The Lariosaurus

Do you remember Scotland's famous monster, Nessie, which lives in the lake of Loch Ness?

Lake Como also has got its monster. It is a glacial lake, very old and deep. A legend says that a strange creature lives into its deep waters. It is the Lariosauro!

A fisherman first saw something mysterious in the lake in 1949. In 1957, a diver in a Bathysphere saw a strange beast in the lake at a depth of 328 feet. It had a head like a crocodile and feet like a reptile.

In 1830, a fossil of a reptilian creature with a short neck and flippers was discovered at Perdelo on Lake Como.

Fishermen were afraid of the Lariosauro...

...it still lives in the deep water of Lake Como...

...the strongest and bravest men did not manage to catch it.

 An extinct type of nothosaur, the 2-foot-long fossil was classified as Lariosaurus balsami in 1847.

Baradello Castle: Napo Torriani

There is a terrific story about Baradello Castle...

Many years ago there was a struggle among the Torriani, Rusconi, and Visconti families.

As a result, a bloody episode occurred: Napo Torriani, defeated in Desio in 1277 by Archibishop Ottone Visconti, was held for 19 months in a cage hanging outside the tower.

The unlucky man died of starvation.

When you look at the Castle you can image the cage still there, hanging outside the high tower.

Carlo Linati,

writer

Carlo Linati was born in Como on April 25th, 1878.

He is the most famous Como's writer.

He lived in a big house called Villa Cantalupa, which is very near Como Rebbio Primary School.

He died in Rebbio, our neighbourhood, on December 11th, 1949.

Carlo Linati

Villa Cantalupa

He had got a donkey and a goat

He loved nature

He loved writing and reading. He met important writers and translated some of Yeats's works.

"Cantalupa" is the title of his autobiography.

It comes from the name of his beautiful villa.

Carlo Linati