Basilica di San Fedele (Basilica of Saint Fidelis), Como (must see)

Saint Fidelis, Carpophorus, and Exanthus are celebrated as saints and martyrs in Como. One story goes they were three soldiers bent on converting pagans around Como. All the stories end the same way; martyrdom in the reign of Diocletian.

The Basilica of Saint Fidelis is dedicated to this third-century martyr. The church, located in the San Fedele Square in the city center of Como, was erected in 1120 over a Christian church from the 7th century, dedicated to Saint Euphemia, also a martyr.

The building features a Romanesque architectural style. The ceiling is a barrel vault with a bone-arched pediment. The Neo-Romanesque facade has a central rose window. The front was rebuilt by architect Antonio Giussani in 1914. The square-sided bell tower, erected in 1120, was rebuilt in 1271 after an earthquake. It was demolished and rebuilt again in 1905.

The interior has three naves and three apses covered by a dome and bounded by an ambulatory with medieval votive frescoes. The Chapel of the Crucifix features a fresco painted on the apse by Isidoro Bianchi in 1623. The paintings contain God the Father, the risen Christ, saints, bishops, angels, and archangels.

In the south aisle, four paintings illustrate scenes of the Passion by painter and engraver Carlo Innocenzo Carloni. In the north aisle chapel, there are 17th-century frescoes of the life of the Virgin Mary and the Visit of the Magi. In another chapel is a 1504 triptych by painter Giovanni Andrea De Magistris of Madonna with Child.