Lecco

Lecco
Lècch  (Lombard)
Comune
Città di Lecco
Piazza XX Settembre, in the centre of the town, and the San Martino mountain.
Lecco
Location of Lecco in Italy
Coordinates: 45°51′N 09°24′E / 45.850°N 9.400°E / 45.850; 9.400Coordinates: 45°51′N 09°24′E / 45.850°N 9.400°E / 45.850; 9.400
Country Italy
Region Lombardy
Province Lecco (LC)
Frazioni Acquate, Belledo, Bonacina, Castello, Chiuso, Germanedo, Laorca, Lecco, Maggianico, Malavedo, Olate, Pescarenico, Rancio, San Giovanni, Santo Stefano
Government
 • Mayor Virginio Brivio (PD)
Area
 • Total 45.14 km2 (17.43 sq mi)
Elevation 214 m (702 ft)
Population (September 30, 2017)
 • Total 48,366
 • Density 1,100/km2 (2,800/sq mi)
Demonym(s) Lecchesi
Time zone UTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST) UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code 23900
Dialing code 0341
Patron saint San Nicolò
Saint day December 6
Website Official website

Lecco (Italian pronunciation: [ˈlekko],[1][2] locally [ˈlɛkko] ( listen);[1] Lecchese: Lècch [ˈlɛk]) is a city of 48,131 inhabitants in Lombardy, northern Italy, 50 kilometres (31 mi) north of Milan, the capital of the province of Lecco. It lies at the end of the south-eastern branch of Lake Como (the branch named Lake of Lecco / Lago di Lecco). The Bergamo Alps rise to the north and east, cut through by the Valsassina of which Lecco marks the southern end.

The lake narrows to form the river Adda, so bridges were built to improve road communications with Como and Milan. There are four bridges crossing the river Adda in Lecco: the Azzone Visconti Bridge (1336–1338), the Kennedy Bridge (1956) and the Alessandro Manzoni Bridge (1985) and a railroad bridge.

Its economy used to be based on industry (iron manufacturers), but now it is mainly tertiary.

Lecco was also Alpine Town of the Year 2013.[3]

History

Archaeological finds demonstrate the presence of Celtic settlement in the area before the arrival of the Romans. The latter built a castrum here and made it an important road hub. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the Lombards captured the town in the 6th century; they were followed by the Franks, who made Lecco the seat of a countship and, later, of a frontier Mark.

Emperor Otto I spent a long time in Lecco, crushing the 964 AD revolt against the Holy Roman Empire led by Lecco's Count Attone. Later it became a possession of the Milanese monastery of St. Ambrose. Conrad II also stayed in Lecco, in the attempt to free it from the church, but as the result of the ensuing wars the city was subjected by Milan. It subsequently followed the history of the Duchy of Milan and of Lombardy. In the early 16th century it was briefly ruled by the condottiere Gian Giacomo Medici.

Architecture

Religious architecture

Secular architecture

  • Palazzo delle Paure
  • Ponte Azzone Visconti (noto semplicemente come Ponte Vecchio)
  • Villa Manzoni
  • Memoriale ai Caduti
  • Statua del Manzoni
  • Monuments to Mario Cermenati and to Giuseppe Garibaldi

Sport

The town's football team Calcio Lecco 1912 currently play in Serie D. Their traditional rivalry with the team of the city of Como is marked by the so-called Derby del Lario which last took place in the 2009–2010 season when both teams were competing in Lega Pro Prima Divisione.

The main sports facility of the city is the Rigamonti-Ceppi Stadium, where the soccer team trains and plays. It was built in 1922 in honor of the football player Mario Rigamonti and the ex president of the team Mario Ceppi. It can contain almost 5000 people.

Lecco is the finish of the Giro di Lombardia cycling classic which includes the famous Madonna del Ghisallo hill.

Notable people

Cultural references

Alessandro Manzoni set the events in the first half of The Betrothed in Lecco, a town he knew deeply since he had spent part of his childhood there.

We voyaged by steamer down the Lago di Lecco, through wild mountain scenery, and by hamlets and villas, and disembarked at the town of Lecco. They said it was two hours, by carriage to the ancient city of Bergamo, and that we would arrive there in good season for the railway train. We got an open barouche and a wild, boisterous driver, and set out. It was delightful. We had a fast team and a perfectly smooth road. There were towering cliffs on our left, and the pretty Lago di Lecco on our right, and every now and then it rained on us

Mark Twain, Innocents Abroad, chapter 21.

International relations

Twin towns – Sister cities

Lecco is twinned with:

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Migliorini, Bruno; Tagliavini, Carlo; Fiorelli, Piero. Tommaso Francesco Borri, ed. "Dizionario italiano multimediale e multilingue d'ortografia e di pronunzia". dizionario.rai.it. Rai Eri. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
  2. ↑ Canepari, Luciano. "Dizionario di pronuncia italiana online". dipionline.it. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
  3. ↑ "Lecco ist "Alpenstadt des Jahres 2013" —". www.alpenstaedte.org. Retrieved April 7, 2018.
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