COMO, a photo from Como, Lombardia

Photographer's Note

This is Como, another Lombardian small town.
I post this photo like a tribute to claudD (Jean Claude Dresch).
Once I promised him to share a railroad photo.

Como is a city and comune in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como.
Its proximity to Lake Como and to the Alps has made Como a popular tourist destination and the city contains numerous works of art, churches, gardens, museums, theatres, parks and palaces: the Basilica of Sant'Abbondio, the Villa Olmo, the public gardens with the Tempio Voltiano, the Teatro Sociale, the Broletto and the 20th century Casa del Fascio.
Como was the birthplace of a good number of historically notable figures, including the (somewhat obscure) poet Caecilius who is mentioned by Catullus in the 1st century BCE, the far more substantial literary figures of Pliny the Elder and the Younger, Pope Innocent XI, the scientist Alessandro Volta, and Cosima Liszt, second wife of Richard Wagner and long-term director of the Bayreuth Festival.

The hills surrounding the current location of Como have been inhabited, since at least the Bronze Age, by a Celtic tribe known as the Orobii. Remains of settlements are still present on the wood covered hills to the South West of town.
Around the 1st century BC, the territory became subject to the Romans. The town center was situated on the nearby hills, but it was then moved to its current location by order of Julius Caesar, who had the swamp near the southern tip of the lake drained and laid the plan of the walled city in the typical Roman grid of perpendicular streets. The newly founded town was named Novum Comum and had the status of municipium.
In 774, the town surrendered to invading Franks led by Charlemagne, and became a center of commercial exchange.
In 1127, Como lost a decade-long war with the nearby town of Milan. A few decades later, with the help of Frederick Barbarossa, the Comaschi could avenge their defeat when Milan was destroyed in 1162. Frederick promoted the construction of several defensive towers around the city limits, of which only one, the Baradello, remains.
Subsequently, the history of Como followed that of the Ducato di Milano, through the French invasion and the Spanish domination, until 1714, when the territory was taken by the Austrians. Napoleon descended into Lombardy in 1796 and ruled it until 1815, when the Austrian rule was resumed after the Congress of Vienna. Finally in 1859, with the arrival of Giuseppe Garibaldi, the town was freed from the Austrians and it became part of the newly formed Kingdom of Italy under the House of Savoy.
At the end of World War II, after passing through Como on his escape towards Switzerland, Benito Mussolini was taken prisoner and then shot by partisans in Giulino di Mezzegra, a small town on the north shores of Como Lake.
In 2010, a motion by members of the nationalist Swiss People's Party (SVP) has been submitted to the Swiss parliament requesting the admission of adjacent territories to the Swiss Confederation; Como (and its province) is one of these.
As a curiosity, the Rockefeller fountain that today stands in the Bronx Zoo in New York City was once in the main square (Piazza Cavour) by the lakeside. It was bought by William Rockefeller in 1902 for 3,500 lira (the estimated equivalent then of $637) - ))))
(from Wikipedia)

bayno, emilbo, annjackman, francio64, jusninasirun, i9l2y1m8a8t3, Vasa, brianmcc, macjake, siolaw, photoray has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

bayno (18348) 2012-01-11 5:44

Hi Serghei, train and binary are always a great theme, you have chosen a POV extreme...risk penalties here in Italy, but the result is very nice, I like the graphics of the binary, excellent quality, regards, Valter

cebe (1491) 2012-01-11 6:23

Hello Serghei,

Very well framed and composed photo, and somewhat unusual perspective on the rails thanks to an amazing point of view. (You often stand on rails when a train is approaching? Hope you are careful. Sometime people die trying to take photos from bizarre points of view, falling from a cliff or the like.) Aesthetically pleasing shot while interestingly descriptive. Details I particularly like: the train entering the station from a curve so one sees it better, and the lower arms of x-shaped rails that terminate at the same place on the frame.

Well done! Claude.

emilbo (22616) 2012-01-11 8:13

All� Sherghel!
Int廨essante enchev皻rement de rails. Chez-nous on dit que tous les chemins m鋝ent � Rome, 蓷 doit inclure les chemins de fer aussi. Belle prise de vue accompagn嶪 d'une excellente note. J'aime surtout les rails avec leurs courbes qui forme un beau graphique et l'arriv嶪 du train..
F幨icitations!... et bonne journ嶪,
Emilius

dale54 (17768) 2012-01-11 8:24

serghei hi,very good clear shot,like it alot,mainly the POV!and those colorfull buildings in BG!tfs! have a great day! dr

annjackman (23019) 2012-01-11 9:42

Hello Serghei,
An unusual POV and I am wondering whether that train is actually moving towards you! The lines of the rails make a super composition with good light and colour management. Como is a beautiful place although it rained while I was there for 3 days.
Kind Regards, Ann

holmertz (102800) 2012-01-11 11:23

Hello Serghei,
Well composed with a fine and graphically elegant foreground. The houses behind are not bad either. Generally a nice picture.
Kind regards,
Gert

Disabled_A (0) 2012-01-11 12:23

Hi Serghei,
very nice vertical composition :)
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� 麧薤蠉膰� 硾鍱� 朢勷錍毿蕻�? 賝僝鼏, 翴碫� 朢鋋蠉� "鼫豂" � 鵯𤤁�?
薃, "緪錟�, 蘹鍕� 碫�!!"
魛� �.

francio64 (39888) 2012-01-11 12:44

Hi Serghei,
how are you my dear friend?

Bella simmetria sui binari della ferrovia.
L'inserimento del treno in arrivo arricchisce la composizione, dando dinamicit� alla scena.

Ottimo lo sharp e bella resa dei colori.

TFS!
Francesco

P.S.
I am in my city at the moment!
I returned last Saturday evening. My fly had some problems of strong turbolence during the landing.

emka (158204) 2012-01-11 14:09

Hi Serghei, Interesting railway, quite nice graphic of it. But weren't you afraid of this locomotive/ it seems you stood on the rails. Haha, I was in Como too, and went by this train to Milan.

interesting capture.

warm regrads

MAlgo

siudzi (34141) 2012-01-11 15:08

Hi Serghei,

Wow! What a wonderful and unique view! Really impressive work taken with a superb graphical effect in the foreground. Bravo! Thanks for sharing.

Regards,
Malgorzata

npecanhuk (79329) 2012-01-11 16:54

Hello Serghei!
I just loved this one!
Chosen (low) pov, composition, veritcal format, black & white borders, contrasts, colors, sharpness, dof and management of light are all excellent!
Superb original idea and great photo job!
TFS - congrats,
Cheers,
Neyvan

jusninasirun (17529) 2012-01-11 19:43

Hello Serghei,
Beautiful track in the fg capturing the incoming train. I like the sharp image and bright colors in the frame.
Thanks and kind regards,
Jusni

i9l2y1m8a8t3 (4814) 2012-01-12 0:12

Hi Serghei!

A beautiful railroad photo! the Low POV gives us a nice DOF and great focus as the railroad leads directly to the incoming train. Nice colors, composition and framing! I do remember and miss this place a lot. Como is simply beautiful and stunning! TFS!

best regards,
Matt

BennyV (34748) 2012-01-12 13:05

Hello Serghei

Playful use of the tracks in the composition. Good timing (hope you got out of the way in time). I also like the format you chose here.

Benny

Vasa (515) 2012-01-12 17:31

Only compliments for that marvel thematic picture, dragi tovari� Sergej. The composition also is the best and the photo is for memory. Many thanks and best 2012!

Branko

brianmcc (6223) 2012-01-13 13:57

hi serghei,
your viewpoint in this picture is amazing. right in the middle of the action. the lines leading to the train are bold and impressive. the train is well placed and superbly sharp. great composition.
regards,
brian

s_lush (16602) 2012-01-13 22:42

Привет, Сергей!
Переплетение рельс на переднем плане придает кадру очень интересный композиционный контраст и выразительность. Это была очень хорошая идея практически лечь на рельсы и включить в композицию поезд, сам город и немного окружающих его гор. Яркий солнечный свет с нужной стороны и хорошая оптика помогли сделать отличный снимок. С чем тебя и поздравляю!
Сергей

macjake (98456) 2012-01-14 18:12

Hi Serghei
I'm a big fan of these close to the ground railway shots.
love the look of the tracks, and how the eye is naturally drawn to them, its a great leading line.
and the peach colored building stands out sharply.
lots to enjoy here.
Cheers
Craig

ikeharel (113453) 2012-01-15 2:11

Hi Serghei,
Town houses built with typical red stones, decor the BG to the coming train. The pic. is "busy" with all those wires and rails, but with a nice texture.
Very dynamic scene. Como is not so "small-town" and is a major intersection to all traffic from Italia to Switzerland and back.
Enjoy a nice sunday,
Ike

Angshu (56760) 2012-01-18 0:46

Hello Serghei
You took a risk here taking this picture as the tain approached! But I must say the symmetry with the tracks & the perspcetive works well. The pastel pink facade of the building creates a good BG for the train. Well done!
Best Regards
Angshu

siolaw (38294) 2012-01-18 20:59

Hi Serghei
The POV is excellent! It even looks quite dangerous.... who knows where this incoming train will go!
Thehouses make a good background too.
Perfect framing!
Greetings
Laurent

MJR (3360) 2012-01-24 14:42

Serghei

I love this foreground ! Well I love the whole picture too, but the near symmetry of the rails, carefully composed cropped for maximum effect, is a wonder.

The train is a worry though, are you standing somewhere safe ?!!

Lovely effects all round, I like it !

rgds
Martin

claudeD (47754) 2012-05-20 10:13

Hello serghei,

thank you very much to publish this excellent railway shot especially for me. Its really a honour to me.You did an excellent fotojob here choosing this low pov and the railways in the foreground guiding our view to the train is perfect. Very well done.TFS.

With regards from Luxembourg

JC

photoray (13981) 2013-10-07 8:15

Howdy Serghei,

Not only interesting for the modern passenger train with town buildings background, but also the double track switches in the foreground.
Though I note the rails are not quite uniform, meaning train speed through here must be very slow.

Warm regards,
Ray