Since 1891, Canottieri Lario G. Sinigaglia has been a second home for sports enthusiasts in Como.
The area’s deep connection with this historic sport is reflected in the name of the city’s most iconic sports facility, the Stadio Comunale Sinigaglia. Giuseppe Sinigaglia was a prominent figure in Como’s sporting history who contributed significantly to the growth of the largest and undoubtedly oldest rowing club in the province: Canottieri Lario. In fact, rowing had already been practiced on Lake Como under the colors of the equally historic Ginnastica Comense club (1872). Canottieri Lario was founded shortly afterwards, in 1891, by 17 passionate rowers, but it gained prestige and recognition only later, thanks to the achievements of Giuseppe Sinigaglia, an athlete who joined Lario in 1903 alongside a group of former Ginnastica Comense members who had been expelled from the club for “indiscipline”. During his years with the new club, Sinigaglia developed a close friendship with another great Lario champion, Teodoro Mariani, and won numerous titles: Italian champion in the coxed pair in 1907, Italian and European champion in singles and doubles in 1911 alongside his friend Mariani, and finally winner of the Diamond Sculls, a prestigious international single-sculling competition held in Henley on the River Thames, in 1925, which until then had only been won by British rowers. On that occasion, undoubtedly one of the most glorious moments in Lake Como’s rowing history, Sinigaglia was personally presented with his award by the Queen of England.
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