Lecco

Infobox CityIT
img_coa = Lecco-Stemma.png official_name = Comune di Lecco
region = Lombardy
province = Lecco (LC)
name=Lecco
mapx=45.85
mapy=9.4


image_caption=View of Lecco from Piani d'Erna, under mount Resegone.
elevation_m = 214
area_total_km2 = 45.93
population_as_of = December 31, 2006
population_total = 47006
population_density_km2 = 1011
timezone = CET, UTC+1
coordinates = coord|45|51|N|09|24|E
frazioni =Acquate, Belledo, Bonacina, Castello, Chiuso, Germanedo, Laorca, Lecco, Maggianico, Malavedo, Olate, Pescarenico, Rancio, San Giovanni, Santo Stefano
telephone = 0341
postalcode = 23900
gentilic = Lecchesi
saint = San Nicolò
day = December 6
mayor = Antonella Faggi (since 2006-05-30)
website = [http://www.comune.lecco.it www.comune.lecco.it]

Lecco is an Italian city of c. 47,000 inhabitants set in Lombardy, convert|50|km|mi|0 north of Milan, and is 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"). The Prealps 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 three bridges crossing the river Adda in Lecco: the Azzone Visconti Bridge (1336-1338), the Kennedy Bridge (1956) and the Alessandro Manzoni Bridge (1985).

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

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.

During World War II it was an important centre of the partisan war against the German occupation.

port

The town’s football team Calcio Lecco 1912 currently play in Serie C1. Their traditional rivalry with the Como team is marked by the so-called "Derby del Lario" which last took place in the 2001 season when both teams were competing in Serie C1.

Notable "Lecchesi"

* Alessandro Manzoni (1785–1873), poet and novelist, author if "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 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.

::Mark Twain, "Innocents Abroad", chapter 21.

External links

* [http://www.comune.lecco.it/ The official website of the city council] it icon
* [http://www.aptlecco.com/da_visitare_elenco.php?tipo=Castelli%2CChiese%2CLuoghi+culturali%2CMusei%2COasi+Naturali%2CVille&localita=1 Visitor attractions in Lecco] it, from the site of the Lecco APT, an official body for the promotion of tourism.