OLD BRIDGE (Ponte Vecchio)

The Azzone Visconti bridge, also known as Old Bridge (Ponte Vecchio in Italian), is one of the symbols of the city of Lecco.

It was constructed between 1336 and 1339 on the river Adda, commissioned by the homonymous lord of Milan.

The Old Bridge was also a strategic route for the transport of men and goods between Valsassina, the Dukedom of Milan and the village of Lecco, guaranteeing its military protection.

In the beginning it consisted of eight semi-circular arches, to which two more were added a few years later, and an additional one in the fifteenth century, to facilitate the flow of the river and to solve the problem of high tide in the city of Como.

At the extremities, it was originally protected by two towers and a drawbridge with a small central chapel dedicated to the Virgin Mary.
Along the Lecco lakeside, one of the towers was separated from the mainland by a channel, whose structure was object of changes over the centuries right after the bridge’s construction.

In the last years the bridge has been the subject of many studies, aimed at enhancing this historical monument.

Today it is used as the only stroke of exit from Lecco to Malgrate or Pescate, and as a cycle-pedestrian track.

Over the last years the bridge has been cleaned up and artistically valued through a requalification of the lighting system, allowing the pedestrians and the drivers to have a clearer view of the surrounding environment.

Beyond the bridge, proceeding towards Pescarenico, you can find Isola Viscontea (Viscontea Isle) one of the jewels of Lecco, defined by FAI as one of the most important Lombardy’s cultural and landscape goods of historic and cultural interest.

In February 2013, FAI ranked it among the first 121 places in the survey of I luoghi del cuore (places of the heart).

Its origins date back to the sixteenth century: it was formed by the aggregation of the bearing material during the works for the construction of the bridge and later was used as a defense fort.

On the meridional edge there is a building, that testifies the presence of the old fort, with a circular tower on two levels.

The isle is about 110 meters long and 30 meters wide; the minimum distance that separates it from the mainland is about 11 meters.

There isn’t any bridge that connects it to the mainland.

Thanks to a reconversion municipal project the isle in the past has been visitable and used for some events such as an outdoor summer cinema, but currently it is for sale at the reasonable price of a million and seven hundred thousand euros.

SITOGRAPHY:

https://www.lombardiabeniculturali.it/architetture/schede/RL560-00146/

https://www.eguidexperience.com/?page=puntointeresse&poi_id=388&lg=ita

https://www.eccolecco.it/lecco-citta/lecco-centro-storico/ponte-azzone-visconti/