Sondrio (; lmo, Sùndri; rm, Sunder; archaic german: Sünders or ; la, Sundrium) is an Italian city and ''

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 ...

'' and Provincial Capital located in the heart of the

Valtellina Valtellina or the Valtelline (occasionally spelled as two words in English: Val Telline; rm, Vuclina (); lmo, Valtelina or ; german: Veltlin; it, Valtellina) is a valley in the Lombardy region of northern Italy, bordering Switzerland. To ...

. , 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, withi ...

. 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 B ...

military camp, today's Sondrio was founded by the

Lombards The Lombards () or Langobards ( la, Langobardi) were a Germanic people who ruled most of the Italian Peninsula from 568 to 774. The medieval Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the '' History of the Lombards'' (written between 787 an ...

: in their language ''Sundrium'' meant "Exclusive property", referring to the status of free men ('' arimanni'') 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 Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...

. 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 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 has m ...

, and its war against

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

. 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, as the capital city of

. After the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and i ...

, Sondrio was the centre of heavy struggles between the Catholic Valtellinesi and the Protestant Grisons. In 1620 the citizens, led by

Giacomo Robustelli Giacomo is an Italian name. It is the Italian version of the Hebrew name Jacob. People * Giacomo (name), including a list of people with the name Other uses * Giacomo (horse), a race horse, winner of the 2005 Kentucky Derby * ''Giácomo'' (fi ...

, killed 180 Protestants and declared the independence of the Valtellina. After the Napoleonic parenthesis, in which it became part of the

Cisalpine Republic The Cisalpine Republic ( it, Repubblica Cisalpina) was a sister republic of France in Northern Italy that existed from 1797 to 1799, with a second version until 1802. Creation After the Battle of Lodi in May 1796, Napoleon Bonaparte organized ...

(later

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy ( it, Regno d'Italia) was a state that existed from 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Sardinia was proclaimed King of Italy, until 1946, when civil discontent led to an institutional referendum to abandon the monarchy and ...

), Sondrio with the Valtellina was annexed to the Austrian

Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia The Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia ( la, links=no, Regnum Langobardiae et Venetiae), commonly called the "Lombardo-Venetian Kingdom" ( it, links=no, Regno Lombardo-Veneto, german: links=no, Königreich Lombardo-Venetien), was a constituent land ...

, 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 A ''frazione'' (plural: ) is a type of subdivision of a ''comune'' (municipality) in Italy, often a small village or hamlet outside the main town. Most ''frazioni'' were created during the Fascist era (1922–1943) as a way to consolidate territ ...

'') 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.il ...

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 In the Middle Ages, a pieve (, ; la, plebe, link=no; plural ''pievi'') was a rural church with a baptistery, upon which other churches without baptisteries depended. The Italian word ''pieve'' is descended from Latin Latin (, or , ) i ...

and

collegiate church In Christianity, a collegiate church is a Church (building), church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college (canon law), college of canon (priest), canons: a non-monastic or secular clergy, "secular" community of clergy, organis ...

. 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

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 The Diocese of Como ( la, Dioecesis Comensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or diocese of the Catholic Church in northern Italy. It was established in the Fourth Century. It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of ...

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 (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 202 ...

(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 Sindelfingen ( Swabian: ''Sendlfenga'') is a city in Baden-Württemberg in south Germany. It lies near Stuttgart at the headwaters of the Schwippe (a tributary of the river Würm), and is home to a Mercedes-Benz assembly plant. History * 115 ...

, Germany

Sports

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

Serie D The Serie D () is the top level of semi-professional football in the country. The fourth tier of the Italian league system, the competition sits beneath the third professional league, Serie C. It is administered by the Lega Nazionale Dilettant ...

References

External links

Official website

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