Piazza del Duomo

The guide to Piazza del Duomo in Como opens in 1215, when mayor Bonardo da Cadazzo chose this corner for the striped marble Broletto, the town hall where merchants argued prices and judges heard cases beneath open arches. It follows what happened once the cathedral beside it began rising in 1396, and how the two buildings' competing claims on the same ground played out over the following centuries. You'll hear how records show the town hall being trimmed back to make room for the growing church. Stand where the two facades now meet and look for the line between them.