Lecco Playbook: Your Unrivalled Experience with Como’s Fierce Lake Rivals

There is a version of Lake Como that most travellers never see.

Not the villas, not the ferries packed with day-trippers, but a smaller, proud footballing city on the water’s eastern shore, where Serie C still means something and the stadium sits close enough to the lake that you can smell it on matchday.

Calcio Lecco 1912 are one of Italian football’s most stubborn survival stories: three brief spells in Serie A last century, a 50-year wait to get back to Serie B that finally ended in 2023, and a return to Serie C the following year.

None of that has dented the identity. If anything, it has sharpened it. It is an identity built on scarcity — they were last in the top flight in 1967 — and the fans have learned to measure success in different terms than clubs with fuller trophy cabinets.

The historic rivalry with Como, the Derby del Lario, would have been the first fixture every Lecco supporter circled, but they are two divisions apart now. Travelling between the two cities takes an hour by train or around 45 minutes by car.

Lecco sits between the water and the Resegone massif that Alessandro Manzoni made famous in his novel I Promessi Sposi (The Betrothed). The city still trades heavily on that literary heritage: Villa Manzoni, the Basilica di San Nicolò, Palazzo delle Paure and the lungolago promenade all sit within easy walking distance of the centre, and Pescarenico, the old fishing borgo described in the novel, is one of the most atmospheric corners of town, all narrow lanes and lakefront trattorias.

It’s a compact, walkable city rather than a tourist machine, and that’s exactly what makes it work as a football destination: locals, students and away fans end up in the same bars, and football conversation isn’t hard to find.

Here is everything you need to know.

Where To Stay

NH Lecco Pontevecchio and HLL Hotel Lungolago Lecco-Como Lake both sit close to the water and the historic centre, a comfortable base for exploring on foot before heading to the ground.

Hotel Moderno offers a reliable, central option at a more contained price point, while Hotel Alberi, on the north-eastern side of the city, puts you within easier reach of the stadium itself for those travelling without a car.

There is a range of apartments around the centre and the lakefront, often the best value for groups travelling together for the weekend.

Where To Eat

Osteria Vecchia Pescarenico is the place to start. It sits right in the old fishing quarter and serves the kind of lake-driven, unpretentious cooking the neighbourhood was built on.

A short walk away, Al Porticciolo 84 leans more contemporary, mixing lake fish with a broader Italian menu in a setting that works well before or after a match.

For something tied directly to the city’s literary roots, Antica Osteria Casa di Lucia, built, according to local legend, on the site of the house belonging to Manzoni’s heroine, serves home-style Lecco cooking: cured meats, tagliolini with missoltino ragù, rabbit with polenta.

Pontile Orestino, opposite the ferry landing, is the more old-fashioned option, with lake-view dining and classic dishes such as risotto with perch fillets.

Where To Drink

Matchday in Lecco has an unofficial headquarters: The Shamrock Irish Pub, in Via Giuseppe Parini 5, in the city centre. It’s not just a bar with a Lecco crowd, Shamrock has run the concession stands inside the Stadio Rigamonti-Ceppi for years, sells tickets directly from its own counter ahead of home games, and is home to Lecco Club Shamrock, the supporters’ club that grew out of the pub’s own fanbase after the 2023 promotion. It is also home to the Lecco Celtic Supporters Club.

Expect a green-and-blue mix on matchday: Guinness on tap, Irish food, and a room full of people talking about the game that’s about to happen or the one that just did. It’s open every day, including bank holidays, from late afternoon (weekends from midday) until 1am, and it remains one of the most useful single stops for any visiting supporter, for information as much as for a drink.

Don’t Forget

Match tickets go on sale in the days before each fixture, online via VivaTicket and at the stadium ticket office on Via Don Pozzi, which typically opens the day before the match and again from around 90 minutes before kick-off.

Prices vary by opponent and promotion, but as an indicative 2025-26 range: Curva Nord around €10, Distinti between €10 and €15, and Tribuna seats from roughly €25 up to €40 for the central sections. It is always worth checking before travelling, since prices are adjusted match by match. A wheelchair platform is available in sector 6 of the Distinti stand, subject to availability; contacting the club in advance for accreditation is recommended.

Bring photo ID and arrive with time to spare, both to clear the turnstiles and to take in the pre-match atmosphere around Via Don Pozzi and the Shamrock. Kick-off times vary through the season, so always double check the exact time for your fixture rather than assuming a standard weekend slot.

Getting There

Lecco’s train station sits on the Milano–Lecco–Sondrio/Tirano line, roughly a 15–20 minute walk from the stadium, or a short taxi ride. The nearest airports are Milano Bergamo (the most convenient for low-cost connections), Milan Malpensa and Linate, all within 60–90 minutes by car.

Need Another Football Fix?

Lecco’s position makes it an easy add-on to a wider Lombardy trip: Como sits about 45 minutes away by car, AlbinoLeffe’s modern stadium in Zanica is under an hour, and Milan, with its Serie A football and its own Serie C sides, is roughly 90 minutes south.