Lugano to Lake Como and Brunate: Private day trip

Como has long been a place of historical significance. It was the arch-nemesis of Milan, birthplace of Pope Innocent XI and scientist Alessandro Volta, and an early adopter of the printed word. One of the city’s oldest structures, the 4th century San Carpoforo, was built on a former temple to Mercury, and houses the remains of Saint Carpophorus and other local martyrs. The famous Gothic cathedral is flanked by statues of the famous, local born comaschi Pliny the Elder and Pliny the Younger, and the neoclassical Villa Olmo, has housed Napoleon, Franz Ferdinand I, Giuseppe Garibaldi, and other eminent figures. To best experience the natural wonders of Lombardy, take some extra time to ride the funicular from Como to nearby Brunate, 715m up a mountain. Como is so renowned that in 1902 William Rockefeller purchased the fountain from the main square and moved it to the Bronx Zoo.