Duomo di Como (Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta)

Como Cathedral, dedicated to Santa Maria Assunta, dominates the city’s main square. Construction began in 1396 and continued until the dome was completed in 1744, producing a building that combines Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque architecture.

Why it matters

As the seat of the Diocese of Como, the cathedral reflects nearly three and a half centuries of civic and religious building. Its façade includes statues of Pliny the Elder and Pliny the Younger, Como’s notable Roman authors, while its interior preserves paintings, sculpture and organ works associated with successive periods.

What to notice

The façade combines pointed Gothic arches and a Renaissance portal. Tommaso Rodari and his family carved parts of the portal, including the left entrance known as the Porta della Rana. Inside, Romanesque lions reused from an earlier church serve as holy-water fonts, and the Gothic marble high altar dates to 1317. Paintings by Bernardino Luini, Gaudenzio Ferrari and Pordenone hang alongside later works. The organ’s history extends from documentation in 1441 to its current configuration, built by Balbiani Vegezzi Bossi in 1932 and restored by Mascioni in 1998.

Context and history

Lorenzo degli Spazi was the first documented architect when construction began in 1396. Pietro da Breggia continued the work, and Florio da Bontà began the façade in the 1460s. In the sixteenth century, Cristoforo Solari modified the main apse, adding Renaissance features. The dome, designed by Filippo Juvarra, was completed in 1744, closing a building campaign that had lasted roughly 350 years.