Broletto Como and Piazza Duomo

The Broletto is the medieval palace that housed Como's public life from the 13th century onward. In the age of the city-states it held the town assemblies, the administration of justice and the archives. A tower with a bell stood beside it, rung to call citizens to public assemblies. The Comune describes it as the symbol of the city's institutions, and it still sits in the symbolic centre, wedged between the Cathedral and the Bishop's Palace.

The word broletto itself, in the sense the official sources use it, refers to the seat of the city's institutions, the place of town assemblies, justice and archives. No founding year for the building is published on any official page, so ignore the precise dates you may read elsewhere.

Today the palace has two public uses. The Infopoint works from the ground floor on Via Pretorio, and the first floor is an exhibition space. The culture office of the Comune, reachable on 031 252352 or [email protected], runs the building.

From the middle of Piazza Duomo the Broletto is easy to read. It is a rectangular block on two floors. At street level four pointed arches rest on solid pillars. Above them run three Gothic three-light windows with slender columns.

The stone is laid in alternating bands of grey, white and red, which is what gives the building its striped look against the cathedral's marble façade. Two cornices of blind arches run across the front. The back of the palace repeats the design, with four wider arches.

Two details reward a closer look. Between the second and third windows there is a balcony, decorated with columns, per italia.it. And the pillars look oddly short, almost cut off at the base. That is not damage. The street level was raised because of the rising waters of the lake, and italia.it says that is why the once slender pillars now look short.

Yes, but only sometimes. The Comune notes that traces of frescoes with the coats of arms of Como families remain on the walls, and the exhibition hall is where you get the chance to see the interior.

The first floor is a proper exhibition hall. It is reached by stairs and by a lift, and the Comune is clear that it opens only when an exhibition is on. There are no published general opening hours for the hall, no exhibition calendar with hours in the material we reviewed, and entry charges are set per exhibition and not published in general. The practical consequence is simple. If the doors upstairs are closed, there is nothing to see that day. If they are open, the exhibition sets its own entry terms. For what is currently running, ask at the Infopoint below or contact the culture office on 031 252352, [email protected], or check the official page.

The table compares the three published sets of hours a visitor meets around Piazza Duomo: the Broletto Infopoint, the cathedral ticket sales at the same desk, and the second city info point at Como San Giovanni station. Figures come from the Comune di Como and the cathedral's own ticket page.

What To Use It For

Three things are published for this desk. It sells the paper tickets for the cathedral's ticketed visit, it is the Comune's contact for the seasonal climb of the Monumento ai Caduti ([email protected]), and it answers visitor questions by phone on +39 031 304137. Ask here whether the first-floor hall is open for an exhibition.

One timing trap: the Infopoint opens at 09:00, but cathedral ticket sales start at 10:00 and stop at 17:00, an hour before the Infopoint closes. If you arrive late in the afternoon for a choir visit, buy online instead. The station info point at Como San Giovanni offers information in English, French, German and Spanish, city maps and transport information, open daily 09:00-16:00.

Piazza Duomo is a pedestrian area and lies inside the ZTL, the limited traffic zone. You cannot drive to it or park on it. Our parking guide and map of Como cover where to leave a car.

The Broletto stands against the cathedral on the square, with the Infopoint door on Via Pretorio on the cathedral's north side. The cathedral's own address is via Maestri Comacini 6, and its tourist entrance is the Porta delle Virtù on that street. Paper tickets for the cathedral are sold at the Infopoint on Via Pretorio, or you can buy online, and the ticket opens the transept, the wooden choir, the sacristies and the upper walkways. Remember there are no ticketed cathedral visits on Sundays in 2026.

In practice the square is a place to stand and read two buildings, then walk on. The walks in Como page strings it into routes. The Teatro Sociale stands close by, and our one day in Como route strings the square together with the rest of the centre. For food and drink, look at our separate where to eat picks rather than the square itself.

The palace rewards a slow look. These five points come straight from the official sources, not from guidebook legend.

• The pillars look short and cut off because the street level was raised against the rising waters of the lake, burying part of them. italia.it
• In the age of the city-states the building held the town assemblies, the administration of justice and the archives, all under one roof. italia.it
• A bell in the tower was rung to call public assemblies, the medieval equivalent of a notification. Comune di Como
• Traces of frescoes with the coats of arms of Como families remain inside the building. Comune di Como
• No official page publishes a founding year for the palace, so any exact date you read elsewhere is not confirmed by the city. Comune di Como

The Broletto stands at Piazza del Duomo 2, inside the walled city, and the Infopoint door is on Via Pretorio beside the cathedral. No walking times to it are published, so use the map on this page for the route.

Boats from the lake land at Piazza Cavour, on the lakefront edge of the old town. Trains from Milano Cadorna end at Como Lago near the lakefront, and trains from Milano Centrale stop at Como San Giovanni, uphill from the walls, where the station info point can hand you a city map. Both routes are compared on the Milan to Como page.

By Car

Piazza Duomo is a pedestrian area inside the ZTL, which covers the whole walled city with camera gates all year. Permits are applied for online only, by category, and hotel guests have their own category. Otherwise leave the car outside, as the Como parking guide explains.

The Broletto is not a destination in itself, it is the doorway to the centre. A workable pattern is to arrive at Como San Giovanni station or the Piazza Cavour pier, walk to the square, buy a cathedral ticket at the Infopoint, see the cathedral while the desk hours allow, then continue to San Fedele and the lakefront. Our one day in Como itinerary covers the centre, and the things to do and what to see pages help you extend it.

If rain closes in, the Infopoint, the arches and our rainy day list keep the square useful. For a guided version of the same streets, the tours page lists the three options compared above.