Province of Lecco

The Province of Lecco (It. Provincia di Lecco) is a province in the Lombardy region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Lecco.

On 1 January 2001 the province had a population of 311,452 on a surface of 816 square kilometres (315 sq mi) divided in 90 comunes.

History

The Province of Lecco was established by the President of the Republic in Decree No. 250 of 6 March 1992. Elections for the appointment of the 1st President of the Province of Lecco were held on April 23, 1995 (1st round) and May 7, 1995 (runoff). The proclamation of the 1st President, Mario Anghileri, occurred on May 9, 1995.

Geography

The Province of Lecco is situated in northern central Italy. It is bordered to the north and west by the Province of Como, to the east and north with the Province of Sondrio, to the east by the Province of Bergamo, and to the south with the Province of Monza and Brianza. The province of Lecco has an area of only 814.58 square kilometres (314.51 sq mi), with some 600 square kilometres (230 sq mi) located across the Adda River, in Valsassina. The remaining land is located in the Oggionese, the Casatese and the Meratese, with an additional 16 square kilometres (6.2 sq mi) belonging to the municipality of Oliveto Lario, located on the other side of Lake Como, in Vallassina, within the pre-Alpine Lecchese. 70% of the province is mountainous and the other 30% is hilly. The highest point is Mount Legnone in the north of the province, 2,609 metres (8,560 ft) high; at the center of the spectacular Grigne. In the west, is Monte Cornizzolo lake at 1,240 metres (4,070 ft) and Monte Rai at 1,259 metres (4,131 ft). In the east of the province is Monte Serrada and the Resegone di Lecco, 1,875 metres (6,152 ft) with its characteristic shape reminiscent of the teeth of a saw. In the center-south is Monte Barro at 922 metres (3,025 ft), in the Monte Barro Regional Park.

Lecco

Lecco (Italian pronunciation: [ˈlekko],locally: [ˈlɛkko];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.

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.