LECCO  , a

town of Lombardy, in the province of Como, 32 M. by rail N. by E. of Milan, and reached by steamer from Como, X VI . I2673 ft. above sea-level . Pop . (tool) 10,352 . It is situated near the southern extremity of the eastern branch of the Lake of Como, which is frequently distinguished as the Lake of Lecco . At Lecco begins the line (run by electricity)to Colico, whence there are branches to Chiavenna and Sondrio; and another line runs to Bergamo . To the south the Adda is crossed by a fine bridge originally constructed in 1335, and rebuilt in 1609 by Fuentes . Lecco, in spite of its antiquity, presents a modern appearance, almost the only old building being its castle, of which a part remains . Its schools are particularly good . Besides iron-works, there are copper-works, brass-foundries, olive-oil mills and a manufacture of wax candles; and silk-spinning, cotton-spinning and wood-carving . In the neighbourhood is the villa of Calcotto, the residence of Alessandro Manzoni, who in his Promessi Sposi has left a full description of the district . A statue has been erected to him .

In the 11th

century Lecco, previously the seat of a marquisate, was presented to the bishops of Como by Otto II.; but in the 12th century it passed to the archbishops of Milan, and in 1127 it assisted the Milanese in the destruction of Como . During the 13th century it was struggling for its existence with the metropolitan city; and its fate seemed to be sealed when the Visconti drove its inhabitants across the lake to Valmadrera, and forbade them to raise their town from its ashes . But in a few years the people returned; Azzone Visconti made Lecco a strong fortress, and in 1335 united it with the Milanese territory by a bridge across the Adda . During the 15th and 16th centuries the citadel of Lecco was an object of endless contention . In 1647 the town with its territory was made a courtship . Morone, Charles V.'s Italian chancellor, was born in Lecco . See A . L . Apostolo, Lecco ed it suo territorio (Lecco, 1855) .