Light does half the spectacle here. It glides in the morning over the lake's water, catches the villas on the shores and traces the ridges of the Pre-Alps that close the horizon. Como occupies the southwest tip of the lake bearing its name, and travellers who make a stop there during a circuit of the Italian lakes find a rare balance between heritage, panoramas and Lombard ease of life.

From Landing to Old City

Boats deposit their passengers on the lakefront, steps from the historic centre. Arcades and plazas chain together at once, animated by terraces where the aperitivo is served from late afternoon on. The grid plan inherited from the Romans keeps orientation easy: a few streets suffice to reach the Cathedral, and the whole can be toured without hurry in a morning.

The Cathedral: A Three-and-a-Half-Century Building Site

Begun in 1396 and completed only in 1744, the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta tells by itself the evolution of Italian architecture. Its façade marries Gothic lacework to Renaissance balance, while the eighteenth-century dome crowns the whole. Entry is free, something become rare in Italy, and the interior merits lingering for its tapestries and the coolness of its great naves.

Silk: The City's Discreet Fortune

From the fifteenth century onward, Como enriched itself by weaving the silk that clothed European courts, and great fashion houses still source there. The silk museum displays looms, dyes and ancient fabrics, and explains how a mountain city became the capital of a thread from China. The centre's shops sell locally woven scarves and ties, a useful souvenir if ever there was one.

Brunate: Balcony of the Alps

The port-call's highlight awaits at the end of the lakefront: the funicular that climbs to Brunate in about seven minutes. The village perches at 715 metres and its nickname of the Alps' balcony is no exaggeration: the view plunges over the city's roofs, the lake's indentation and, in clear weather, the Alpine chain to the snow-capped peaks. Easy trails extend the promenade among Art Nouveau villas and hanging gardens. Budget an hour and a half round trip, more if the panorama holds you, which it almost always does.

Around the Plazas: Lombard Life

Descended from the funicular, allow yourself an aimless ramble through the pedestrian streets. The Piazza San Fedele and its Romanesque basilica, the fashion shops that recall Milan's proximity, the pastry shops where the region's sweets reign: all invite you to slow down. With gelato cone in hand, you follow the medieval walls that subsist here and there, vestiges of a city long disputed among Milan and its rivals. Residents venture out late in the day for the ritual of the passeggiata along the quays, and joining them is likely the simplest of the activities offered here, as well as one of the most pleasant.

The Lake as an Option

Depending on the schedule, regular boats connect nearby Cernobbio or push toward Bellagio, Varenna and Menaggio in the heart of the lake. These crossings rank among Europe's finest inland navigations, but they demand time: Bellagio is earned in a good hour of navigation. Short port-calls will content themselves with the spectacle from Brunate, which embraces all at a single glance.

When the Mountains Turn Pink

Evening comes, the Cathedral's bells answer the sirens of the last boats, and the mountains take on that rosy tint that Lombard painters sought so much. You leave Como with images flooding your head and a quiet certainty: Italian lakes are not really visited, they are tamed, and a first stop always calls for the next.