Premana

Premana (Lecchese: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Lecco in the Italian region Lombardy, located about northeast of Milan and about north of Lecco. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 2,285 and an area of .All demographics and other statistics: Italian statistical institute Istat. Premana has a long tradition in iron and steel working and is a centre of production for
scissors and other cutting utensils, such as the safety razors from the traditional Italian brand Fatip, which have been handcrafted in Premana since the 1980s.

Premana borders the following municipalities: Casargo, Delebio, Gerola Alta, Introbio, Pagnona, Pedesina, Primaluna, Rogolo.

Geography

Territory

Premana is located in Valvarrone at the foot of Mounts Legnone 2,610mt and Pizzo Alto 2,518mt in the Orobic Alps between Valsassina and Valtellina. The area has numerous hiking trails and all mountains can be scaled in a day without any particular difficulty. However, climbers are urged to be cautious and suitably kitted out.

The area surrounding Premana is mainly birch, pine and chestnut tree woodlands that rise from the bottom of the valley up to the high pastures, which in turn lead to the mountain peaks that ring the town, and delineate its borders.

Scattered across the area are twelve mountain pastures or "Mont" as they are called locally, (Barconcelli, Caprecolo, Casarsa, Chiarino, Deleguaggio, Forni, Fraina, Piancalada, Premaniga, Rasga, Solino, Vegessa). In the past these provided, and to a lesser extent still do provide, seasonal pasturing for herds of cows and goats in summer months.

History

According to Roman historians, the first settlements in the area were of the Orobi, then in 400 B.C. of the Celts. Towards the end of the 2nd century B.C. Rome enters into play. It imposed treaties on the federation of the Alpine Peoples. Next Augustus fought and defeated them and they were permanently subjected. However, Rome did not upset the rhythm, customs and traditions of their lives, but it did exact taxation and furthermore, across the centuries the imposed submission did eventually influence the Alpine populations and their societies.

The origin of the name Premana derives from Premanum, a Roman outpost manned by soldiers principally concerned in procuring the much sought-after Premanese production of arms. Another theory claims it simply derives from the phrase "before the mountains", referring to its location: at the foot of the mountains (pre montibus).

Between the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, iron and steel activities in Premana went through a major development. There were two reasons for this. First, the large quantity of iron supplied to the Milanese (Duchy of Milan) armaments industry. Then in 1410 the Brescia and Bergamo iron-ore territories came under the rule of the Republic of Venice, and that gave Valsassina predominance in the sector. Until 1800 the entire mountain area was systematically explored in the hope of finding new seams. Nevertheless, the old ones of upper Varro, of Artino and near the lake of Sasso in Biandino, continued to be those with the greatest yields.

During World War II Premana and its territory became the main base for the partisan resistance movement of the Lecco area. The impervious terrain meant that the Valvarrone region was far away from communication routes and immediately it became, and remained throughout the war, an important logistical base for all of the various partisan units, thanks also to the help and cooperation of the local inhabitants. The Trona pass was a reference point for the partisans and along with many other places in the hinterland of Premana, such as Alpe Barconcelli, became the headquarters of resistance groups.

Emigration

An emigration of Premanese to Venice began in the Middle Ages, and obviously their skills in ironworking went along with them. Iron ore had been mined in abundance for ages close to Premana and the Premanese learned how to work and use it from the remotest of times.

In the lagoon city, the Premanesi worked as blacksmiths, coppersmiths, they crafted knives, swords and other kinds of armaments plus cutting tools and utensils. They also worked in the maritime Arsenal, but above all they worked in the factories and workshops of the city itself.

It was a huge emigration which peaked between 1500 and 1700, and suffice to say that in 1769, there were 139 Premanesi workshops in Venice.

Sport

The “Giir di Mont” is the best-known sporting event in Premana (in dialect "giir di mont” means “tour of the mountain pastures”). It was conceived, in the context of mountain running (Skyrunning), as a challenging race on a track that links the 12 mountain pastures of the territory. The race takes place over a 32-kilometer course with a 2400mt. difference in altitude. Since 2019 the event has been broadcast on Sky Italia channels.

Economy

CAMP, producing materials for mountain sports, climbing, mountaineering, hiking, caving, and also for “safety at work” equipment, was started in Premana, where it still has its headquarters.

The CAMP acronym is derived from the initials of Concezione Articoli Montagna Premana.

Demographic evolution

Colors=
id:lightgrey value:gray(0.9)
id:darkgrey value:gray(0.8)
id:sfondo value:rgb(1,1,1)
id:barra value:rgb(0.6,0.7,0.8)

ImageSize = width:455 height:303
PlotArea = left:50 bottom:50 top:30 right:30
DateFormat = x.y
Period = from:0 till:3000
TimeAxis = orientation:vertical
AlignBars = justify
ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:1000 start:0
ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:200 start:0
BackgroundColors = canvas:sfondo

BarData=
bar:1861 text:1861
bar:1871 text:1871
bar:1881 text:1881
bar:1901 text:1901
bar:1911 text:1911
bar:1921 text:1921
bar:1931 text:1931
bar:1936 text:1936
bar:1951 text:1951
bar:1961 text:1961
bar:1971 text:1971
bar:1981 text:1981
bar:1991 text:1991
bar:2001 text:2001

PlotData=
color:barra width:20 align:left

bar:1861 from: 0 till:1156
bar:1871 from: 0 till:1238
bar:1881 from: 0 till:1225
bar:1901 from: 0 till:1076
bar:1911 from: 0 till:1251
bar:1921 from: 0 till:1260
bar:1931 from: 0 till:1315
bar:1936 from: 0 till:1365
bar:1951 from: 0 till:1514
bar:1961 from: 0 till:1705
bar:1971 from: 0 till:2064
bar:1981 from: 0 till:2163
bar:1991 from: 0 till:2166
bar:2001 from: 0 till:2256

PlotData=

bar:1861 at:1156 fontsize:XS text: 1156 shift:(-8,5)
bar:1871 at:1238 fontsize:XS text: 1238 shift:(-8,5)
bar:1881 at:1225 fontsize:XS text: 1225 shift:(-8,5)
bar:1901 at:1076 fontsize:XS text: 1076 shift:(-8,5)
bar:1911 at:1251 fontsize:XS text: 1251 shift:(-8,5)
bar:1921 at:1260 fontsize:XS text: 1260 shift:(-8,5)
bar:1931 at:1315 fontsize:XS text: 1315 shift:(-8,5)
bar:1936 at:1365 fontsize:XS text: 1365 shift:(-8,5)
bar:1951 at:1514 fontsize:XS text: 1514 shift:(-8,5)
bar:1961 at:1705 fontsize:XS text: 1705 shift:(-8,5)
bar:1971 at:2064 fontsize:XS text: 2064 shift:(-8,5)
bar:1981 at:2163 fontsize:XS text: 2163 shift:(-8,5)
bar:1991 at:2166 fontsize:XS text: 2166 shift:(-8,5)
bar:2001 at:2256 fontsize:XS text: 2256 shift:(-8,5)

TextData=
fontsize:S pos:(20,20)
text:Data from ISTAT

References

External links

www.comune.premana.lc.it/

Premana on The Campanile Project

Cities and towns in Lombardy
Valsassina

{{Lecco-geo-stub