After finishing a site meeting in Como, I had time to explore some Romanesque monuments on Lake Como, that I have wanted to explore for some time. The lake was crowded, but the monuments were mostly deserted.
Basilica di Sant'Abbondio, is on the outskirts of Como, next to the railway sidings. The present building dates from 1095. It has like all these churches, been modified over the centuries, and was restored to the Romanesque style in the la Ninetieth Century. Entering the building, we see the two column capitols with two cats staring down at us. A window on the Apse, also depicts a ferocious cat.
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| Basilica di Sant'Abbondio, Como |
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| Basilica di Sant'Abbondio, Como |
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| Basilica di Sant'Abbondio, Como |
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| Basilica di Sant'Abbondio, Como |
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| Basilica di Sant'Abbondio, Como |
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| Basilica di Sant'Abbondio, Como |
The interior is very simple, plain and elegant, but one is immediately struck by the frescoes at the end of the church. I liked the Three Kings, sharing a bed, with an angel telling them to go.
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Basilica di Sant'Abbondio, Como
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| Basilica di Sant'Abbondio, Como |
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| Basilica di Sant'Abbondio, Como |
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| Basilica di Sant'Abbondio, Como |
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| Basilica di Sant'Abbondio, Como |
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| Basilica di Sant'Abbondio, Como |
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| Basilica di Sant'Abbondio, Como |
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| Basilica di Sant'Abbondio, Como |
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| Basilica di Sant'Abbondio, Como |
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| Basilica di Sant'Abbondio, Como |
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| Basilica di Sant'Abbondio, Como |
The Twelfth Century "Chiesa di Santa Maria del Tiglio", in Gravedona, at the North end of the lake is worth fighting through the horrific traffic on the narrow road to reach. It served as a Baptistry as well as a church. The walls of this building are over two metres thick at the base. It is in a lovely location by the lake.
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| Chiesa di Santa Maria del Tiglio",Gravedona. |
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| Chiesa di Santa Maria del Tiglio",Gravedona. |
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| Chiesa di Santa Maria del Tiglio",Gravedona. |
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| Chiesa di Santa Maria del Tiglio",Gravedona. |
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| Chiesa di Santa Maria del Tiglio",Gravedona. |
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| Chiesa di Santa Maria del Tiglio",Gravedona. |
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| Chiesa di Santa Maria del Tiglio",Gravedona. |
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| Chiesa di Santa Maria del Tiglio",Gravedona. |
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| Chiesa di Santa Maria del Tiglio",Gravedona. |
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| Chiesa di Santa Maria del Tiglio",Gravedona. |
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| Chiesa di Santa Maria del Tiglio",Gravedona. |
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| Chiesa di Santa Maria del Tiglio",Gravedona. |
The Last place I managed to fit in on my Architectural tour of Lake Como, is the splendidly isolated Abbazia di Piona, like many religious buildings it is in a wonderful spot on the lake. It was founded in the Twelfth Century, and is mostly late Romanesque.
The outstanding part of the complex is the Cloisters, with some nice decorated Column capitals. The church is not rectangular, but grows narrower as it proceeds towards the Apse, to give an optical illusion of space. The Cloisters are irregular too.
One of the monks saw me taking pictures, and stopped to show me some little details that I would have missed, including the builders initials carved on the last column to be completed.
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| Abbazia di Piona |
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| Abbazia di Piona |
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| Abbazia di Piona |
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| Abbazia di Piona |
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| Abbazia di Piona |
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| Abbazia di Piona |
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| Abbazia di Piona |
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| Abbazia di Piona |
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| Abbazia di Piona. The initials of the builder |
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| Abbazia di Piona |
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| Abbazia di Piona |
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| Abbazia di Piona |
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| Abbazia di Piona |
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| Abbazia di Piona |
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| Abbazia di Piona |
For this series of pictures I used my Nikon 24PC and a Laowa 15mm shift lenses. Details were shot on a Z28-400, which is brilliant for this task. It was a good day. I used my tripod for these shots and in this and the other places, nobody objected.
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