My Town, My Team – Como: A Local Guide to Life in the Champions League City

Giordano Galdini is a 21-year-old student from Como, where he works in the theatre and travels to university in Milan. He follows his local team, and for Destination Calcio’s My Town, My Team series, we spoke to Giordano to find out more about the place he calls home – where to eat and drink, sights to see, and what it means to have his football team making their debut in the Champions League.

Como are in the Champions League – has it sunk in yet?

(The night it happened) was insane. I met with my friends, but not in Piazza Volta as it was chaos there. We met in Piazza Cavour, the main square, then moved to Piazza Volta, and it really was insane. There were ultras, flags, smoke, chants, everybody celebrating together, hugging and taking pictures. I was in ecstasy.

We clearly weren’t expecting to win the league or even reach the Champions League. I never even imagined Serie A. Maybe once, you have a lucky season in Serie B, maybe once in my life. But Champions League? Never. It always seemed like something so far away. I’ve never been to a Champions League game. Como will be my first.

The square (Piazza Volta) is full of places to grab a drink. From one of the balconies, a grandma was waving her scarf and shouting ‘Forza Como, we are in the Champions League now’ and for a moment she became the central part of the show, bringing everyone together.

The square is named after Alessandro Volta. He was a scientist and he experimented with electricity. He is probably the most important person to be born in Como, and he gives us the idea that anyone born in Como could be the next Alessandro Volta. Outside the stadium there is a temple with all his inventions.

Right now, Cesc Fabregas is the symbol of Como. I remember when he signed as a player. There were no rumours about him signing. It came from nothing, for us at least. Now he is doing amazing work. It’s not only about the way Como plays, it is changing the division, changing Serie A, because they need to counter Como.”

Tell us about Como the city

My childhood was pretty chilled. I had the places I went to with my grandpa. I went to the market almost every day and I still go sometimes. Como is a city with everything a kid needs.

The city has become more touristy. My father has a hotel and before, it was Italian people coming, but now it is Germans, Americans, others. But apart from tourism, the city has not changed. People from Como are still the same.

Semm Cumasch is an expression in Como dialect which means ‘we are from Como’. It’s like a form of identity. The team has really brought people from Como together. The club is trying to make Como part of the culture and it reflects the ambition of the city.

Como has always dreamed about being a big city, being a tourist city, and Como the football team are expecting to be a great team. Not just to stay in Serie A, but to go to the Champions League, to win trophies… they represent the ambitions of the people of Como.

The real Como is the mercato, where you can still buy meat at prices that are affordable for everybody. On social media you will see the boat tours and the villas, but Como for us is not all about luxury. It’s a modest city, a city to live in.

Look at the duomo. It is pretty and it’s luxurious, but people from Como don’t really go there to pray or to see it. There are plenty of other churches and the people go to them. That’s the real Como.

How good is the food in Como?

When you go outside your city, to eat and drink well, you have to go where the locals go. Bars and restaurants here do not need to offer a tourist experience, they have to offer an authentic experience. When people from Como come to your restaurant, tourists will come as well.

Peach Pit is a place I go to once a week. They do not only make big round pizzas, but also pizza al taglio (square slices). Osteria dal Pain is not a tourist place unless someone recommends it. It is very local. 

Birrivico is excellent. The staff are amazing, they have a great selection of beers, there’s food – fries and other things for an aperitivo before going to the match. If you stay longer or go later, they do a great carbonara. It’s not a Como dish but at Birrivico I’ve eaten carbonara that is better than I’ve had in Rome.

What is so special about the theatre?

I grew up in the stadium but also in the theatre (Teatro Sociale on Via Vincenzo Bellini) because my mum worked there. If there was a show on until midnight and my father was at work, I would be at the theatre. It’s probably my second home in the city. 

My job at the theatre, it’s like when you go to the stadium, you meet the steward, and I am a kind of a steward of the theatre. We are called the maschere. Our job is to make guests feel good.

Our theatre is special because of the boxes. They are private and they are owned by foundations or families from Como. Families from the 19th century.

People from Como have always bonded with the theatre. They have always loved coming here and it is a really active community. We have operas, ballet, concerts and also events for younger people, like discos, or dramas inspired by young workers in Italy.

Going back to the stadium… what is the perfect matchday?  

I have to be with my father. He’s a huge Como fan and we always talk a lot about football. We talk about other things but football is what keeps us talking every day. 

We go to the kebab shop next to his hotel, get a kebab and eat it at the hotel. Then we put on our shirts. He has always been called Galdo by his friends, so he has Galdo 70 on the back because he was born in 1970, and I have Galdo Jr 5 on mine because I was born in 2005. Como has become so important in our lives. My favourite player is Edoardo Goldaniga and he wears number five. My father got us the shirts for my birthday.

We will go for a beer at Birrivico and when we walk to the stadium we always walk on the left side of the road. Only once we walked on the right and it was for a game against Fiorentina. We were on a winning streak and Fiorentina were having a difficult time. But we lost.

We will meet friends and have a beer in the stadium. For the perfect matchday, look at Como. It’s like poetry on a field. They have these passages, short passages. Then you go home, after a win, watch the highlights, eat with your family and then go to sleep.

Finally, why is the city so important?

Everybody has something that makes this city special for them. In Como, anything I need, I can reach it on foot. If I want an ice cream or a piece of pizza, it’s a 10-minute walk. 

If you are born in Como, you will remember it your whole life. Being from Como is knowing that, wherever in the world you are, you can go back to Como and Como will be ready to take you in and give you something back.