Palazzo Belgiojoso

It dates back to the beginning of the 18th century, Belgiojoso Palace was built by the Locatelli family, originally from Valle Imagna. The building perfectly embodies 18th-century aesthetics, distinguished by its large interior colonnaded portico and facades punctuated by refined mouldings framing the large windows.

After passing in 1794 to Giovanna Mellerio, wife of Prince Carlo Rinaldo di Belgiojoso d'Este, the palace went through a turbulent phase: it was seized by the Cisalpine Republic to make it the headquarters of the Mountain Department and changed ownership several times during the 19th century. Its cultural revival took place in the 1927, when it became the definitive seat of the Lecco Civic Museums.

Today, the Palace is a lively museum centre that houses:

• Natural History Museum: the oldest nucleus (1888), originating from the collection of Carlo Vercelloni.
• Archaeological Museum: opened in 2000 to narrate the origins of the territory.
• Civic Planetarium: a journey into the cosmos active since 2004.
• Historical Museum: located on the ground floor, traces local events from the Risorgimento to the Resistance, including a virtual room dedicated to the historical iron industry.

Since 2021, the facility has broken down the barriers to use thanks to the project Please touch me! With eyes closed in the museum. Through multisensory stations, tactile reproductions and voice aids, the heritage becomes accessible to the visually impaired and blind, offering all visitors an inclusive and deeply emotional experience.