You will surely remember the Betrothed’s famous phrase “That branch of Lake Como that turns at noon …” Well, here we are in the city that inspired Manzoni in the creation of his famous novel. Let’s see together what to see in Lecco with a one-day itinerary.
HOW TO REACH LECCO?
Lecco’s city is located on the eastern branch of Lake Como and is well connected to the Lombard capital. There are several ways to reach it: by car and by train.
HOW TO REACH LECCO BY CAR
Lecco is easily accessible by car from the main cities of Lombardy and nearby Switzerland
From Milan (50 km): you must take the SS 36 Nuova Valsassina highway. Journey time: less than 1 hour.
From Como (30 km): for those coming from Varese and the Canton Ticino, you reach Como, and then you have to follow the state roads 342, 639, and 36. Journey time: about 45 minutes.
From Bergamo (35 km): for those coming from the east, take the state roads 342 and 639. Travel time: about 40 minutes.
From Sondrio (80 km): SS 38 to the Fuentes crossroads (Colico) and from here to continue along with the SS 36 towards Lecco. Journey time: 1h 15min.
ARRIVING IN LECCO BY TRAIN
It is convenient to reach Lecco using the railway network from Milan, Como, Bergamo, and Sondrio.
From Milan: Milan – Sondrio – Tirano railway line. There are direct and local trains from the Milano Centrale and Porta Garibaldi stations. Journey time: 40 minutes for the immediate and 1h for the restaurant. Frequency: about every hour.
From Como: Como – Molteno – Lecco railway line. Frequent trains are departing from Como San Giovanni station. Journey time: about 1 hour and 10 minutes with a change in Molteno.
From Bergamo: Brescia – Bergamo – Lecco line. Journey time: 40 minutes for the direct.
From Sondrio: Tirano – Sondrio – Lecco – Milan line. The direct ones stop on the lake coast (Colico, Bellano, Varenna). Local trains also allow stops in other coastal towns—journey time: about 1 hour and 20 minutes for the direct.
WHAT TO SEE IN LECCO: MY ONE DAY ITINERARY
Lecco is a small town where the lake is a very important place. It is less famous than its neighbour, Como, but I highly recommend visiting it as it is very characteristic and less chaotic.
It has a small historic center that can be easily visited on foot. Also, it can be an excellent starting point for fantastic trekking in the nearby mountains.
Not being very large, it can be visited entirely in one day by covering its most particular places.
THE PLACES OF THE MARRIED PROMISES
Alessandro Manzoni is set in Lecco, the city of origin of the paternal family and where one of the properties of his father, Villa Manzoni, I Promessi Sposi, the first novel of Italian literature was located. Thus, if you visit Lecco, you cannot miss a stop in the places that have marked this historic event.
The centerpiece is undoubtedly Villa Manzoni, in the Caleotto village a little outside the center, where the writer and poet spent some years of his childhood and youth. Villa Manzoni belonged to the Manzoni family from 1615 until 1818. The villa was sold in the early 1800s to the Scola family. The family kept the entire ground floor almost unchanged with period furniture, memorabilia, and very important historical memories, such as some of the writer’s first editions and memories. Today, the ground floor is home to the Manzonian Museum, which traces the history of Alessandro Manzoni and his literary masterpiece.
Address: via Don Guanella, 900 meters from the station, it can be reached 10-15 minutes on foot
Hours: Tuesday to Friday from 9:30 to 14:00 – Saturday and Sunday from 10:00 to 18:00 – closed Monday
Ticket price: full € 6.00 – reduced € 4.00 – under 6 free
In addition to Villa Manzoni, there are several other places to which the writer was inspired for his Promessi Sposi: walking through the streets of the city you can meet the Tabernacle where Don Abbondia meets the good (via Tonio and Gervasio), the church of Don Abbondio (church of Saints Vitale and Valeria – Olate), the house of Lucia (Acquate), the Palace of Don Rodrigo (via Dello Zucco), the Convent of Fra Cristoforo (church of Saints Materno and Lucia – Piazza Fra Cristoforo), the Castle dell’ Innominato (Vercurago) and other minor places, however, mentioned.
VISCONTI BRIDGE
The Azzone Visconti bridge, also known as Ponte Vecchio ( old bridge ), is one of the city’s symbols. It was built between 1336 and 1338 to allow the crossing of the Adda river.
There are no longer the turrets, and the three wooden drawbridges that had been built for defensive purposes, and the structure was improved after 1832 for road upgrading.
Manzoni also mentioned it. It can be traveled on foot and by bicycle, thanks to a lane dedicated to pedestrians and cyclists.
BASILICA DI SAN NICOLA AND “IL MATITONE”
The Basilica of San Nicola is dedicated to the city’s patron saint and was built in 1774 in a neoclassical style on the remains of a thirteenth-century church.
The structure has three naves with side chapels, contains frescoes from the Giotto school, such as the Annunciation and the Deposition.
The only remaining part of the original Church is the baptistery chapel, which contains a baptismal font dating back to 1596.
One of Lecco’s symbols is the bell tower located right next to the Church, which is also nicknamed as “Il Matitone.”
The bell tower of Lecco, with its 96 meters, is among the highest in Europe.
It is located in an isolated position concerning the Church as it was obtained from an old defensive tower of the fifteenth century, which was part of the old wall fortification of the city in medieval times. It was inaugurated on Christmas Eve in 1904 and is affectionately called by the Matitone from Lecco for its particular octagonal shape and the pyramidal spire.
Since April 2015, after numerous requests, a group of volunteers from the parish to enhance the prestigious monument organizes cycles of guided tours of the dungeons of the tower, the bell tower, and the balcony overlooking the loggia from where it is possible to observe all the city, the lake and the surrounding mountains.
BELGIOJOSO PALACE
Palazzo Belgiojoso is a late eighteenth-century building that houses 3 museums: Archaeological Museum, Natural History Museum, Historical Museum, and the Planetarium. In one of these museums, you can also meet the Lariosaurus, comparable to the Lochness monster for Lake Como.
How to get there: it is 550 meters from the railway station, which can be covered on foot in 5 minutes.
Hours: Tuesday to Friday from 9:30 to 14:00 – Saturday and Sunday from 10:00 to 18:00 – closed Monday
Ticket cost: full € 6.00 – reduced € 4.00 – under 6 free – You can make a cumulative ticket that includes a visit to the Belgiojoso Palace, Palazzo Delle Paure and Villa Manzoni at the full cost € 14.00 and reduced € 8, 00
LUNGOLAGO
Lecco’s lakeside ( lungolago di Lecco ) goes from S. Stefano to the war memorial, following the coast for several kilometers. You can admire different views of the lake and the mountains, passing through the marina, the statue of San Nicolò, and areas equipped with playgrounds, bars, and shady squares. It is a very popular walk on weekends and in the summer.
VISCONTEA TOWER
In Piazza XX Settembre, you can see the Visconti Tower ( Torre Viscontea ) of 14th-century origin. Since it is enclosed between houses, many tourists do not spot it. Today it is the site of temporary exhibitions, but once it was part of the Visconti Castle and was surrounded by defensive walls.
Today, only the tower remains of the castle, as it was dismantled in the late 1700s.