Como (Italian: [ˈkɔːmo] ⓘ,[3][4] locally [ˈkoːmo] ⓘ;[3] Comasco: Còmm [ˈkɔm],[5] Cómm [ˈkom] or Cùmm [ˈkum];[6] Latin: Novum Comum) is a city and comune (municipality) in Lombardy, Italy.

[7] Como was the birthplace of many historical figures, including the poet Caecilius mentioned by Catullus in the first century BCE,[8][9] writers Pliny the Elder and Pliny the Younger, Pope Innocent XI, scientist Alessandro Volta,[10] and Cosima Liszt, second wife of Richard Wagner and long-term director of the Bayreuth Festival, and Antonio Sant'Elia (1888–1916), a futurist architect and a pioneer of the modern movement.

[citation needed] The hills surrounding the current location of Como were inhabited, since at least the Iron Age, by a Celtic tribe known as the Orobii, who also, according to Pliny the Elder and modern scholars, had relations with the Ancient Ligurians,[11][12] a people very similar to the Celts.

In the areas of the districts of Breccia, Prestino and the neighbouring towns of San Fermo della Battaglia and Cavallasca there were also settlements of the Golasecca Culture,[13] built in the Iron Age.

The town centre was situated on the nearby hills, but it was then moved to its current location by order of Julius Caesar, who had the swamp near the southern tip of the lake drained and laid the plan of the walled city in the typical Roman grid of perpendicular streets.

Under Lombard rule, Como continued to flourish, particularly due to the reconstruction of Queen Theudelind's road, which connected Germany and the Italian Peninsula, providing the town with strategic access to commerce.

Despite resistance from parts of the feudal nobility of the diocese, this pact quickly extended to the entire free male population of the town.

Tensions escalated when Emperor Henry IV appointed Landolfo da Carcano, who sympathized with Milan, as the bishop of Como.

Despite his exile, Landolfo continued to interfere in Como's affairs, prompting the town to besiege his castle under the leadership of consul Adamo del Pero.

The war is well-documented thanks to an anonymous poet who recorded the events in a poem titled "Liber Cumanus, sive de bello Mediolanensium adversus Comenses".

When the Guelph communes organized the Lombard League to oppose the Holy Roman Emperor, Como maintained its Ghibelline alignment.

Subsequent agreements in 1191 and 1216 saw Emperors Henry VI and Frederick II extend additional concessions to Como, similar to those made in the Peace of Constance to the cities participating in the League.

The Rusca quickly became the most influential family in Como, with several members attempting to establish a lordship over the town with varying degrees of success.

[29] Thanks to this success, the family secured titles such as Lords of Como, Bellinzona, Chiavenna, and Valtellina, as well as Counts of Locarno, Lugano, and Luino.

Following Loterio's death, the next notable family member was Franchino I Rusca, who established a personal lordship over Como and its territories and became an imperial vicar.

The people of Como sought to regain their administrative freedom, and an opportunity arose in 1402 when Gian Galeazzo Visconti, Duke of Milan, died.

However, this did not end the political unrest, and a period of conflicts and massacres ensued until Como once again fell under the control of Filippo Maria Visconti, becoming part of the Duchy of Milan in 1416.

[29][30] In January 1449, Francesco Sforza, who claimed the title of Duke of Milan (though the city was under the control of the Ambrosian Republic), sent Giuseppe Ventimiglia to attack Como.

These events, known as the Battles of Cantù and Asso, culminated in March 1450 when Como was defeated following the fall of the Ambrosian Republic, due to exhaustion and lack of resources.

[33][34][35] Situated at the southern tip of the south-west arm of Lake Como, the city is located 40 kilometres (25 mi) north of Milan; the city proper borders Switzerland and the communes of Blevio, Brunate, Capiago Intimiano, Casnate con Bernate, Cernobbio, Grandate, Lipomo, Maslianico, Montano Lucino, San Fermo della Battaglia, Senna Comasco, Tavernerio, and Torno, and the Swiss towns of Chiasso and Vacallo.

According to the Köppen climate classification, Como has a humid subtropical climate (Cfa); until the late 20th century winters used to be quite cold, with average daily temperatures well below freezing;[36] recently, occasional periods of frost from the Siberian Anticyclone have been recorded; however, due to global warming average temperatures in winter have gradually risen since the turn of the 21st century, reaching a record high of 21 degrees Celsius (70 °F) on 27 January 2024;[37][38] spring and autumn are well marked and pleasant, while summer can be quite hot and sultry.

The executive body is the City Committee (Giunta Comunale), composed of 9 assessori each overseeing a specific ministry, that is nominated and presided over by a directly elected Mayor (Sindaco).

As a consequence, manufacturing is no longer the economic driver, and the city has been absorbed into Milan's metropolitan area where it mainly provides workers to the service industry sector.

For these reasons, tourism has become increasingly important for the city's economy since the late 1990s, when local small businesses have gradually been replaced by bars, restaurants and hotels.

During the Palio del Baradello, the town is divided into its historical wards called "Borghi" (in Lombard: "Burgh"[53]) Tavernola,[54] Quarcino,[55] Rebbio, Camerlata,[56] Cernobbio,[57] Cortesella[58] and Sant'Agostino.

[60] The final day of the festival consists of a grand parade where all the participants march across the town in medieval costumes, accompanied by animals, wagons, and replicas of siege engines, culminating in a ceremony where the emperor announces to the public which ward won the competition.

The oldest testament of this symbol comes from the year 1619 when the historian Francesco Ballarini wrote that the people of Como at the time were already using the motto in the town's coat of arms.

[61] It is thought that this motto emerged when the town of Como was liberated from the Milanese occupation with the help of the Holy Roman emperor Frederick I Barbarossa.

Around the 12th Century, the city started to fly a version of this banner that included the word "LIBERTAS" in the bottom right corner, as represented in the town's heraldic achievement.

The lakeside funicular connects the centre of Como with Brunate, a small village (1,800 inhabitants) on a mountain at 715 m (2,346 ft) above sea level.