Lecco's pearl: Grignetta's Spiders

Grignetta's Spiders

Lecco is not only hometown of Alessandro Manzoni’s “The Betrothed” novel, mountaineering is the other pearl of the territory.

In 1946 the young local climbers founded the mountaineering group called Grignetta’s Spiders.

The name Spider comes from the definition that the great mountaineer Tita Piaz gave to Gigi Vitali while seeing him climbing: "He looks like a spider!".

Grignetta is a distinctive mountain for climbers in Lecco's province. Spiders have always worn the red sweater with two white stripes on the left arm and the symbol of the seven-legged spider.

The first major expedition that made the Spiders famous worldwide was in 1961 when they were the first to climb Mount McKinley (now Denali) in Alaska, opening the first way on the south side. Riccardo Cassin was the leading the expedition, with him Romano Perego, Jack Canali, Luigino Airoldi, Annibale Zucchi and Gigi Alippi. For their success they received a telegram of congratulations from the US President John F. Kennedy.

The other expedition that made the Spiders very famous was in 1974 when they first climbed the Cerro Torre in Patagonia passing through the west side. Until that moment this mountain was considered impossible to climb. Casimiro Ferrari, Mariolino Conti, Pino Negri and Daniele Chiappa reached the top on January the 13th.

In the following years, in addition to mountaineering, Grignetta's Spiders also dedicated themselves to climbing. In recent years the great revival with the entry into the group of young talented such as Matteo Della Bordella and Luca Schiera.

The Lecco Alpine Observatory

The Lecco Alpine Observatory On the third floor of the museum Palazzo delle Paure in Piazza XX Settembre in Lecco there is the Lecco Alpine Observatory which traces with a multimedia route the enterprises of the Red Sweaters.

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