Festival locations

Teatro Sociale Arena

Via Bellini

The Teatro Sociale Arena was used for open-air performances and cinema until the 1960s, when it closed to become a car park.

In view of the theatre’s bicentenary in 2013, restoration and renovation work began in 2010 on the area, the south façade and the backstage area. Behind the stage, in fact, back in the area used as a passageway and warehouse, there was the ‘scenic tower’, built in the 1930s by engineer Carlo Ponci, to host the open-air performances of the Arena space (capable of holding up to 4000 seats), and which had become a ruin due to disuse and neglect.
With the demolition of the tower, today we can admire in all its restored original splendour the rear façade, designed and realised by architect Luigi Canonica, to whom the Sala Canonica was dedicated.

Teatro Sociale of Como

Piazza Verdi

The Teatro Sociale was founded in the year Giuseppe Verdi and Richard Wagner were born (1813). In 1811 construction work on the theatre began and the project was entrusted to architect Giuseppe Cusi, who had worked with architect Canonica on the construction of the Teatro Carcano. On the evening of 28 August 1813, the curtain of the Teatro Sociale di Como was raised for the first time: on stage were Adriano in Siria by Antonio Fonseca Portugal and I Pretendenti delusi by Giuseppe Mosca. In the years that followed, the theatre underwent numerous renovations and modernisations (electricity, gas), as well as an extension with the addition of 38 boxes and the construction of the fifth tier. The current painting of the ceiling vault, depicting the muses descending from Olympus to crown the artists, is the work of Eleuterio Pagliano based on a design by Gaetano Spelluzzi, executed during the 1855 restoration. The hall is currently shaped like a cello case and the walls have a wooden structure with 5 tiers of seats, of which: 3 orders for the 72 privately owned boxes, in addition to the royal box, and 2 orders for the galleries (4th and 5th order). With a programme agreement signed in 2005 by the Società dei Palchettisti, AsLiCo, the Lombardy Region, the Municipality and the Province of Como, the theatre once again underwent careful restoration work, which involved the stuccoes, the vaulting, the stage and, recently, the complete replacement of the stalls seats.

Baradello Tower

Via Castel Baradello, 5 – Como

The Baradello Castle is located inside the Spina Verde Park, in Como. It stands on a hill on a splendid panoramic position, to the north over Lake Como and the Alps, to the south towards the Po Valley and the city of Milan. The fortification of the Baradello hill has very ancient origins: Emperor Federico Barbarossa had the castle rebuilt in 1158, on the remains of earlier Byzantine buildings from the 6^th century. In the same period in the 12^th century, the Castle Tower was erected.

The imposing tower is visible from a considerable distance and is a landmark for the first basin of Lake Como.

Villa Grumello Park

Via Per Cernobbio, 11-19 – Como

Villa Grumello, also known as Villa Celesia, is one of the historic villas overlooking Lake Como. It stands along the road from Como to the near Cernobbio. The Park, with its romantic setting, rises with a view of the city and is at the same time immersed in the enchanting landscape of Lake Como. It covers 4 hectares and is crossed by paths that, at various levels, highlight different parts of the Park. It is also the heart of the Chilometro della Conoscenza, a cultural network uniting the estates of Grumello, Villa Olmo and Villa Sucota/Fondazione Antonio Ratti.

Sheraton Lake Como Hotel Park

Via Per Cernobbio, 41A – Como

Sheraton Lake Como Hotel Park is characterised by its enchanting location between the picturesque Rhaetian Alps and the dense blue waters of Lake Como. With an extension of 11.000 m², the Park is the ideal place to enjoy the beauty of Lake Como at any hour: from the early morning through the afternoon to the evening, its wide-open spaces provide wonderful views of the cityscape.

Hilton Rooftop

Via Borgo Vico, 241 – Como

The Hilton Rooftop is the terrace of the new Hilton Lake Como, with the infinity pool overlooking the lake. In sunny weather, the outdoor terrace is the best spot in town to enjoy breathtaking views of Lake Como and town. A new hospitality and entertainment concept in the Larian context, with a focus on design and architecture, the balance between outdoor and indoor spaces, thanks to the furniture and large windows that filter daylight and sunset. From every side of the rooftop, at any time of day, the view of the lake is evocative.

Soc. Coop. Edificatrice Como

Via Viganò 12

Villa Olmo Park

The villa, in Neoclassical style, was commissioned by Marchese Innocenzo Odescalchi and built on a 17th-Century property called “Dell’Olmo” (of the elm) due to the presence of a centuries-old tree, no longer standing. Work began in 1782 under the direction of the architect Innocenzo Ragazzoni but, later, the Odescalchi family turned to the more famous Simone Cantoni, who managed to complete the building in 1789, while the lateral bodies (later demolished) were added in 1796. The following year, the villa was inaugurated by Napoleon who came there with his wife Josephine and sister Elisa, while in 1809, Ugo Foscolo also stayed there. When Innocenzo Odescalchi died in 1824, the villa passed to the Raimondi family, then to their heirs the Visconti di Modrone. In 1925 the villa was purchased by the Municipality of Como, which inaugurated it in 1927 with the great Voltiana Exhibition. Since then, it has been the centre of cultural activities in Como, where concerts, theatre performances, conferences, debates and exhibitions are organised. Since 1982 it has also been home to the Alessandro Volta Centre for Scientific Culture.

Negretti Park

Via Negretti, 4 – Como

Located between Via Guido da Como and Via Palma, Negretti Park occupies the concave space of an old quarry and is one of the most beautiful parks in Como: is a true ‘green lung’ within the surrounding conurbation and represents the largest green area in the Rebbio district.

Its extension is home to a variegated flora of herbaceous and arboreal plants, including elms, hornbeams and birches, to which the so-called ‘mulberry room’ was added in 2013, with the planting of 24 Morus alba trees, in memory of silkworm breeding linked to the Como silk production.

What’s more, the Park is home to the Youth Aggregation Centre ‘Oasi’, an important meeting point for youngsters in the municipal area.

Fallen Soldiers’ Monument

Via Giancarlo Puecher

Rationalist Monument to the Fallen Soldiers of Como of World War I.

The War Memorial was realised in the early 1930s after a series of unsuitable designs. During a visit to an exhibition of Antonio Sant’Elia’s work at the city’s Broletto, Filippo Tommaso Marinetti suggested constructing the commemorative tower from a drawing by Sant’Elia. First Enrico Prampolini was involved in the architectural transformation of the drawing, then Attilio Terragni and finally, when it was well advanced, Giuseppe Terragni.

Hotel Villa Flori

Tavernola, Via Traù