Lierna is a ''

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...

'' in the

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

Lecco Lecco (, , ; lmo, label= Lecchese, Lècch ) is a city of 48,131 inhabitants in Lombardy, northern Italy, north of Milan. It lies at the end of the south-eastern branch of Lake Como (the branch is named ''Branch of Lecco'' / ''Ramo di Lecco''). ...

in Lombardy, in north-west Italy. It lies on the eastern shore of Lake Como, about north of

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

and about north-west of

. Lierna borders the comuni of

Esino Lario Esino Lario (; Lecchese: ; locally ) is a municipality (''comune'') of the Province of Lecco in the Italian region of Lombardy. It is about north of Milan, northwest of Lecco, and about from the eastern shore of Lake Como. The area aroun ...

Mandello del Lario Mandello del Lario (Lecchese: ) is an Italian town and ''comune'' in the province of Lecco, in Lombardy, on Lake Como. Since 1921, Mandello del Lario has been home to Moto Guzzi—the Italian motorcycle manufacturer, now a subsidiary of Piagg ...

, Oliveto Lario and

Varenna Varenna (Comasco, Lecchese: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) on Lake Como in the Province of Lecco in the Italian region Lombardy, located about north of Milan and about northwest of Lecco. Varenna was founded by local fishermen in 769, and ...

History

The first mention of Lierna dates to 854 AD, but

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

remains, including a

mosaic A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...

floor now in the Palazzo Belgioioso of

, attest to much earlier settlement. The name of the village may be of Roman or of

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

origin. Between 1035 and 1202 it was a feud of the Monastery of San Dionigi in Milan. Lierna was contested between

and

Como Como (, ; lmo, Còmm, label= Comasco , or ; lat, Novum Comum; rm, Com; french: Côme) is a city and ''comune'' in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como. Its proximity to Lake Como and to the Alps h ...

, and between the

Della Torre The House of Della Torre (Torriani or Thurn) were an Italian noble family who rose to prominence in Lombardy during the 12th–14th centuries, until they held the lordship of Milan before being ousted by the Visconti. History The family originall ...

and

Visconti Visconti is a surname which may refer to: Italian noble families * Visconti of Milan, ruled Milan from 1277 to 1447 ** Visconti di Modrone, collateral branch of the Visconti of Milan * Visconti of Pisa and Sardinia, ruled Gallura in Sardinia from ...

families. It passed into the hands of the Marchesino Stanga in 1499, and in 1533 to the of Cremona, who held it until 1788. Lierna became a ''comune'' in 1743, when it was separated from that of Mandello. In 1927 the Milanese sculptor

Giannino Castiglioni Giannino Castiglioni (4 May 1884 – 27 August 1971) was an Italian sculptor and medallist. He worked mostly in monumental and funerary sculpture; his style was representational, and far from the modernist and avant-garde trends of the earl ...

opened a studio at his house in Lierna. He died in Lierna on 27 August 1971. He left some preparatory plaster casts to the comune; a museum to house them is under construction. In 1933 an incomplete

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

of '' Lariosaurus balsami'', a nothosaurid from the

Middle Triassic In the geologic timescale, the Middle Triassic is the second of three epochs of the Triassic period or the middle of three series in which the Triassic system is divided in chronostratigraphy. The Middle Triassic spans the time between Ma and ...

(circa 240 million years ago) of which the first example was discovered at

Perledo Perledo ( Comasco, Lecchese: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Lecco in the Italian region Lombardy, located about north of Milan and about northwest of Lecco. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 900 and an area of ...

, some 10 km north of Lierna, was found in a quarry in the ''frazione'' of Grumo. It is now in the Museo di Storia Naturale in the Palazzo Belgioioso of Lecco.

References

Cities and towns in Lombardy {{Lecco-geo-stub

History

See also

References