The wings of the dragonfly that take shape on the ground as a tribute to Pliny the Elder’s Naturalis Historia, the lateral bastions, the white slide (which is not a staircase but the re-enactment of the ancient port) largely immersed in the high water of the lake of Como after these weeks of rain but above all the (almost) totally free horizon on the first basin.
After the pompous and essentially useless inauguration of a few centimeters of pavement last March, the new face of Piazza Cavour – the fulcrum of the renewed city lakefront – has now taken shape, net of the fences that still separate the walkway further towards the road from the dock, but now free from the maxi barge and all the other work vehicles that have been parked for a long time in front of the city, obscuring the most classic view of Como.
Another step towards the end of the construction ordeal which lasted 16 years and capable of swallowing something like around 35 million euros has therefore been taken. Now ‘only’ the completion of the promenade that coincides with the Lungo Lario Trento, where the works are still underway, is missing.
Then the entire front will finally be returned to the city, with the seal of the underground installation of the so-called manual anti-flood benches, currently only present on the Lungo Lario Trieste.
Once again, of course, an inauguration is planned. Perhaps – hopefully – the last of an infinite sequel. The completion date of the intervention which began on 8 January 2008 is next 4 July, when the ribbon cutting should be the (almost) definitive one for the return of the entire lakefront to the city, with the exception of a small area around one of the two bastions surrounding Piazza Cavour due to a delay in materials.
