Over recent years investigations undertaken by the Museum of Como have continued in the area surrounding the chapel of S.Vittore a Laino. Excavation was completed of a late medieval structure thought to be of a defensive nature. This construction, which lies over the western corner of an early medieval cistern, was built when the structures belonging to the early medieval castrum had collapsed. The excavation carried out inside this structure revealed a small channel built of stones placed in such a way as to create the conduit which enters the north-west perimeter of the cistern through a purpose made opening.
Other rooms were identified on the same alignment as those previously excavated, however the presence of dense vegetation prevented an extended excavation and only a part of the perimeter walls were traced. Despite this, through the identification of these rooms it was possible to reconstruct the development of the building plan which foresaw the occupation of the narrow flat strip of land which runs in a north-west/south-east direction along the south-western flank of the hill.
In 2005 the area closest to the wall delimiting the flat strip was investigated. The aim was to find the fourth side, on a north-west/south-east alignment, of a series of rooms. This wall had not previously been found due to the impossibility of excavating over a wide area.
Therefore a trench was dug to intercept the fourth perimeter wall of room 2 and thereby complete the measurement of this building: the completion of this work is programmed for 2006. (Isabella Nobile De Agostini)