COMO, a delegation of the government of Milan, in the Austrian kingdom of Venetian Lombardy, bounded on the north by Switzerland and Sandrio, on the east by Brescia, on the south by Milan, and on the west by the kingdom of Sardinia. Being towards the foot of the Alps, the northern part is mountainous, and the southern undulating. Between the spurs of the mountains are some beautiful and fertile valleys. It extends over 1260 square miles, or 806,400 English acres, and comprehends two cities, sixteen market-towns, and 510 villages, with 43,117 houses, and, in 1817, 315,634 inhabitants. The chief productions are, corn, wine, fruit, and fish. The manufactures are silk and linen articles; but many of the districts subsist by making optical glasses, and by preparing mathematical, surgical, and physical instruments. The purity of the atmosphere attracts many of the richer families of Italy to the district, where they have built numerous rural villas.