Como Chameleon

Part of the Couture Club!

This is a wonderful and magical place. We spent a fantastic day touring the old town and cruising the lake.

Como changes so quickly from ancient city, first developed by the Romans, to modern centre for silk and fashion. And as quickly from fishing and tourism as a means to flourish, to a bastion of Gothic and Baroque religious architecture.

The winding streets have their roots firmly in the past, changing little over the centuries, but the businesses within them have kept pace with the demands of this part of Italy's emergence as the couture centre of Europe. Alessandro Volta lived here while developing his battery in 1800.

Towering high above the lake is Brunate, reached by funicular railway. I think Michael Portillo would have enjoyed this journey nearly 1 km up the mountain. We had a lovely lunch in a restaurant teetering precariously on the edge of the precipice.

Lake Como is vast, stretching nearly 50 km to one end and branching out to form an inverted Y shape. Along her banks perch the villas of the rich and infamous, many left empty for years, but some having new life breathed into them.

Our guide (who we had entirely to ourselves) was a fount of information and regaled us with stories and history in equal measure. We learned about the families from Milan and Rome who built the amazing houses along the shore, and about some of the celebrities who now occasionally inhabit them.

Sadly Geroge was not at home today.