A Symbol Of Modernist Architecture in Como: The Camerlata Fountain

The Camerlata Fountain is one of the landmarks of the city of Como and an important example of 1930s modernist architecture and art. Designed in 1936 by Cesare Cattaneo, an architect, and Mario Radice, an abstractionist painter, the fountain is in a strategic transit area at the entrance to the town, in the Camerlata district. Its shape is immediately recognisable: large rings and spheres intertwine in an abstract geometric composition that almost seems to float in space.

Cattaneo and Radice described the fountain as “a work of pure decoration, an exaltation of beautiful forms obtained with geometric perfection… with no pretensions to literary symbolic content or functional purpose”. This statement is fundamental to understanding the nature of the fountain: it is not a work designed to convey political or symbolic messages, nor to have a practical function, but simply to celebrate the beauty of pure geometric forms.

The collaboration between Cesare Cattaneo and Mario Radice was no accident. The two were an integral part of the artistic and architectural movement that transformed Como in the 1930s into one of the most important centres of Italian rationalism. This movement, which sought to apply logic and rationality also to art and architecture, focused on simple lines, geometric shapes and a close link between aesthetics and functionality.

Cesare Cattaneo was one of the leading exponents of rationalism. Young and brilliant, he firmly believed that architecture should respond to practical but also aesthetic needs, finding intrinsic beauty in geometric forms. His works were distinguished by the clarity of lines and the use of architectural elements that enhanced simplicity and order. Collaborating with Radice, Cattaneo also sought to give his constructions a decorative apparatus that went beyond pure functionalism.

Mario Radice, for his part, was an artist linked to abstractionism, a movement that sought to move away from figurative representation and concentrate on pure forms and colours. For Radice, art had to express the essence of things, not their outward image. In the Camerlata Fountain, the spheres and rings are arranged abstractly and harmoniously, evoking a sense of balance and lightness to which the artist attempts to give form.

The Camerlata Fountain is not just an isolated work of art, but part of a larger urban and architectural context. In the 1930s, Como was a vital centre for rationalism, a movement that had found its highest expression in the Casa del Fascio, designed by Giuseppe Terragni and considered one of the most representative works of modern architecture in Italy. The Casa del Fascio, located in the centre of Como, and the nearby Torre Littoria, which stands not far from the fountain, visually dialogue with the latter. If the Littoria Tower represented an idea of power and monumentality, the Camerlata. Fountain, with its light and abstract forms, offered a more poetic and less imposing alternative, while remaining within the same modernist current.

Cattaneo and Radice’s work is not just an element of urban decoration, but represents the desire to create a modern Como, a city in which art and architecture blend into a single language. The fountain’s abstract forms respond to the idea that beauty can be simple and that geometric purity is an artistic value in itself. The Camerlata Fountain plays a significant role in the history of Como. At a time of great change, both politically and socially, this fountain became a symbol of the city’s modernity. While Como was known for its natural beauty and its lake, with the advent of rationalism the city also began to develop a more contemporary architectural identity.

Over the years, the fountain has become a landmark for Como residents and visitors alike. The work has been restored several times to preserve its integrity and ensure that it continues to play its role as a symbol of the city. Cesare Cattaneo and Mario Radice’s work is part of a broader context of artistic and cultural renewal in Como in the 1930s. The city, already renowned for its villas and historical heritage, became a centre of experimentation for abstract art and modern architecture. Radice and Cattaneo were deeply attached to Como and influenced its modern face. Radice, with his wall paintings for the Casa del Fascio, and Cattaneo, with his architectural designs, helped to create an environment in which art and architecture could dialogue in an innovative way. Their collaboration was part of a broader movement that sought to make Como a laboratory of modern ideas and forms.

The Camerlata Fountain, therefore, is not just a simple decorative fountain, but a work that encapsulates the meaning of an era and an artistic and architectural movement. It continues to be a symbol of modernity, innovation and geometric beauty and purity, a work that embodies the vision of two great protagonists of Italian modernism.