Erasmus plus project The place where we live. Two famous Como's Square : how they were in past and the are now

1. THE PLACE WHERE WE LIVE

2. Hieverybody!
We are the Italian team and we come from Como.
Como is a city in Lombardy, in the North of Italy, near Milan .It’s
situated on Como Lake and surrounded by the Alps . For this
reason Como is a very popular tourist destination which contains
numerous works of art, churches, gardens, museums, theatres , parks
and palaces: the Cathedral with its medieval town hall and a
magnificent lakeside with lots of neoclassical villas.

3. Como,Italy
Latitude: 45°49′0″N
Longitude: 9°5′0″E

7. OUR PLACE THEN AND NOW
Since we had to show how our city has changed ,we have
decided to compare some old photos of two very
important Como squares, with pictures of the same
modern squares

8. This is an old photo of CAMERLATA SQUARE,
which was called CORSICA SQUARE.

9. Camerlata square is situated in the
southern part of Como and it connects
the city centre with the suburbs of the
town.
Even if it was an important roundabout which connected the
roads coming from Milan, Varese and Cantù, it looked quite
shabby and anonymous. So in the 1930s the city council decided
to improve the area making the square more impressive. This
project was seen as an important opportunity to qualify the
suburb of Camerlata as an element of artistic interest.
Two artists from Como were given the task to build a fountain in
the centre of the square.
Those were…

10. Como-born rationalist architect, only 31
years old when he died.
Cattaneo left an indelible mark in the
form of a handful of major buildings
(Camerlata Fountain,
Palazzo dell’Unione Lavoratori
dell’Industria in Como and others)
CESARE CATTANEO
(1912-1943)

11. Born in Como, he was an Italian painter. He
is considered to be an important Italian
abstract artist. Together with Manlio Rho,
Aldo Galli, Carla Badiali and others, he
belonged to the art group named
"astrattisti comaschi", a reference to early
European experiences of abstract art.
MARIO RADICE
(1898 - 1987)

12. However, when the fountain was built, it was
taken temporarily to Parco Sempione in Milan in
1936, on the occasion of VI Triennale exhibition

15. The fountain was taken back to Como in Camerlata, only in 1962.
Now the fountain is in the middle of the roundabout and this
photo shows how the square looks like now.

17. The apparently fragile structure is actually a “combination of rings and
spheres based on harmonious ratios,” as the two authors explain.
It is a design made of very simple geometrical shapes. The nine-meter-tall
work is perfectly balanced, even if the horizontal rings protrude from the
axes of the spheres by almost six meters.
The fountain seems quite new because it has been restored recently.

18. Although Cesare Cattaneo and Mario Radice
wanted to create an abstract sculpture, the fountain
reminds of Volta's battery because of its parallel
circles.
Alessandro Volta
(1745-1827)
Como-born physicist, chemist
and a pioneer of electrical
science

20. Piazza Cavour is the main square of Como that has acted as the centre of
events, tradecraft and a source of tourist attraction.
The piazza underwent a remarkable evolution which is important to
understand the role that it played for the development of the town of
Como.

21. During medieval times the space that now occupies the square was a marsh
near the shore with no particular interests. However, in 1335 by order of the
Visconti family from Milan, the square was transformed in a port.

23. The new port was used to handle the commercial traffic and to transport
goods. In 1869 with the appearance of the first steamboat, the port proved
to be narrow and inadequate and a decision was taken to fill the port and
transform it completely into what would result in Piazza Cavour.

24. The new square, Piazza Cavour, was adorned with a large fountain in the
centre, having a large space, showing a beautiful view of the lake and the
mountains around the lake.

26. In 1891, the fountain was sold to a private person and today it can be found
in Bronx Park, New York

28. After that, the square came to host a mixture of different
businesses, industrial and tourist activities that promoted the
progressive and dynamic face of the town of Como, including the
fact that Como was the first in Italy to introduce a fluorescent
lighting system.

30. One of the most important building in the square is
the Hotel Pension Suisse, founded under the remains of a warehouse ,was
built represents by the engineer by Tommaso Zanini in 1846. The massive
structures located at the edges of the square, were built in recent years
during the nineteenth and early twentieth century with the aim of
transforming the outlook of this square.

33. . In the twentieth century, the architect Giuseppe Terragni redesigned the
building in a newer decorative style, while at the same time remaining
traditional. The hotel was also operational during World War II, during the
occupation of the German military, and since then it has always been a
source of attraction for many tourists due to its close location to Lake
Como; it is still present in the landscape of Como.

34. Giuseppe Terragni
(1904-1943)
Famous rationalist
architect who built
lots of important
buildings in Como.

35. Until the first half of the twentieth century, the south side of Piazza Cavour
remained almost unchanged
Nowadays the wide square is surrounded by luxurious hotels, elegant cafés,
smart boutiques and is the perfect place for concerts, fairs and any kind of
events .

38. THANKS!
for your attention
-The Italian Team

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