The Azzone Visconti Bridge is a

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

bridge over the

Adda River The Adda (Latin: *Abdua*, or *Addua*; Lombard: *Ada*, or *Adda*) is a river in North Italy, a tributary of the Po. It rises in the Alps near the border with Switzerland and flows through Lake Como. The Adda joins the Po near Castelnuovo Boc ...

Lecco Lecco (, , ; ) is a city of approximately 47,000 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''). The Bergamasqu ...

Lombardy The Lombardy Region (; ) is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in northern Italy and has a population of about 10 million people, constituting more than one-sixth of Italy's population. Lombardy is ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. It was built by

Azzone Visconti Azzone Visconti (7 December 1302 – 16 August 1339) was lord of Milan from 1329 until his death. After the death of his uncle, Marco Visconti, he was threatened with excommunication and had to submit to Pope John XXII. Azzone reconstituted his f ...

Lord of Milan The Lordship of Milan was a state in Northern Italy created in May 1259 following the election of Martino della Torre as lord of Milan. From 1259 to 1277 it was governed by the Della Torre, Della Torre family until, following the Battle of Desio, ...

, in the first half of the 14th century to connect Lecco to the road leading to

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

. Initially, it had towers and drawbridges controlling the city's entrance. Over the following centuries, it underwent demolitions and restorations. Today, the Azzone Visconti Bridge is open to two car lanes and continues to serve as a bridge connecting Lecco with the opposite bank of the Adda.

History

In 1335, Lecco spontaneously submitted to the lordship of Azzone Visconti, lord of Milan since 1328. Around 1336, Azzone built the bridge over the Adda River to connect Lecco with the road leading to Milan. The bridge had eight arches of unequal widths. It had two towers, each with a

drawbridge A drawbridge or draw-bridge is a type of moveable bridge typically at the entrance to a castle or tower surrounded by a moat. In some forms of English, including American English, the word ''drawbridge'' commonly refers to all types of moveable b ...

, which controlled the passage and entrance to Lecco. In the center of the bridge, there was a small fortress. The fortifications of the bridge completed the defense of Lecco. Between 1349 and 1354, Giovanni Visconti, archbishop and lord of Milan, had two spans added on the western side. In the 15th century, the

Como Como (, ; , or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como. Nestled at the southwestern branch of the picturesque Lake Como, the city is a renowned tourist destination, ce ...

inhabitants, suffering from flooding from the

lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...

, claimed that the bridge was to blame, as it limited the water discharge into the Adda. At their expense, an additional span was therefore added. In 1909–1910, despite the contrary opinion of the authority in charge of monument preservation, the bridge was widened by inserting iron brackets on the sides, knocking down the walls of the two parapets. The bridge width became .

The bridge in ''Mona Lisa''s background

Local scholars have traditionally identified the bridge depicted by

Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 1452 - 2 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially rested o ...

behind

Mona Lisa The ''Mona Lisa'' is a half-length portrait painting by the Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci. Considered an archetypal masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance, it has been described as "the best known, the most visited, the most written about, ...

with the Azzone Visconti Bridge. Leonardo frequently visited the Adda Valley up to Lecco and undoubtedly saw the bridge. South of Lecco, the rocky landscape along the Adda Valley also inspired Leonardo to create the background of the two versions of the ''

Virgin of the Rocks The ''Virgin of the Rocks'' (), sometimes the ''Madonna of the Rocks'', is the name of two paintings by the Italian Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci, of the same subject, with a composition which is identical except for several significant de ...

'', now held in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

and

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

museums. The geology of the landscape depicted in ''Mona Lisa''s background is comparable to that of the lake and mountains of Lecco, confirming that the bridge depicted by Leonardo was the Azzone Visconti Bridge. Another similarity between Leonardo's and the Azzone Visconti Bridge is the different widths of the arches.

Today

The bridge still serves to cross the Adda River with two car lanes and one pedestrian lane. It has a total length of .

References

Sources

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External links

''Lecco. Land of colors – Ponte Azzone Visconti''''Lombardia Beni Culturali – Ponte Azzone Visconti. Lecco (LC)''
{{Visconti of Milan Bridges in Lombardy Bridges completed in the 14th century 1338 establishments in Europe 14th-century establishments in Italy Stone bridges in Italy Lecco Arch bridges in Italy