Isola Comacina, Lake Como's only island: how to get there and what to expect
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Lake Como has exactly one island, a few minutes by boat from Tremezzina. It's called Isola Comacina, it's uninhabited, and for centuries nobody has built anything permanent on it. Not by chance: the story starts with a medieval war and ends with a bishop's curse that people still quote today.
This isn't a ferry timetable. It's what's worth knowing before you go, built on facts we could verify, without inventing schedules or prices that change every season.
How to get there
The island is reachable only by boat, from the landings at Ossuccio and Sala Comacina, both along the SS340 Regina road, a little further toward Como than Mezzegra. There are two ways across: the scheduled ferry run by Navigazione Laghi, or a private water-taxi service that runs by booking and is quicker.
Crossing times, frequency and fares change with the season, so we don't list them here: check the day before on the official sites of Navigazione Laghi and the water-taxi service, not on this page.
Without a car, you can reach Ossuccio or Sala Comacina on the same bus that runs along the western shore: it stops in both villages.
A story of war and a curse
In the Middle Ages the island was a fortified stronghold, loyal to Milan on a lake otherwise divided. When Milan lost its war against Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, Como took its revenge: in 1169 its militia, allied with the emperor, invaded the island and destroyed it, to make sure it could never threaten Como again. Local tradition puts the number of churches razed at nine.
The following year the Bishop of Como, Vidulfo, pronounced a curse forbidding anyone to rebuild: no bells were to ring again, no stone was to be laid on stone. The island has stood uninhabited ever since: what you see today are the ruins of that destruction, not a village abandoned recently.
What is left to see
The archaeological park holds the remains of several medieval churches and basilicas, including the Basilica of Sant'Eufemia with its crypt. The church of San Giovanni, rebuilt in the Baroque period, is the only building still standing whole.
- Basilica of Sant'Eufemia, with its crypt
- Church of San Giovanni, the only building still whole
- Remains of other medieval churches and chapels scattered across the island
Beneath the medieval ruins lie older traces: Roman-era walls and a colonnade, mosaics, and the remains of a paleo-Christian baptistery. The island was inhabited well before the war of 1169, with several layers of occupation stacked on top of each other.
Every year, toward the end of June, for the Feast of San Giovanni, the island takes centre stage again with a fireworks re-enactment of the 1169 fire. The exact date changes every year and is announced by the Comune di Tremezzina, not on this page.
The honest limits, before you go
There is currently no working bar, restaurant or toilet on the island: anyone visiting the archaeological park should bring their own water and wear sturdy shoes, since the ground among the ruins is uneven. Entry to the park requires a ticket, sold at the Antiquarium or from an automated kiosk on the island.
This isn't an outing for a lakeside lunch: for that, the villages of Tremezzina are still there, before or after the crossing.
An addition to your stay, not the centre of it
Isola Comacina is a half-day out, not a whole stay: it pairs well with a trip to Ossuccio or Sala Comacina, or with the climb to the Sacro Monte, which looks down on it from among votive chapels that face the island directly. With the car left parked at the residence, it's only a short stretch of the state road away.
