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What to See · Refuges

Rifugio Azzoni

Ramo di Lecco

Lecco →

The Rifugio Luigi Azzoni stands at 1,860 metres on the ridge of the Resegone, Lecco’s symbol mountain, only 15 metres below the main summit, the Punta Cermenati. It belongs to the Società Escursionisti Lecchesi (SEL), is always open at weekends and in summer every day.

History

At the start of the 20th century there was already a small hut on the summit, owned by Giuseppe Vitari of Brumano, for goatherds and hunters. Before the Great War the engineer Enrico Daina, of Rota Imagna, bought it and turned it into a real refuge, from which it took the name Daina hut; Vitari went on managing it on loan until 1921. In 1923, after Daina’s death, it passed to the SEL for a small sum, on condition that it keep the family’s name; the sum was raised by a loan from seven members. On 30 August 1925 Cardinal Eugenio Tosi came up to bless the summit cross, still in place today.

In October 1944 Nazi-Fascist troops destroyed it, to stop it serving as a partisan shelter. It was rebuilt in its present form, for over three million lire, and inaugurated on 27 August 1950 under the name of Luigi Azzoni, former treasurer and councillor of the SEL, who died in 1949 and was decisive in the rebuilding. The Città di Lecco bivouac next to it dates from 1964; in the 2000s a wooden windbreak at the entrance and photovoltaic panels arrived, and in June 2018 a large panoramic terrace on the roof of the bivouac.

What to see

From the ridge the view, writes the SEL, embraces much of the Alpine arc, between the Aosta Valley and Trentino-Alto Adige, the Po plain and reaches the Apennines. To the south and west you see Lecco and the lakes of Como, Annone, Pusiano and Alserio, further off Bergamo’s upper town and Milan, to the north the Valsassina (the hut’s site). The hut has about ten access paths and five via ferratas on the mountain; in winter you climb from Morterone and Brumano with skis or crampons, and experienced mountaineers from the Lecco side by the gullies.

Getting there

Access from the Region’s portal: from Morterone (path 16) in 1 hour 45 with 850 metres of ascent; from the Piani d’Erna in 2 hours and 650 metres; from Brumano, in the Val Imagna (path 13), in 2 hours 30 and 900 metres; all hiking routes. Wikipedia also gives path 1 from Malnago, passing the Stoppani hut, and path 11 from Erve through the Val Negra, the latter demanding. Times, difficulty and trail conditions change with the season and should be checked before setting out (CAI, hut manager, weather forecast).

Practical information

  • Opening according to the hut’s site (consulted on 4 October 2026): always open at weekends and on public holidays, bridge days included (Easter, Easter Monday, 25 April, 1 May, 2 June, All Saints, 8 December), but not at Christmas or on Christmas Eve. It opens every day in summer (15 June-15 September) and over the year-end holidays (26 December-6 January). In autumn 2026 it is open Saturday and Sunday and closed Monday to Friday.
  • From 5 to 31 October 2026 the Piani d’Erna cable car is closed for extraordinary maintenance (notice from the hut).
  • Beds: 18 in shared dormitories according to the hut’s site, 19 according to the regional portal. Half board costs 50 euros a person according to the site; you need a sleeping bag or sheet liner, the bathroom has no shower and the rooms are unheated. Lunch without booking (kitchen about 12 to 3pm) and a bar with continuous hours; dogs are not allowed in the hut, but are on the terrace.
  • Contacts: manager Stefano Valsecchi, phone +39 331 9877220, site rifugioazzoni.it. Next door is the Città di Lecco bivouac with two beds, open only when the hut is closed.

Sources

On the map

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