound bodies of the Cathedral: the "Major" organ was placed in the right case, built from three bodies for a total of 55 registers and over 3000 pipes; the "Minor" organ with 24 registers and 1067 pipes was placed in the left case.

The inauguration of the new complex took place on May 26, 1888. The current organ complex was built by the Balbiani Vegezzi Bossi house in Milan in 1932, consisting of 58 sound registers for 5460 pipes. The "Grand Organ" is placed in the old chest on the left; the “Positivo” and “Recitativo” (expressive) organs are in the right case. The "Eco" organ is located in the "Carpano" room above the left sacristy.

In 1934, a "Choral" organ was added (9 registers and 933 pipes) placed in the center of the choir stalls in the main apse and from here transferred, in 1981, behind the altar of the Crucifix, to the left apse.

The restoration that ended with the inauguration on 12 May 1998 was carried out by the Mascioni organ building, a Varese house with an ancient and glorious artistic tradition, which had already worked in the Como cathedral in 1928.

Latest interventions have expanded the ensemble with a further 122 pipes that correspond to two reed registers: the "Cromorno" of 8 'in the "Choral" organ and the "Chiarina" of 4' in the "Grand Organ".

Therefore today the instruments of the Cathedral have 69 sound registers and 6515 pipes.

In parallel with the cleaning of the left transept, the "Choral" organ was overhauled in 2015. Thanks to the donation of an anonymous benefactor, the original console with three keyboards (1932) has been restored, put back into operation and placed in the left apse while the modern "console" with four keyboards (1986) is now placed in the nave, in proximity of the pillar that supports the wooden balcony of the "Grand'Organo".

Visits to the Como Cathedral can be performed anytime between 8am and 19pm Monday through Friday. It is always possible to take photographs (as long as it is for personal use and not for commercial purposes) with the exception of moments when Mass is celebrated. If you are looking forward to participating in sacraments and liturgy, consult the official website www.cattedraledicomo.it/en/home-2 for more information.