Basilica di San Carpoforo, Como

The Church of San Carpoforo is a special, silent place. The visit takes a maximum of half an hour, and is easily reachable both on foot from the city center and by public transport. San Carpoforo represents the historic soul of Como. It was in fact the first basilica of the diocese and the first cathedral. Built in the 4th century at the behest of the first Bishop, San Felice. The first Christian community was born around this Church. Of classic Romanesque architecture, it has undergone many renovations over time, so little remains of the very first construction. A peculiarity is that there is no main entrance (apparently because the church, built at the foot of the mountain on which the Baradello Castle stands, has collapsed several times) but only two lateral ones: one from the cloister of the adjacent monastery and one from the opposite side. The interior of San Carpoforo composed of three naves is simple and austere (but this is precisely the most interesting feature!): the ceiling in the main nave is made of wooden trusses, in the lateral ones cross-shaped, the bare walls, the floor in slabs gray made with local stones. You will find only one fresco at the back of the Church which dates back to the 18th century and which represents the baptism of Jesus

Stupendous!