Broletto di Como (Old Town Hall), Como
The Old Town Hall鈥攍ocals call it the Broletto鈥攈as been keeping Como鈥檚 civic life in order since 1215, when mayors still wore robes and citizens were summoned by the clang of a bell in its tower. The name comes from brolo, Latin for a walled garden, the sort of space where people once gathered to settle disputes or hear the latest decrees. Here, decisions that shaped the city were made beneath marble arches while the crowd pressed in below.
Take a look at the fa莽ade: not a uniform wall but stripes of white, gray, and pink marble from the nearby quarries, like the city鈥檚 own patchwork signature. It mixes Romanesque solidity with Gothic flourishes, and later centuries layered on Renaissance touches too. Originally, a grand tower stood tall beside it, a symbol of civic pride; now only fragments remain, but you can still sense its presence.
Time, as always, reshuffled the building鈥檚 role. Once the neighboring Cathedral began expanding, the Town Hall had to bend to its grandeur. It later doubled as a theater and even stored the city鈥檚 archives. By the 20th century, restorers stripped back the alterations, coaxing it closer to its medieval outline.
Today, wedged between Cathedral Square and the great church, the Town Hall has found a new purpose鈥攏ot in councils and proclamations but in art shows, exhibitions, and concerts. If the Cathedral is Como鈥檚 soul, this former town house provides the civic heartbeat: striped marble, wide arches, and a history that shows it has never been just for admiring but always for living the moment.
Take a look at the fa莽ade: not a uniform wall but stripes of white, gray, and pink marble from the nearby quarries, like the city鈥檚 own patchwork signature. It mixes Romanesque solidity with Gothic flourishes, and later centuries layered on Renaissance touches too. Originally, a grand tower stood tall beside it, a symbol of civic pride; now only fragments remain, but you can still sense its presence.
Time, as always, reshuffled the building鈥檚 role. Once the neighboring Cathedral began expanding, the Town Hall had to bend to its grandeur. It later doubled as a theater and even stored the city鈥檚 archives. By the 20th century, restorers stripped back the alterations, coaxing it closer to its medieval outline.
Today, wedged between Cathedral Square and the great church, the Town Hall has found a new purpose鈥攏ot in councils and proclamations but in art shows, exhibitions, and concerts. If the Cathedral is Como鈥檚 soul, this former town house provides the civic heartbeat: striped marble, wide arches, and a history that shows it has never been just for admiring but always for living the moment.
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Broletto di Como (Old Town Hall) on Map
Sight Name: Broletto di Como (Old Town Hall)
Sight Location: Como, Italy (See walking tours in Como)
Sight Type: Attraction/Landmark
Guide(s) Containing This Sight:
Sight Location: Como, Italy (See walking tours in Como)
Sight Type: Attraction/Landmark
Guide(s) Containing This Sight:
Walking Tours in Como, Italy
Create Your Own Walk in Como
Creating your own self-guided walk in Como is easy and fun. Choose the city attractions that you want to see and a walk route map will be created just for you. You can even set your hotel as the start point of the walk.
Como Introduction Walking Tour
The Roman writer Pliny the Younger once wrote to his friend, 鈥淲hat is the news from Como, mine and your delight?鈥� Como is a place of palaces, churches, gardens, temples, museums, and parks. Its nearness to the spectacular Lake Como and the Swiss and Italian Alps has made the area a traveler鈥檚 delight from the time of Pliny the Younger to the present day.
Pliny wasn鈥檛 its first fan,... view more
Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 2.6 Km or 1.6 Miles
Pliny wasn鈥檛 its first fan,... view more
Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 2.6 Km or 1.6 Miles
Como Lakeshore Walking Tour
English novelist Mary Shelley declared visitors to Italy are in danger of becoming: "enjoyers of the beauties of nature, the elegance of art, the delights of climate, the recollections of the past, and the pleasures of society." All this she found on the shores of Lake Como. From Roman writer Pliny the Younger onward, visitors and natives of Como would have agreed.
The alpine lake is... view more
Tour Duration: 1 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 2.1 Km or 1.3 Miles
The alpine lake is... view more
Tour Duration: 1 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 2.1 Km or 1.3 Miles