Piazza Garibaldi, dedicated to the “hero of two worlds”, is the fulcrum of city life in Lecco, bustling throughout the year with events and activities. It is surrounded by elegant twentieth-century buildings, including Palazzo di Giustizia, designed by the Lecco architect Mario Cereghini, and Palazzo della Banca Popolare di Lecco.
At the centre of the square is a statue of Giuseppe Garibaldi, erected to express the gratitude that the people of Lecco felt towards the famous leader. Behind it is the Teatro della Società – currently not open to visitors due to restoration works – a neoclassical masterpiece designed by Giuseppe Bovara that has kept the majesty of its architectural style intact.
The square acts as the junction of the centre’s main streets and has become a point of reference for residents and visitors. It hosts many events throughout the year: from city markets to summer musical performances and an ice skating rink in winter, taking its place as the beating heart of the social life in Lecco.
Monument to Giuseppe Garibaldi
Originally located at the centre of the square, the monument to Giuseppe Garibaldi now stands in front of the entrance to the Teatro della Società. Created in 1884 by the sculptor Francesco Confalonieri to the design of the architect Giuseppe Bovara, the monument was the second statue erected in Garibaldi’s honour in Italy after his death.
Made of white Baveno granite, the statue stands on a pedestal that bears the names of the four followers of Garibaldi from Lecco who took part in the Expedition of the Thousand. The inhabitants of Lecco, wishing to pay tribute to the hero, collected donations to fund the creation of the work.
The building alongside the monument once housed the Albergo Croce di Malta, where Garibaldi stayed between 1859 and 1866; a commemorative plaque on the façade records his time there.
Teatro della Società
The Teatro della Società, designed in 1835 and inaugurated in 1844 with the opera “Anna Bolena” by Gaetano Donizetti, is an example of neoclassical architecture that recalls Milan’s famous Teatro della Scala for its elegance and acoustics. The main auditorium, in the shape of a horseshoe, has three tiers of boxes and a gallery, furnished with iron and velvet armchairs dating from the early twentieth century.The theatre’s ceiling is decorated with a large fresco, the “Teatro della vita” created by the artist Orlando Sora in 1978 and 1979, a work that depicts a sky enlivened by cherubs and symbolic figures forming a circle that celebrates the various stages of human existence.
Gallery
