Lecco

The town is situated 50 kilometres north of Milan on the southern side of the eastern branch of Lake Como with the Lombard Alps on the east. At that point the lake tightens and forms the river Adda, with 3 bridges to improve road communications with Como and Milan: the ancient Azzone-Visconti Bridge built in the 14th century, the Kennedy Bridge (1956) and the Alessandro Manzoni Bridge (1985). Alessandro Manzoni set the events in the first half of The Betrothed in Lecco, a town he knew deeply since he had spent part of his childhood there. The abundance of waters favored the rise of industries since very early times, among them the silk and the iron industry. In the Middle Ages Lecco produced weapons, needles, nails, chains. Its strategic position and good connection by road, railways and waterways have made it an important trade center.