The “Treasure of Como” is being exhibited to the public

It will soon be possible to admire the “Treasure of Como“, or at least a part of it, in the rooms of the former Orfanelle Church, at the Giovio Museum. The discovery, which took place in 2018, during work on the site of the former Cressoni Theatre, immediately revealed a very important archaeological discovery: 1000 so-called solidi, that is, gold coins weighing about 4.5 grams, that date back to the 5th century AD, as well as some objects, also in gold, which include a fragment of a bar, three earrings and three rings with settings.

The Como treasure was at the centre of an agreement signed this morning in Milan, at the headquarters of the Superintendence of Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape for the provinces of Como, Lecco, Monza Brianza, Pavia, Sondrio and Varese, by the Mayor Mario Landriscina and the Superintendent, architect Giuseppe Stolfi, in the presence of the Councillor for Culture on Como town council, Carola Gentilini, and for the Superintendence of the architect Maria Mimmo, and of the archaeologists Barbara Grassi and Grazia Facchinetti.

The agreement confirms the willingness of both bodies to collaborate, each with their own skills and resources, to exhibit part of the findings made during the work on the former Cressoni Theatre, in Via Diaz. The space once occupied by the Orfanelle Church, at the Giovio Museum, where important archaeological collections from the local area are already kept, is confirmed as the exhibition venue.

However, before you can admire the findings, you will have to wait a little longer: the preparation of the Treasury is scheduled for next year. With the agreement, the Superintendence formalises the commitment to dealing with the preparation of the scientific museum project, providing indications on the sequence in which the exhibits should be displayed, on the contents of the multimedia and traditional teaching equipment, and on the technical specifications of the display cases or containers, for the correct display and conservation of the exhibits.

The council will be responsible for engaging someone to design the new exhibition, which must have multimedia contents and be innovative, and the subsequent management, safety, preservation and maintenance of the exhibits. Among the shared commitments is to seek and encourage every possible form of collaboration with public and private entities, to raise funds to make the most of the exhibits and to preserve the former Orfanelle Church. The timetable and methods for the public presentation of the heritage and the activities that will be proposed will be agreed upon later. The procedure for identifying professional technicians who will be given the job of designing the building to comply with the fire regulations, in line with the available resources, is in progress and is the beginning of the process of recovering and making the most of the entire museum.