Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 11, 2026

Morterone

Morterone is a village and comune (municipality) in the Province of Lecco in the region of Lombardy in Italy, located about 50 kilometres (31 mi) northeast of Milan and about 7 kilometres (4 mi) northeast of Lecco. With a population of 30, it is the least populous municipality in Italy – in an area of 13.71 square kilometres (5.29 mi2). For this record, it competes with the municipality of Pedesina, which in past years had even fewer inhabitants. In 2016, Morterone with its 32 residents became the smallest Italian comune once again.

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Morterone
Murterun (Lombard)
Comune
Comune di Morterone
Morterone
Morterone
Coat of arms of Morterone
Coat of arms
Morterone
Location of Morterone in Italy
Show map of Italy
Morterone
Morterone (Lombardy)
Show map of Lombardy
Coordinates: 45°52′N 9°29′E / 45.867°N 9.483°E / 45.867; 9.483
CountryItaly
RegionLombardy
ProvinceLecco (LC)
Area
1
 • Total
13.71 km2 (5.29 sq mi)
Elevation
1,070 m (3,510 ft)
Population
 (2026)23
 • Total
30
 • Density2.2/km2 (5.7/sq mi)
DemonymMorteronesi
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code
23811
Dialing code0341

Morterone (Valassinese Lombard: Murterun) is a village and comune (municipality) in the Province of Lecco in the region of Lombardy in Italy, located about 50 kilometres (31 mi) northeast of Milan and about 7 kilometres (4 mi) northeast of Lecco. With a population of 30, it is the least populous municipality in Italy – in an area of 13.71 square kilometres (5.29 mi2).451 For this record, it competes with the municipality of Pedesina, which in past years had even fewer inhabitants. In 2016, Morterone with its 32 residents became the smallest Italian comune once again.

Morterone borders the municipalities of Ballabio, Brumano, Cassina Valsassina, Cremeno, Lecco, Moggio, and Vedeseta.

Etymology

The name Morterone derives from the Latin mortarium (pond) or murtus (myrtle).6

Since it lies on the eastern slope of Mount Resegone, in a lush and unspoilt natural basin surrounded by valleys, it would derive its Latin name mortarium (a wooden or stone bowl in which grass, roots, etc. were crushed), for others from mons, with reference to the pastures found there in large numbers.

Geography

Morterone is situated at the foot of the Pizzo of the same name (a peak that is part of the Resegone), in an area of woods where you can walk along mountain paths. In an isolated position, from a hydrographic point of view it is part of the Taleggio valley (the stream that runs through it is a right tributary of the Enna stream).7

Geology

The Morterone area is also an interesting karst area (caves, dolines, resurgences, gorges); more than forty cavities have been explored between the Morterone valley, the Remola valley and the Palio coast.

Demographics

As of 2026, the population is 30, of which 60% are male, and 40% are female. Minors make up 13.3% of the population, and seniors make up 36.7%.89

Short Term Population Change
Year Surveying Date Population Change % Number of Families Residents per Household
2001 31 December 33 - - - -
2002 31 December 32 -1 -3,03% - -
2003 31 December 35 +3 +9,38% 18 1,94
2004 31 December 38 +3 +8,57% 22 1,73
2005 31 December 37 -1 -2,63% 21 1,76
2006 31 December 37 0 0,00% 22 1,68
2007 31 December 36 -1 -2,70% 22 1,64
2008 31 December 37 +1 +2,78% 23 1,61
2009 31 December 38 +1 +2,70% 23 1,65
2010 31 December 37 -1 -2,63% 24 1,54
2011 8 October 36 -1 -2,70% 24 1,50
2011 9 October 34 -2 -5,56% - -
2011 31 December 36 -1 -2,70% 26 1,38
2012 31 December 37 +1 +2,78% 26 1,42
2013 31 December 38 +1 +2,70% 27 1,41
2014 31 December 38 0 0,00% 28 1,36
2015 31 December 36 -2 -5,26% 26 1,38
2016 31 December 34 -2 -5,56% 24 1,42
2017 31 December 35 +1 +2,94% 25 1,40
2018 31 December 32 -3 -8,57% - -
2019 31 December 30 -2 -6,25% - -
2020 31 December 29 -1 -3,33% - -

Births and deaths

Year Survey Dates Births Change Deaths Change Natural population

Change

2002 1 January-31 December 0 - 0 - 0
2003 1 January-31 December 0 0 0 0 0
2004 1 January-31 December 0 0 1 +1 -1
2005 1 January-31 December 0 0 0 -1 0
2006 1 January-31 December 0 0 0 0 0
2007 1 January-31 December 0 0 0 0 0
2008 1 January-31 December 0 0 1 +1 -1
2009 1 January-31 December 0 0 0 -1 0
2010 1 January-31 December 0 0 0 0 0
2011 1 January-8 October 0 0 0 0 0
2011 9 October-31 December 0 0 0 0 0
2011 1 January-31 December 0 0 0 0 0
2012 1 January-31 December 1 +1 0 0 +1
2013 1 January-31 December 0 -1 0 0 0
2014 1 January-31 December 1 +1 0 0 +1
2015 1 January-31 December 1 0 2 +2 -1
2016 1 January-31 December 0 -1 1 -1 -1
2017 1 January-31 December 0 0 0 -1 0
2018* 1 January-31 December 1 +1 1 +1 0
2019* 1 January-31 December 0 -1 2 +1 -2
2020* 1 January-31 December 1 +1 1 -1 0

Immigration

As of 2025, of the known countries of birth of 32 residents, the most numerous are: Italy (32 – 100%).1213

Politics

Elections

On 3 and 4 October 2021 the citizens of Morterone were called to the polls for the 2021 municipal elections. Mayor Dario Pesenti was elected.1415

Term Winner Party Position Notes
23 April 1995 13 June 1999 Giampietro Redaelli Partito Popolare Italiano Mayor 16
13 June 1999 12 June 2004 Palmino Invernizzi Partito Popolare Italiano Mayor
12 June 2004 7 June 2009 Giampietro Redaelli lista civica Mayor
7 June 2009 4 October 2021 Antonella Invernizzi lista civica Mayor
4 October 2021 In Office Dario Pesenti lista civica Mayor 17

Municipality

Town Hall

The Town Hall of Morterone is located at Piazza chiesa, 1, 23811 within the town.1819

Hours

Opening Hours20
Day Opening Hours
Tuesday 14:30 - 19:30
Wednesday 9:00 - 12:30
Thursday 9:00 - 12:30
Saturday 9:00 - 12:00

Administration

ANAC compliance

The municipality has and has had multiple plans for ANAC Compliance.21 It consists of calls for contracts and tender and datasets for both 20202223 and 2019.2425

Staffing

The Mayor, the Deputy Mayor and the Councillor of Morterone with the indication of the party they belong to or the political coalition at the time of the last municipal elections.14

Twin towns and sister cities

Morterone is twinned with:

References

References

  1. "Superficie di Comuni Province e Regioni italiane al 9 ottobre 2011" (in Italian). ISTAT.
  2. "Resident population by age, sex and marital status on 1st January 2026". demo.istat.it. ISTAT. 2026-01-01. Retrieved 2026-04-01. (On the search form, choose the statistical region of the municipality in the Area section, the Region, the Province, and the name of the Municipality)
  3. "Resident population by age, sex and marital status on 1st January 2026". demo.istat.it. ISTAT. 2026-01-01. Retrieved 2026-04-01.The file URL linking on technical dataset.
  4. "Resident population by age, sex and marital status on 1st January 2026". demo.istat.it. ISTAT. 2026-01-01. Retrieved 2026-04-01. (On the search form, choose the statistical region of the municipality in the Area section, the Region, the Province, and the name of the Municipality)
  5. "Resident population by age, sex and marital status on 1st January 2026". demo.istat.it. ISTAT. 2026-01-01. Retrieved 2026-04-01.The file URL linking on technical dataset.
  6. Giuliano., Gasca Queirazza (2006). Dizionario di toponomastica : storia e significato dei nomi geografici italiani. UTET. ISBN 88-02-07228-0. OCLC 799207212.
  7. Maetta, Annalisa (March 2015). "Paesaggi pubblici/paesaggi comuni. Possesso. Appartenenza. Carattere". Territorio (72): 21–27. doi:10.3280/tr2015-072003. ISSN 1825-8689.
  8. "Resident population by age, sex and marital status on 1st January 2026". demo.istat.it. ISTAT. 2026-01-01. Retrieved 2026-04-01. (On the search form, choose the statistical region of the municipality in the Area section, the Region, the Province, and the name of the Municipality)
  9. "Resident population by age, sex and marital status on 1st January 2026". demo.istat.it. ISTAT. 2026-01-01. Retrieved 2026-04-01.The file URL linking on technical dataset.
  10. "Popolazione residente dei comuni. Censimenti dal 1861 al 1991" [Resident population of the municipalities. Censuses from 1861 to 1991] (PDF) (in Italian). ISTAT. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2025-11-12.
  11. "Resident population - Time series". ISTAT.
  12. "Resident population by sex, municipality and individual citizenship or country of birth from year 2002". demo.istat.it. ISTAT. 2025-01-01. Retrieved 2025-02-27. (Click on 'View by country of birth', and on the search form, choose the statistical region of the municipality in the Area section, the Region, the Province, and the name of the Municipality)
  13. "Resident population by sex, municipality and individual citizenship or country of birth from year 2002". demo.istat.it. ISTAT. 2025-01-01. Retrieved 2025-02-27.The file URL linking on technical dataset.
  14. "Morterone (LC) - Sindaco e Amministrazione Comunale". Tuttitalia.it (in Italian). Retrieved 2022-05-03.
  15. "Elezioni Amministrative 2021 - Comuni al voto". Tuttitalia.it (in Italian). Retrieved 2022-05-03.
  16. "Eligendo Archivivo". elezionistorico.interno.gov.it. 3 May 2022. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
  17. "Sindaco". www.comune.morterone.lc.it. Retrieved 2022-05-03.
  18. "Home". www.comune.morterone.lc.it. Retrieved 2022-05-03.
  19. "Municipio di Morterone · Piazza chiesa, 1, 23811 Morterone LC, Italy". Municipio di Morterone · Piazza chiesa, 1, 23811 Morterone LC, Italy. Retrieved 2022-05-03.
  20. "Uffici e Orari". www.comune.morterone.lc.it. Retrieved 2022-05-03.
  21. "Adempimenti ANAC". www.comune.morterone.lc.it. Retrieved 2022-05-03.
  22. "Comune di Morterone". www.halleyweb.com. Retrieved 2022-05-03.
  23. "Appalti 2020". www.halleyweb.com. 3 May 2022. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
  24. "Comune di Morterone". www.halleyweb.com. Retrieved 2022-05-03.
  25. "Appalti 2019". www.halleyweb.com. 3 May 2022. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
Bibliography

Bibliography

  • Annalisa Borghese, Morterone, in Il territorio lariano e i suoi comuni, Milano, Editoriale del Drago, 1992, p. 322.
  • Antonio Carminati e Costantino Locatelli, Morterone, sedici racconti di vita contadina sulle pendici del Resegone, 2007, No ISBN
External links