SOME CONSIDERATIONS ABOUT THE ANCIENT 
PANORAMA OF LECCO (ITALY) 
Some particular elements of the drawing, regarding the 
knowledge of the area surveyed, are important to identify 
the author. Furthermore analyzing the notes written on the 
panorama of Lecco and taking into account some other 
coincidences (Broglia et al., 1999), the authors arrived at 
the conclusion that the architect Giuseppe Bovara was the 
author. He realized the panorama from 1804 to 1816 and 
it was found in the Carlini's documents, because there 
was a big friendships between the astronomer and 
Bovara. 
In order to find the point(s) of view, some tops of 
mountains and some places were recognized in the 
panorama and compared, using a mathematical analysis, 
with the measurements made on the Regional Technical 
Map of Lombardy. The two sets of measurements were 
compared using a least squares linear regression 
between azimuth angles and linear distances; analogous 
considerations were made for the elevation angles, 
referred at the surface of the sea and compared to the 
vertical distances measured on the panorama. 
The correct localization of some points on the panorama 
depends on the selection of the point station. The point of 
view, considering the whole panorama, was firstly placed 
in Lecco, near Belvedere Street, in proximity of the lake. 
Successively observing the residuals of this first analysis 
and their systematic behavior, the analysis was refined 
considering the two parts of the drawing separately. Thus 
two different points of view, which minimized the 
mathematical solution, were found. 
The first point of view, using only the first twenty points of 
the section of the panorama with the Mont. Barro, was 
situated in the cross-roads between Turati and Belvedere 
Streets, at the altitude of about 220 m. on the sea level. It 
is important to refer these considerations at the period, in 
which the panorama was realized; therefore the historical 
map, realized by IGM in the 1888, was used. In this map, 
the main street of Lecco ran parallel at the Turati Street 
and there were not houses among these streets and the 
lake. So the visibility in this area toward the lake, in the 
XIX century, was very large, this made possible the 
presence of a point station to draw a panorama. 
The second solution, referred to the second section of the 
panorama with the Mont. St. Martino, obtained using 
sixteen points, showed the point of view localized in the 
center of gravity of a triangle. Its vertices were located: at 
the Church of S. Nicolo (rebuild in the 1830 by the 
architect Bovara, in more steps, with the bell-tower 
finished in the 1904, on a Visconteo keep), at the 
Canonica of the XVII century and at the house of Bovara 
(now Municipal Library) (Dacco et al., 1988). Also this part 
of the town of Lecco, in the XIX century, permitted a good 
view of the lake and of the mountains around it. 
COMPARISON WITH A MODERN TERRESTRIAL 
PHOTOGRAMMETRIC SURVEY 
To validate the accuracy of the ancient panorama, i.e. the 
capability of this old technique, to obtain a good altimetric 
mapping, a modern terrestrial photogrammetric survey 
was set up and compared. In January 1999, a 
photogrammetric survey was organized using a metric 
camera WILD P31, lens 100 mm, taking 6 images from 
the bell - tower terrace of the St. Nicolo, the main church 
in Lecco. The black and white images were digitized by 
DTP scanner with low-resolution and then they were 
mosaiched in a photogrammetric panorama by means of 
commercial software (Figure 2). 
To realize the comparison between the photogrammetric 
panorama and the ancient one, in the set of points (listed 
below), only twenty eight points were identified and 
measured (Table 1). In fact, the correct identification of 
the other nine points (shown in bold in the same list) were 
not possible, on the photogrammetric panorama, for the 
scarcity of either characteristics, or good and identifiable 
elements, moreover for the presence of some occlusions 
(Figure 3). 
Figure 2. Modern terrestrial photogrammetric survey from Lecco (Italy) 
Point number 
Name on the 
Map 
Altitude on the 
sea level (m) 
1 
Barro 
889 
2 
657 
3 
Regina 
817 
4 
Regina 
814.7 
5 
448.2 
6 
Barro 
922 
7 
Barro 
850 
8 
Barro 
830 
9 
800 
10 
585.8 
11 
Zucco in Boffalora 
405.4 
13 
Valmadrera 
240 
14 
Malgrate 
220 
15 
Corno Birone 
1116.2 
17 
Cornizzolo 
1240 
18 
Rocca 
272 
19 
Cima Rai 
1215 
20 
Prasanto 
1244.8 
21 
Pare 
200 
22 
Canzo 
1366 
23 
Cimone 
1177.3 
24 
Cimone 
1259 
25 
Cimone 
1190 
26 
Cimone 
1180.5 
27 
Cimone 
1122.5