Photograph of Benvenuto Puricelli the current owner of the Locanda Della Comacina on Lake Como Italy

Photograph of Benvenuto Puricelli the current owner of the Locanda Della Comacina on Lake Como Italy. A history which goes back for centuries. The real importance of the Isola Comacina starts in the year 569 when the Lombards invaded Italy subtracting it to the control of the Byzantine Empire. All of Italy? No. On the Isola Comacina General Francione defends the Empire for about ten years. In this time, the small island is covered with houses, churches and fortifications and is called Cristopolis as a British priest had brought the Holy Grail to the island. During the Middle Ages, the island increases its economic and political importance and starts to entertain friendly relations with Milan. In 1118, the legendary war between Como and Milan begins, with the island allied with Milan. In 1127, Como looses the war and the Isola Comacina became the biggest political center in the region. Como then rose again with the protection of the Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa. In 1169 the warriors of Como, with the help of Barbarossa, invaded the island resulting in carnage and destruction. The fortifications were demolished in order to not be rebuilt, churches are razed except one. Furthermore, the island was excommunicated by the bishop of Como Vidulfo: "The bells will not ring any more, no stone will be put upon stone, no one will ever host again someone on the island or he will die a violent death." Since then, nobody came back for centuries to build or live on the island. After the World War I, the island was given to the King of Belgium Albert I, who ordered the construction of houses for Artists. The construction of houses was interrupted by the sudden death of the King of Belgium. In 1947, regardless of the curse that hung on the island, Carlo Sacchi and Sandro De Col, contacted Lino Nessi proposing him to build a Restaurant on the island. Suddenly, Sandro De Col tragically lost his life in a speedboat accident and Carlo Sacchi was killed by his girlfriend. Lino Nessi, frustrated, was about to abandon the project, but the English writer Francis Dale suggests him the exorcism of fire. Since then, every time someone honors the table of the Locanda, the ritual of fire is hold. That's the reason for the flambeed Liqueuer Coffee you are about to enjoy on your visit to the most famous Locanda della Comacina on Isola Comacina, Lake Como Italy