Comacina Island is the only island on Lake Como and lies opposite Sala Comacina and Ossuccio. Today it is an archaeological site with the ruins of the basilica of Sant’Eufemia.
History
From at least the late Roman Empire the island was a fortified centre. Its defences were strengthened in the Byzantine period, in the 6th century; in 588 it was taken by the Lombards of Autari. In 1031 Bishop Litigerio founded the basilica of Sant’Eufemia here, a Romanesque church with three naves and a crypt, over a 5th-century oratory. According to tradition, before 1169 the island had nine churches.
During the ten-year war between Como and Milan (1118–1127) the island sheltered the Como exiles and sided with Milan. In 1169 it was destroyed to its foundations: Bishop Vidulfo pronounced an interdict forbidding rebuilding and the ringing of bells, and only the Benedictine abbey with the small church of San Giovanni Battista was spared. The excavations of Ugo Monneret de Villard (1914) and Luigi Mario Belloni (1958–1978) brought to light remains spanning from the Roman era to the 16th century.
From abandonment to the 20th century
In 1919 Augusto Caprani left the island to King Albert I of Belgium; the following year it was donated to the Italian State through a charitable body, with the aim of turning it into an artists’ village. In 1939 three artists’ houses were built to a design by Pietro Lingeri, followed by an inn in 1964. In 1925 Alfred Hitchcock had shot some scenes of “The Pleasure Garden” here.
What to see
- The ruins of the basilica of Sant’Eufemia.
- The Baroque oratory of San Giovanni.
- The remains of the early Christian baptistery.
- The antiquarium with finds from the excavations.
The festival of San Giovanni
On the Sunday closest to 24 June the island is the focus of the festival of San Giovanni, with a boat procession and fireworks. Thousands of floating lights, the “lumaghitt”, recall the evacuation of 1169.
Along the Greenway
The island is not a stop on foot: it is seen from the stretch between Sala Comacina and Ossuccio. It is reached by boat from Sala Comacina, Ossuccio and the Lido di Ossuccio. The island is part of the comune of Tremezzina.