Location
Morterone sits at over 1,000 metres, at the foot of the Resegone, in the Province of Lecco, which it joined in 1992 (previously it belonged to the Province of Como). It borders the municipalities of Ballabio, Brumano, Cassina Valsassina, Cremeno, Lecco, Moggio and Vedeseta. The municipal territory covers 13.71 km², between 786 and 1,619 metres in altitude.
History
The earliest documents attesting to Morterone’s existence date to 1266, when the village was part of the Community of Lecco under the jurisdiction of the Archbishop of Milan. The name comes from the Latin mortarium (pond) or murtus (myrtle). The population, which stood at 397 in 1861, gradually declined over the 20th century due to a lack of roads, schools and work, reaching a historic low of 29 residents in 1966: today Morterone is Italy’s least populous municipality, with just 30 residents, and the one with the lowest population density in Lombardy. It has been twinned with the municipality of Brumano since 2007.
What to see
- MACA – Open-Air Museum of Contemporary Art: over thirty works by Italian and international artists, spread across the village’s buildings and nearby hamlets, born in the 1980s from the “Natura Naturans” philosophy of poet Carlo Invernizzi. Freely and permanently accessible on foot.
- Karst area: the municipal territory holds over forty explored karst features — caves, dolines, resurgences and gorges.
What to do
Morterone is a starting point for hikes toward the Resegone and the Pizzo di Morterone, through woods and high-altitude pastures.
Getting there
Morterone is reachable by a single road, the SP63, climbing up from Ballabio: it is the village’s only connection to the rest of the Valsassina, occasionally closed due to landslide or avalanche risk.
Festivities
15 August — Santa Maria Assunta, patron saint of Morterone.
When to go
Given the dependence on the single access road, it’s worth checking the status of the SP63 Ballabio–Morterone road before planning a winter visit, as it is occasionally closed due to landslide or avalanche risk.