Lecco
Lecco | |
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Città di Lecco | |
![]() Piazza XX Settembre, in the centre of the town, and the San Martino mountain. | |
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 (December 31, 2013)[2] | |
• Total | 48,131 |
• 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 (Italian pronunciation: [ˈlekko],[3][4] locally [ˈlɛkko] ;[3] Lombard: Lecch [lɛk]) 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.[5]
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, quenching the 964 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
- 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
Sport
The town's football team Calcio Lecco 1912 currently play in Lega Pro Seconda Divisione. 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
- 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.
- Roberto Castelli (born 1946), Senator, former Minister of Justice during the government of Silvio Berlusconi 2001–2006.
- Roberto Formigoni (born 1947), a Catholic conservative politician; President of Lombardy since 1995.
- 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
Ethnic groups
The main ethnic group in Lecco is the Italian one, but there are also many other groups from Europe, Asia, South Asia, Northern America, South America and Africa. In total, ethnic groups in Lecco represent 97 countries. The following demographic counting is made by ISTAT and it is from December 2009:[6]
Country of birth | Population (as of 2009[update]) |
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418 |
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281 |
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272 |
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257 |
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233 |
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229 |
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209 |
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165 |
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139 |
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119 |
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104 |
![]() |
97 |
![]() |
91 |
![]() |
89 |
![]() |
66 |
![]() |
66 |
![]() |
54 |
![]() |
53 |
![]() |
52 |
![]() |
45 |
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45 |
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43 |
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41 |
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41 |
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40 |
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40 |
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39 |
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39 |
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37 |
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36 |
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
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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ http://www.alpenstaedte.org/de/aktuell/news/4633
- ^ "Cittadini Stranieri. Popolazione Residente per Sesso e Cittadinanza al 31 Dicembre 2009 e Bilancio Demografico Anno 2009" (in Italian). ISTAT.
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 Template:It icon
- Visitor attractions in Lecco Template:It icon, from the site of the Lecco APT, an official body for the promotion of tourism.
- Pictures of Lecco railway bridge