Sondrio (; lmo, Sùndri; rm, Sunder; archaic german: Sünders or ; la, Sundrium) is an Italian city and '' comune'' and Provincial Capital located in the heart of the Valtellina. , Sondrio counts approximately 21,876 inhabitants (2015) and it is the administrative centre for the

province of Sondrio The Province of Sondrio ( it, provincia di Sondrio) is in the Lombardy region of northern Italy. Its provincial capital is the city of Sondrio. As of 2017, it has a population of 181,403. History The Province was established in 1815, within ...

. In 2007, Sondrio was given the Alpine Town of the Year award.

History

Formerly an

Ancient Roman In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC ...

military camp, today's Sondrio was founded by the Lombards: in their language ''Sundrium'' meant "Exclusive property", referring to the status of free men (''

arimanni The arimanni (singular ''arimannus'') were a warrior class of freemen in Lombard and later Frankish Italy. In contemporary documents ''arimanni'' are sometimes denominated as ''liberi homines'' (free men) or ''exercitales'' (soldiers). The ranks ...

'') of the holders of the city and the surrounding land. After the fall of the Lombard Kingdom in Italy, Sondrio became part of the Holy Roman Empire. The Capitanei of Vizzola, who controlled much of the Valtellina, had it in 1040 from the emperor Henry II. From 1310 to 1335 the city was involved in the war between the Guelph and Ghibelline factions of the nearby Como, and its war against Milan. After having resisted several attacks by the Comaschi, in 1335 Sondrio and Valtellina became part of the Visconti Milanese dominions. From the second half of the 16th century to the end of the 18th century, Sondrio was governed by the Tre Leghe Grigie ("Three Grey Leagues") of the

Grisons The Grisons () or Graubünden,Names include: *german: (Kanton) Graubünden ; * Romansh: ** rm, label= Sursilvan, (Cantun) Grischun ** rm, label=Vallader, (Chantun) Grischun ** rm, label= Puter, (Chantun) Grischun ** rm, label=Surmiran, (Cant ...

, as the capital city of Valtellina. After the Reformation, Sondrio was the centre of heavy struggles between the Catholic Valtellinesi and the Protestant Grisons. In 1620 the citizens, led by Giacomo Robustelli, killed 180 Protestants and declared the independence of the Valtellina. After the

Napoleonic Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

parenthesis, in which it became part of the Cisalpine Republic (later Kingdom of Italy), Sondrio with the Valtellina was annexed to the Austrian Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia, and fought gallantly for its independence.

Geography

The town is located in the middle of the province, and borders with the municipalities of Albosaggia,

Caiolo Caiolo ( Lombard: ''Cajööl'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Sondrio in the Italian region Lombardy, located about northeast of Milan and about southwest of Sondrio. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 994 and an a ...

, Castione Andevenno, Faedo Valtellino, Montagna in Valtellina, Spriana and Torre di Santa Maria. Its hamlets ('' frazioni'') are Arquino, Colda, Gualtieri, Ligari, Moroni, Mossini, Ponchiera, Sant'Anna, Sassella, Triangia and Triasso.

Government

Economy

The territory of Sondrio has numerous vineyards; wines produced include the Sassella and Grumello. Wine represents one of the main resources of this region, together with tourism, especially in winter. Another important piece of Sondrio's economy is its banking industry, with the

Banca Popolare di Sondrio Banca Popolare di Sondrio S.C.p.A. (BPSO) is an Italian bank based in Sondrio, Lombardy. The company was included in FTSE Italia Mid Cap Index. History Banca Popolare di Sondrio was an urban cooperative bank found in 1871. Along with Credito Valte ...

and the Credito Valtellinese both headquartered in Sondrio and listed on the

Milan Stock Exchange Borsa Italiana, based in Milan, is the Italian stock exchange. It manages and organises domestic market, regulating procedures for admission and listing of companies and intermediaries and supervising disclosures for listed companies.italy24.ils ...

Main sights

The heart of Sondrio is its central Garibaldi Square. Not far from it is the

Palazzo Sassi A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome which ...

, home of the Art and History Museum of Valtellina. In a dominant position, near the ancient road to the Valmalenco, linking the town to Switzerland, stands the Masegra Castle, housing the Historical Museum of the Grisons Domination. The church of Santi Gervasio e Protasio rebuilt in Neoclassical-style in 1838, was built in the 12th century as a Romanesque pieve and collegiate church. Other sights include the Torre Ligariana, once the collegiate's bell tower, and the Palazzo Pretorio, once the seat of the Grisons government. Across the railway in direction of Milan there is the ancient Church of Maria della Sassella, which the local tradition dates back to the 10th century. In March 2021 the Roman Catholic Diocese of Como declared the church to be a diocesan Marian sanctuary.

People

Giovanni Pietro Ligario Giovanni Pietro Ligario (1686–1748) was an Italian painter and architect of the late-Baroque. He was born at Ardenno province of Sondrio in the Valtelline valley, and after early training there, moved to Rome, where he frequented the studio of ...

(1686–1748), painter *

Antonio Caimi Antonio Caimi (16 April 1814 – 5 January 1878) was an Italian painter and biographer of artists, active in Milan and best known for his portraits. Biography He was born at Sondrio. He trained initially in the Accademia Carrara of Bergamo unde ...

(1814–1878), painter * Enrico Sertoli (1842–1910), physiologist and histologist *

Antonio Carini Antonio Carini (1872–1950) was an Italian physician, bacteriologist and professor. He worked in the public health services of São Paulo, Brazil for over forty years.Primo H. Zopatti Primo may refer to: People * DJ Premier (born 1966), hip-hop producer, sometimes goes by nickname Primo *Primo Carnera (1906–1967), Italian boxer, World Heavyweight champion 1933–1934 * Primo Cassarino (born 1956), enforcer for the Gambino c ...

(1878-1934), entrepreneur America, Zopatti Bros., Dorchester. * Pier Luigi Nervi (1891–1979), engineer *

Valerio Ricetti Valerio Ricetti (; 4 October 1898 – 1952) was an Italian-Australian hermit who lived mainly in a cave in the Griffith area for a period of 23 years. Working only at night and in the early morning hours so that he would not be seen, he turned t ...

(1898—1952), Italian-Australian hermit *

Gianni Celati Gianni Celati (10 January 1937 – 3 January 2022) was an Italian writer, translator, and literary critic. Biography Gianni Celati was born in Sondrio, Italy, but spent his infancy and adolescence in the province of Ferrara. He graduated in En ...

(b. 1937), writer, translator and literary critic *

Sophia Zopatti Lewis Sophia means "wisdom" in Greek. It may refer to: *Sophia (wisdom) *Sophia (Gnosticism) * Sophia (given name) Places *Niulakita or Sophia, an island of Tuvalu * Sophia, Georgetown, a ward of Georgetown, Guyana * Sophia, North Carolina, an unincor ...

(b.1941), Olympic dressage hunter/jumper Rome 1960 * Giulio Tremonti (b. 1947), politician *

Benedetto Della Vedova Benedetto Della Vedova (Sondrio, 3 April 1962) is an Italian people, Italian politician. A keen pro-Europeanism, pro-Europeanist, Della Vedova is currently president of Forza Europa (2017), Forza Europa (FE) and secretary of More Europe (+EU), t ...

(b. 1962), politician * Raffaella "Raffy" Rossi (b. 1974), ski mountaineer and skyrunner * Luca Colombo (b. 1984), football player * Matteo D'Alessandro (b. 1989), football player * Robert Antonioli (b. 1990), ski mountaineer * Michele Boscacci (b. 1990), ski mountaineer *

Arianna Fontana Arianna Fontana OMRI (born 14 April 1990) is an Italian short track speed skater, who has won eleven Olympic medals among these two gold medals in the 500m short track, one at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang and the second one at the 20 ...

(b. 1990), short track speed skater *

Lorenzo Passerini Lorenzo Passerini (born 1991) is an Italian conductor who began as a trombonist. He has worked at major opera houses in Europe and Australia, such as Verdi's ''Un ballo in maschera'' at the Teatro Real in Madrid, Gounod's ''Faust'' at the Sydney ...

(b. 1991), conductor

Twin towns – sister cities

Sondrio is

twinned Twinning (making a twin of) may refer to: * In biology and agriculture, producing two offspring (i.e., twins) at a time, or having a tendency to do so; * Twin towns and sister cities, towns and cities involved in town twinning * Twinning inst ...

with: * Radovljica, Slovenia * São Mateus, Brazil * Sindelfingen, Germany

Sports

Sondrio Calcio is the football club of the city and currently plays in Serie D.

References

External links

Official website

Sondrio weather website
{{Authority control Cities and towns in Lombardy