Lovere


Lovere is a town and comune in the province of Bergamo, in Lombardy, northern Italy, at the northwest end of Lake Iseo.
The houses in the city have overhanging wooden roofs, typical of Switzerland, combined with the heavy stone arcades of Italy. It lies on a lake and is flanked by a semicircle of mountains. Lovere takes part in The most beautiful villages in Italy competition run by an association which monitors small Italian towns with artistic and historical interest. In 2018, Lovere was the only Lombardy town to finish in the top 20 of Italy's most beautiful towns.

History

The first known settlement in the Lovere area dates to the 5th and 4th century BC, being of Celtic origin. Later it was conquered by the Romans, attracted by its strategic position location between the Val Camonica and the Val Cavallina, as well as for its transport potential on the Lake Iseo.
After the fall of the Western Roman Empire it was ruled by the Lombards and the Franks. Given to the monks of the Marmoutier Abbey, it was sold to the Bishops of Bergamo, who, at the time of the Guelphs and Ghibellines struggle, were in turn replaced by the Celeri family. The fights lasted until the mid-15th century, when the territory was conquered by the Republic of Venice, whose rule lasted until the French invasion in 1797.
The English aristocrat and writer Lady Mary Wortley Montagu spent ten years of her life on the shores of Lake Iseo.

Main sights

Lovere possesses a metallurgic plant, Lucchini RS, which employs about 1300 people and specializes in the manufacture of railroad wheels and axles.

People

1906 Medicine Nobel Prize Camillo Golgi studied in Lovere's Liceo Classico. Giacomo Agostini, all-time leader in victories in motorcycle Grand Prix history, was born in Lovere in 1942. Leading cinema critic and RAI author Enrico Ghezzi was born in Lovere in 1952.
Eros Cerutti studied at Liceo Decio Celeri before emigrating to the USA where he became President of Stella D'Oro Biscuit Company which became the largest manufacturers of Breadsticks in the world.
The alpine skiers Elena, Nadia and Sabrina Fanchini also come from Lovere.