Lecco

Lecco
Comune
Città di Lecco
Piazza XX Settembre, in the centre of the town, and the San Martino mountain. Piazza XX Settembre, in the centre of the town, and the San Martino mountain.
Lecco Location of Lecco in Italy
Coordinates:
Country	Italy
Region	Lombardy
Province / Metropolitan city	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)
• Total	48,131
• Density	1,100/km2 (2,800/sq mi)
Demonym(s)	Lecchesi
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	23900
Dialing code	0341
Patron saint	San Nicolò
Saint day	December 6
Website	Official website

Lecco (Italian: [ˈlɛkko] or locally [ˈlekko]; Lombard: Lecch [lɛkː]) is a city of c. 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.

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.

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

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Italy

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:

Country of birth	Population (as of 2009)
Albania	418
Morocco	281
Romania	272
Serbia	257
Ivory Coast	233
Senegal	229
Moldova	209
Peru	165
Ukraine	139
China	119
Tunisia	104
Burkina Faso	97
Sri Lanka	91
Ecuador	89
Poland	66
Egypt	66
Nigeria	54
Ethiopia	53
Dominican Republic	52
Ghana	45
Philippines	45
Kosovo	43
Benin	41
Eritrea	41
Russia	40
Algeria	40
Turkey	39
India	39
France	37
Montenegro	36

Gallery

• Lecco e il Monte San Martino.JPG

  Lecco and Monte San Martino.

• Lecco-4-16-04-2006.jpg

  View of Lecco.

• 

  The War Memorial in Lecco.

• Lecco dai Piani d'Erna.JPG

  View of Lecco from Piani d' Erna.

• View of Lake Como from Lecco.jpg

  View of Lake Como from Lecco.

• 

  Panoramic view of the Lake.

• PKIERZKOWSKI 100626 Lecco.jpg

  Lecco aerial view from the south

See also

• Lecco railway station
• Alpine Town of the Year 2013

External links

• The official website of the city council (Italian)
• Visitor attractions in Lecco (Italian), from the site of the Lecco APT, an official body for the promotion of tourism.
• Pictures of Lecco railway bridge