Historical Background
The existence of the city , situated in a strategic location at the confluence of ' major roads 's water and land, in an area inhabited since ancient times , and ' documented for the first time in 845 , with the appearance in a document Leuco - of -name . The ' medieval origin also explains the peculiar urban form of Lecco , consisting of a number of neighborhoods not far l ' from each ' other specialized : the districts involved in the production places along the valley of Gerenzone , the agricultural districts , the fishing district ( Pescarenico ) , the district military ( Castle ) and the village , market place and trade on the shore of the lake.
It became the beginning of ' the eleventh century domination of the archbishops of Milan, during the ten-year war allied himself with the citto Ambrosian and fights ' on the lake with its own flotilla against Como ( 1117-1127 ) . Thirty years later support ' Frederick Barbarossa against Milan and participate ' , then , the struggles between the Visconti and Torriani as an ally of the latter. Lecco in 1296 was razed to the ground by the new Lord of Milan, Matteo Visconti and the population was exiled in the area of Valmadrera and had absolutely forbidden to return to the extreme slopes of Monte San Martino.
This exile was short-lived , in fact , at the beginning of the fourteenth century Azzone Visconti , rebuilt city and build up again ' the castle , most likely moving it from its original Castle ( Lecco) lakeside (Borgo Lecco ) . He also erected the ' Adda important fortified bridge that now bears his name.
The Lecco were often protagonists of numerous clashes with the Republic of Venice. Only the Peace of Lodi , signed in 1454 , the city reached tranquility becoming a ' major stronghold of the border and will remain' this for three and a half centuries .
In addition, the passage of the valleys of Bergamo and Brescia was under Venetian rule , Lecco and Valsasso , the single production of iron , which is essential for the ' economy and military production of ' whole Duchy . Subsequently, with the Austrian rule , Lecco was marked by a period of economic and social recovery , with the development of industries of silk and iron . The latter , already ' living in the twelfth century , favored by the richness of the soil and the' abundance of water as the source of ' energy, exploded in the second half ' of the nineteenth century .
The ' iron industry supplanted the ancient silk industry , which are testimony to the various sites around the country, mills abandoned or converted to new destinations ( homes, offices of ' public bodies and so on ) . The steel industry is now the main activities and wealth of Lecco and has contributed profoundly to design the look of the area.
What Visit
- BASILICA OF ST NICHOLAS : is the largest religious structure in the city and is dedicated to the patron saint of sailors , is located in a large churchyard preceded by a double staircase of gray stone near Piazza Mario Cermenati . She has given her a plant neoclassical architect Giuseppe Ovary in its expansion . Inside it preserves seventeenth-century furnishings , a baptismal font from 1596 and parts of the eleventh century Romanesque . The bell tower that stands at his side is 96 meters tall well- built on an ancient medieval tower . It is in Gothic Revival style polygonal spire . Commonly called The Pencil was inaugurated on Christmas Eve of 1904 and is still one of the ten highest towers of Italy as well as being the undisputed symbol of the city .
- CHURCH OF SANTA MARTA : Located in the central Mascari is considered one of the oldest places of worship in the city since it was built in the thirteenth century and initially dedicated to San Calimero , today presents a facade portico wind of the eighteenth century and rich baroque decorations inside , the simple nave with a barrel vault is 1615 . It underwent a complete restoration in 2012.
- SHRINE OF OUR LADY OF VICTORY : It is located in Via Azzone Visconti and was erected in memory of the fallen of the Great War and conceived as a popular vote for the narrow escape ; construction work , funded thanks to a donation Ms. De Dionisi Sunday , began in 1818 , protaendosi until 1932 , the year of his consecration. The building is characterized by granite flooring in alternating white stone Val Chiavenna.Chiesa of the Holy Mother and Saint Lucia. The church of Saints (Today) Maternal and Lucia and the former Convent of the Capuchins are Pescarenico , Piazza Father Christopher, and were made famous by Manzoni , who, in The Betrothed , cites him as the seat of the convent Fra Cristoforo . The church was begun in 1576 by Hurtaldo Mendoza , a knight of Sant'Jago and governor of the plain of Lecco, as a temple to the adjoining Convent of the Capuchins. In 1789 he became a barracks for the French troops in 1810 while the convent was suppressed by Napoleon Bonaparte and the church was refitted , especially on the façade , attributed to the architect Giuseppe Ovary , and dedicated to St. Maternus, later associated with Lucia , presumably in homage to Manzoni. Today is the parish seat . Inside it contains some valuable opere.Chiesa of Saints Gervasio and Protasio is located in the district of Castello and the first documents date back to intone at the end of the thirteenth century with the main architecture of a Romanesque and was until 1584 the seat provost then transferred to the basilica of San Vitale and Valerie Nicolò.Chiesa of Saints is located in the district of the same name is believed Olate in the square as the church of Don Abbondio built between the fifteenth and 1765 with a further extension of the nave in 1934 , when he restored the façade in Baroque style .
- CHURCH OF ST JOHN THE EVANGELIST : is located in the district of St. John Chestnut Street in Don Antonio Invernizzi , was rebuilt in the late seventeenth century and contains various wooden furniture dating back to the seventeenth century, an altarpiece of the Deposition of a follower of Vincent Civerchio and a painted terracotta statue of the Virgin grieving .
- CHURCH OF SANT ' ANDREA : is located in the district of Maggianico via Zelioli , was built at the behest of St. Charles in 1567 and holds within it works by Bernardino Luini and Gaudenzio Ferrari.Chiesa of San Rocco is located in the district of Closed in the village of Barco and was built in 1843 by architect Giuseppe Bovara.Chiesa of St. John the Baptist also in the district of Closed is famous for its interior contains the remains of Don Serafino Moray , pastor of the church from 1773 to 1822 , which later became Blessed in 2011, in Piazza Duomo in Milan by Cardinal Dionigi Tettamanzi and Angelo Amato . It has a typically Romanesque while inside contains numerous frescoes of the fifteenth century attributed to Giovan Pietro da Cemmo depicting the Crucifixion and a sandstone balustrade of the seventeenth century. In the nineteenth century were renovated facade and belfry.
- CHURCH OF ST JOSEPH : is located in the district of Caleotto in Baracca and was built between 1947 and 1951 to a design by Charles Wilhelm . In the temple you can admire the paintings of Orlando Sora , which became the largest and most famous works of this artist very close to the city. The church was dedicated by a Mass was held March 18, 2012 by Cardinal Angelo Scola , St. Joseph , patron of workers , since the hotel is in an area in which , starting from the late nineteenth century and throughout the twentieth century flourished the most important industries at the national level through which iron was given to the city of Lecco the nickname " Manchester of Italy" .
- RUINED SHRINE OF OUR LADY TO : located in the village of Wrecked on a panoramic terrace located on the moraine slope in the district of Germanedo and was built between 1849 and 1859 as a result of a landslide that struck in that area leaving intact the chapel previously erected as a place of worship along the path that led the men to the fields and such an event , judged by the miraculous germanedese population , led to a growing veneration of the place, so much so that the then parish priest Fr Andrea Magni with the assistance and help of the population , decided to erect a church is reached by a cobbled mule track that winds through the woodlands , along which are distributed the first thirteen chapels dedicated to as many stations of the Cross , the latest two instead are placed next to the shrine itself. She watches over the altar an elegant painting of Our Lady of Sorrows pierced by seven swords donated by the Marquis Paolo Serponti Mirasole .
- CHURCH OF SANTISSIMI CIPRIANO AND GIUSTINA : is a short walk from the hospital in Lecco in the district of Germanedo but there is no definite information about its construction although little information possible , however, to establish that its origins are from 1500. Initially dedicated only to Santa Giustina was dedicated to St. Cyprian in 1608 .
- CHURCH OF SAINT FRANCIS D' ASSISI : is located in Piazza Cappuccini , at the end of Via Filippo Turati, in the district of Santo Stefano and was built in 1962 , a few years after the return of the Capuchin friars in the city. Church Of St. George, Catherine, Egidio is located in the district of Acquate and was already existing in 1232 , and over time the building has undergone various improvements until 1846 when it was given its present neoclassical appearance as well as the bell tower , which , in the beginning was a massive Romanesque tower .
