Lecco
Lecco
Lècch (Lombard) | |
---|---|
Città di Lecco | |
![]() Piazza XX Settembre, in the centre of the town, and the San Martino mountain. | |
Coordinates: 45°51′N 09°24′E / 45.850°N 9.400°E | |
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)[2] | |
• Total | 48,366 |
• Density | 1,100/km2 (2,800/sq mi) |
Demonym | 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 (US: /ˈlɛkoʊ, ˈleɪkoʊ/,[3] Italian: [ˈlekko],[4][5] local pronunciation: [ˈlɛkko] ;[4] 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.[6]
History
Archaeological finds demonstrate the presence of Etruscan settlement in the area before the arrival of the Romans. The latter built a castrum here and made it an important road hub,made by Julius Caesar. 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.
Climate
Lecco is the northernmost city (urban area) in Italy with a humid subtropical climate (Cfa defined by Köppen), only slightly softer than Milan.[7][8] Despite being in a parallel dominated by Dfb / Dwb climates. The territory is well sheltered from the mountain ranges, and from the climatic point of view, enjoys the beneficial influences of the lake's waters and the breath of the Tivano that blows from the Valtellina from the northeast all year round in the early hours of the morning. Its absence indicates bad weather. Breva is another wind that runs towards the lake, from the south to the north and indicator of good weather.[9]
Climate data for Lecco | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 2.1 (35.8) |
4.2 (39.6) |
8.2 (46.8) |
12.4 (54.3) |
16.2 (61.2) |
19.7 (67.5) |
22.2 (72.0) |
21.3 (70.3) |
18.4 (65.1) |
12.9 (55.2) |
7.2 (45.0) |
3.3 (37.9) |
12.3 (54.2) |
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −1.3 (29.7) |
0.3 (32.5) |
3.3 (37.9) |
7.2 (45.0) |
11.1 (52.0) |
14.5 (58.1) |
16.8 (62.2) |
16.2 (61.2) |
13.6 (56.5) |
8.7 (47.7) |
3.6 (38.5) |
0 (32) |
7.8 (46.1) |
Average rainfall mm (inches) | 60 (2.4) |
59 (2.3) |
72 (2.8) |
99 (3.9) |
112 (4.4) |
117 (4.6) |
92 (3.6) |
111 (4.4) |
105 (4.1) |
115 (4.5) |
107 (4.2) |
69 (2.7) |
1,118 (43.9) |
Average relative humidity (%) | 75 | 75 | 68 | 71 | 69 | 67 | 67 | 68 | 71 | 75 | 78 | 79 | 72 |
Source: climate-data.org and ilMeteo |
Architecture
Religious architecture
- Minor Basilica of San Nicolò
- Santa Marta, Lecco
- San Giovanni Battista
- Santi Materno e Lucia
- San Francesco d'Assisi
- Santi Gervasio e Protasio
- Chiesa di Castello
- San Giuseppe
- Madonna della Rovinata
- Santuario di Nostra Signora della Vittoria
- Santa Maria Gloriosa
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
Government
Sport
The town's football team Calcio Lecco 1912 currently play in Serie C. Their traditional rivalry with the team of the city of Como is marked by the so-called Derby del Lario ,often surrounded by violence between fans,created by the local ultras group Cani Sciolti.
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 has been, for several times, the finish place of the Giro di Lombardia cycling classic.
Notable people
- Alessandro Manzoni (1785–1873), poet and novelist, author of I promessi sposi, belonged to an old family of Lecco.
- Antonio Stoppani (1824–1891), geologist and palaeontologist.
- Antonio Ghislanzoni (1824–1893), journalist, poet, and novelist; he wrote many librettos for Verdi, including La forza del destino and Aida.
- Carlo Mauri (1930–1982), climber and explorer.
- Antonio Rossi (born 1968), a canoeist and five-time Olympic medalist in kayak flatwater canoeing.
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:
Mâcon, France since 1973
Overijse, Belgium since 1981
Igualada, Spain since 1990
Szombathely, Hungary since 1995
Mytishchi, Russia since 2005
Gallery
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Lecco and Monte San Martino.
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View of Lecco.
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The War Memorial in Lecco.
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View of Lecco from Piani d' Erna.
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View of Lake Como from Lecco.
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Panoramic view of the Lake.
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Lecco aerial view from the south
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Lecco lake
See also
References
- ^ "Superficie di Comuni Province e Regioni italiane al 9 ottobre 2011". Italian National Institute of Statistics. Retrieved March 16, 2019.
- ^ "Popolazione Residente al 1° Gennaio 2018". Italian National Institute of Statistics. Retrieved March 16, 2019.
- ^ "Lecco". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Merriam-Webster.
- ^ a b 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.
- ^ Canepari, Luciano. "Dizionario di pronuncia italiana online". dipionline.it. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
- ^ "Lecco ist 'Alpenstadt des Jahres 2013' —". alpenstaedte.org. Retrieved April 7, 2018.
- ^ "Updated Köppen-Geiger climate map of the world". people.eng.unimelb.edu.au. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
- ^ "Interactive Europe Koppen-Geiger Climate Classification Map". plantmaps.com. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
- ^ "Lecco (LC)". Lago di Como. Archived from the original on December 19, 2013. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/dd/Wikivoyage-Logo-v3-icon.svg/40px-Wikivoyage-Logo-v3-icon.svg.png)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- The official website of the city council (in Italian)
- Visitor attractions in Lecco (in Italian), from the site of the Lecco APT, an official body for the promotion of tourism.
- Pictures of Lecco railway bridge