The Vallo delle mura is a surviving stretch of Lecco’s fortifications, the bastion of the Porta di Vianova, in Lecco, at the top of via Bovara; since 23 April 2021 access has been banned for safety reasons.
What it is
Lecco was a fortified village. In 1336 Azzone Visconti had a triangular wall built that enclosed the village and the castle on the lakeshore, with three gates: Santo Stefano, on the harbour, the Porta Nuova to the north-east, towards the Valsassina, and one to the south-east towards Bergamo, on the border with the Republic of Venice (Lecco Tourism). In 1551 the defences were adapted to artillery: the three gates were reinforced, ramparts were formed beyond the moat and the large round tower with the cannon position was completed, beside the basilica of San Nicolò. When Joseph II abolished the fortress of Lecco, after 1782, the castle was dismantled and the walls were demolished. Of the walls, the Torre Viscontea and this stretch remain today.
Part of the site is also nineteenth-century. Prima Lecco (23 April 2021) reports, citing FAI’s young volunteers, that the wall with fountains, a mosaic of stone and marble tesserae that holds up the garden of the Biblioteca civica, is the work of the architect Giuseppe Bovara, from 1810; the place also includes an open-air arena with almost three hundred seats.
In the novel
In the novel Lecco is a village with its walls and its castle, where a Spanish garrison is stationed. The Vallo is the historical background to that setting, and Lecco Tourism’s Manzoni itinerary places it among the stops in the centre, next to the Torre Viscontea.
Access
On 23 April 2021 the Comune di Lecco banned access to the Vallo, after an inspection by municipal technicians found structural and safety problems with the metal staircase and the medieval wall (statement reported by LeccoToday, Prima Lecco and Il Giorno). The municipality announced analyses and a restoration and redevelopment work.
The tourist sources are not aligned: the eccoLecco page, updated on 4 October 2023, says you can freely walk around the Vallo, which contradicts the municipality’s ban. A local outlet, Lecco Notizie, ran a headline about a project to reopen and enhance the site, but we could not read the article. As of 5 October 2026 we have not found news of a reopening.
Practical information
- Address: Largo Montenero, at the top of via Bovara, in Lecco.
- At the time of our check access was banned by the municipality: check the Comune di Lecco’s notices before going.
- The Manzoni’s Lecco itinerary passes through the old town.
Sources
- Lecco Tourism, Vallo delle mura
- Lecco Tourism, Manzoni itinerary
- eccoLecco, Vallo delle mura (updated 4 October 2023)
- LeccoToday, «Lecco, chiuso l’accesso al vallo delle mura per motivi di sicurezza» (23 April 2021)
- Prima Lecco, «Criticità strutturali: vietato l’accesso al Vallo delle Mura» (23 April 2021)
- Il Giorno, «Le mura medievali cedono» (23 April 2021)