Lake Como Creature

Lake Como Monster

There is  a monster in Lake Como: Lariosauro is a creature reported to live in Lake Como in Italy, about 30 miles north of Milan. Como is one of the deepest European lakes, at about 410 meters (1200 feet) at the deepest location.

Since 1940 the Italian newspapers such as "The Courier of the Evening" and "La Domenica del Corriere""The nation of the people" (Florence) have reported news of the appearance of a monster in Lake Como about  two meters long , a large reptile with large head and body covered with scales. (Milan)

In 1946, eye witnesses allegedly reported seeing a reptile-like animal swimming in the waters of the lake. It was named  Lariosauro, the same name used a century before to name a prehistoric reptile whose fossilized remains were found by the lake (Lariosaurus balsami).

On November 18, 1946 two hunters near Colico, the north shore of Como Lake, claim to have seen a creature with  reddish scales with a  length of ten to twelve meters just off the shore. The two hunters took their rifles and fired in the direction of the creature  that quickly headed for  the centre of the lake disappearing with a sharp hissing sound.

This newspaper article is from November 1946

Then there were other sightings reported in Lake Como.

In 1954 in Argegno a creature with round muzzle and back and webbed paws was seen .

In August 1957 an enormous monster was reported in the waters between Dongo and Musso.

In September 1957 a strange animal whose head was described as similar to a crocodile head.

In 2003 a giant eel, 10-12 m long was seen , in Lecco.

Then I found this , apparently an eye witness.The translation isn’t that good but you get the drift:

On July 6, 2003, Enzo announced in forum Site "Two steps in the mystery" that the previous day had seen a monster in Lake Como.: Was on top on Mount Barro, 800 meters high, when a friend invited him to look down towards the lake: He was looking at something in the middle of the arm of the lake of Lecco, which became a river (the Adda).Looking carefully point he indicated there was a (unknown word)or sparkling water ripple as if there were a bunch of fish he was "swimming" a hair of water VERY quickly ... and on a kind of "big fish silvery colour that "snaking" chasing them from behind.. The scene lasted a few seconds, then the big fish was immersed, and reappeared after one minute later ... still a few seconds and then it was definitely reimmerso. Close to that point they could see the state with the machines that passed and the bridges that we are in Lecco ... comparing the "big fish" with the size of the machines we have estimated that it was as large as 2 / 3 cars or as a coach of [ sic] near the shore. Question: What is fish in the lake of Lecco, which is long by 10 to 12 meters? The monster, he added in another speech, "had to be at least 2 / 3 meters deep [...] and then on the surface ... in the lake could not be visible .Entered in another forum, Mauro quotes the torpedo, adding that, however, the length remained excessive”. A couple of years later (19 March 2005), Enzo sighting was mentioned in the forum Antikitera.net, "the Italian portal dell'archeologia mysterious." “"I do not talk about the monster Enzo" replied the day after Antonio "at Varenna asked about local myths and legends that spoke of monsters in the lake appears Barbin ... ... no one knew anything, then an elderly gentleman said to me the simplest explanation .. large schools of fish on the surface and from the top of the mountain could be traded for forms such as "Nessie" ... "(Nessie is, of course, the nickname of the Loch Ness monster). In his 2003, however, wrote that it was long as a coach) was a" pack of fish very substantial "and could see the difference, the hypothesis of Antonio seems much more plausible. About a year later, on request, to provide some more in particular, Enzo has added (on the forum Antikitera, 27 February 2006): "The pesciaccio" was almost a 4 / 5 meters below the water and is passed under the new bridge going in the direction of Lecco. Head not so dire, the body was silver-coloured (but maybe it was the reflection in water with the sun above the bottom) ... so that just moved in a "winding" as a big eel. "

Lariosauro lives in Lake Como near the aptly named hamlet of Nesso on the shores of Lake Como in Lombardy. The first reported sighting of the Italian monster was by a fisherman who saw something mysterious in the lake in 1949. In 1957, a diver in a Bathysphere reported seeing a strange beast in the lake at a depth of 328 feet, saying that it had a head like a crocodile and feet like a reptile. The monster even became the subject of a book published in 2000, ‘Il Lariosaurio’ by Giovanni Galli.

Lake Como is a glacial lake, meaning it is both very old and deep. Believers in Lariosauro point out that although the area is now home to lakes and mountains some 225 million years ago during the Middle Triassic Period, it was covered by sea. In 1830, a fossil of a reptilian creature with a short neck and flippers was discovered at Perdelo on Lake Como. An extinct type of nothosaur, the 2-foot-long fossil was classified as Lariosaurus balsami in 1847. Lake Como is also known as ‘Lario’ after its Latin name ‘Larius Lacus’ and Lariosaurus means ‘lizard from Lario’. Some have suggested that Lariosauro is its descendant and perhaps even related to Scotland’s Nessie.

So a large crocodile is a possible explanation. A family of crocodiles would explain  some of the sightings and a large eel others. Could there be more than one creature in Lake Como?

People often overestimate size when they see something strange and are shocked.It could have been a normal sized fresh water croc.A primitive monster is less likely but always keep an open mind.Ancient species have been found before to still be alive. In the meantime,take care if you go fishing in the area .