Cantù in the Middle Ages

Cantù - Cantù is a large Lombard center in the province of Como; rises 369 meters above sea level and has 38,000 inhabitants. Universally known for the manufacture of fabrics and for the flourishing furniture industry, Cantù hides a medieval heart. Isolated among the pines stands the extraordinary medieval complex of Galliano, a small suburb on the outskirts of the city.

Masterpiece of the pre-Romanesque style then expanded over the centuries. The basilica has a much higher staircase inside than the other churches because the presbytery is very high compared to the nave and this suggests that already in the fifth century there was an early Christian basilica on site; then on the occasion of the millennial in 1700 it was enlarged and transformed just as we see it today. The basilica represents a mix of cultures, creating a kind of multi-ethnic culture; in the frescoes, for example, Christ is represented with a kind of trousers and shoes, an image never present in Byzantine representations. The figures of the archangels alongside are also completely original. The cultures of the other side of the Alps, Byzantine, Ottonian and Carolingian come together, forging a spectacular avant-garde synthesis. Another medieval symbol in Cantù is the bell tower of San Paolo, an ancient defensive tower located at the highest point of the village. The village was equipped with walls as early as 1000, when it was at war with Como and Barbarossa. Then the walls expanded in 1320 during the lordship of Gaspare Grassi who had 35 towers built, not all with a defensive function but as an ostentation of power by the noble families.