---
node: spot_lake_como_como_cathedral
type: spot
slug: como_cathedral
destination: dest_lake_como
title: "Como Cathedral"
lead: "Como's cathedral took nearly four centuries to build, from 1396 to the dome of 1744, and passes from Gothic through Renaissance to Baroque as you move through it. Two Roman writers stand on the facade, either side of the door."
published: 2026-08-12
updated: 2026-08-12
image_file: spot_lake_como_como_cathedral.jpg
image_source: "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cathedral_of_Como_(Italy)_west_facade.jpg"
image_author: "Eebie"
image_license: "CC BY 4.0"
---

## Overview

The statues are the elder and younger Pliny, both born in Como, and putting pagan authors on a cathedral front was an unusual civic decision even for the Renaissance. The nave is Gothic, the transepts and apses are Renaissance, and Filippo Juvarra's dome closes it in the eighteenth century, which makes the building a section through Italian architecture. Sixteenth-century tapestries from Ferrara and Florence hang along the nave.

## Highlights

Stand at the west end and look up the length of it to see the three periods in one line. The Plinys are at eye level on the facade and easy to walk past. The cathedral is two minutes from the ferry pier and the funicular, so it fits into the gap between boats without planning.