Lecco is a city of 48,131 inhabitants in Lombardy, northern Italy, north of Milan, the capital of the province of Lecco. It lies at the end of the south-eastern branch of Lake Como. 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 riverAdda, 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, the Kennedy Bridge and the Alessandro Manzoni Bridge and a railroad bridge. Its economy used to be based on industry, but now it is mainly tertiary. Lecco was also Alpine Town of the Year 2013.
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 condottiereGian Giacomo Medici.
Climate
Lecco is the northernmost city in Italy with a humid subtropical climate, only slightly softer than Milan. 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.
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 playerMario 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, poet and novelist, author of I promessi sposi, belonged to an old family of Lecco.
