Dongo (

Comasco Comasco (), anglicized as Comasque, is a dialect belonging to the Western branch of Lombard language, spoken in the city and suburbs of Como. Comasco is part of the Comasco-Lecchese dialect group. History The Comasco dialect evolved as a co ...

: ) is a ''

comune A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the City status in Italy, titl ...

'' in the

Province of Como The province of Como (; Comasco dialect, Comasco: ) is a Provinces of Italy, province in the Lombardy region of Italy. It borders the Switzerland, Swiss cantons of Ticino and Grisons, Grigioni to the north, the Italian provinces of Province of ...

in the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

region

Lombardy The Lombardy Region (; ) is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in northern Italy and has a population of about 10 million people, constituting more than one-sixth of Italy's population. Lombardy is ...

. It lies on the northwestern shore of

Lake Como Lake Como ( , ) also known as Lario, is a lake of glacial origin in Lombardy, Italy. It has an area of , making it the third-largest lake in Italy, after Lake Garda and Lake Maggiore. At over deep, it is one of the deepest lakes in Europe. ...

between

Gravedona Gravedona ed Uniti is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the province of Como in the Italy, Italian region of Lombardy, located about north of Milan and about northeast of Como. The municipality of Gravedona ed Uniti contains the ''frazione, fr ...

and Musso at the mouth of the Albano. It is north of

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

and about northeast of

Como Como (, ; , or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como. Nestled at the southwestern branch of the picturesque Lake Como, the city is a renowned tourist destination, ce ...

. It was in Dongo, on 27 April 1945, that

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 un ...

and other fascists, fleeing from

towards

Valtellina Valtellina or the Valtelline (occasionally spelled as two words in English: Val Telline; (); or ; ; ) is a valley in the Lombardy region of northern Italy, bordering Switzerland. Today it is known for its ski centre, hot spring spas, bresa ...

, were captured by Urbano Lazzaro and other partisans. Dongo borders the following municipalities:

Colico Colico (Comasco, Comasque: or ; ) is a town and comune in the province of Lecco, in Lombardy in northern Italy. It is situated on the northern arm of Lake Como, where the river Adda (river), Adda enters the lake. Colico is the largest town i ...

Consiglio di Rumo Consiglio di Rumo is a ''frazione'' of the ''comune'' of Gravedona ed Uniti, Province of Como, Lombardy, northern Italy, located about north of Milan and about northeast of Como, on the border with Switzerland. It was a separate ''comune'' until ...

, Garzeno, Germasino, Musso, Pianello del Lario, Stazzona.

Main sights

Palazzo del Vescovo

The Palazzo del Vescovo (Palace of the Bishop) was erected in the 17th century by the family of the

Marquis A marquess (; ) is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German-language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman with the rank of a marquess or the wife (or wido ...

Cossoni. In 1854, Carlo Romanò, the Bishop of Como, acquired the building from the Cossoni family. In 1983, the Town of Dongo purchased the building. The citizens of Dongo, assisted financially by the Comunità Montana Alto Lario Occidentale, initiated the complete restoration of the Palazzo shortly thereafter. Still bearing its original name, the building currently houses the Civic Institute of Music "Alto Lario", and, since December 2003, the International Piano Academy Lake Como.

Palazzo Manzi

The Palazzo Manzi, facing across the main square on the lake front, now serves as the ''Municipio'' (centre of civic administration) for the ''comune''. Its ground floor houses the ''Museo della Fine della Guerra'' (Museum of the end of the war), reopened after refurbishment in April 2014 and formerly known as the ''Museo della Resistenza'' (Museum of the resistance). The museum provides audio and visual displays relating to the

partisan Partisan(s) or The Partisan(s) may refer to: Military * Partisan (military), paramilitary forces engaged behind the front line ** Francs-tireurs et partisans, communist-led French anti-fascist resistance against Nazi Germany during WWII ** Ital ...

movement in Dongo and the north Como area from the time of the Italian armistice in September 1943 up to the end of the war, and more specifically to the capture of

Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his overthrow in 194 ...

and other fascist leaders at Dongo in April 1945, and their subsequent execution.La Storia Ricomindi in Dongo, leaflet issued by the Museo della Fine della Guerra Dongo, April 2014.

Twin towns

Dongo is twinned with

Arromanches-les-Bains Arromanches-les-Bains (; or simply Arromanches) is a Communes of France, commune in the Calvados (department), Calvados Departments of France, department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy Regions of France, region of north-western ...

in Normandy.

References

External links