# Morterone

Morterone (Valassinese Lombard: Murterun) is a comune (municipality) in the Province of Lecco in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 50 kilometres (31 mi) northeast of Milan and about 7 kilometres (4 mi) northeast of Lecco. With a population of 33 people, it was considered the smallest of any comune (municipality) in Italy – in an area of 13.8 square kilometres (5.3 sq mi). For this record, it competes with the comune (municipality) of Pedesina, which in the past years had even fewer inhabitants. In 2016, Morterone with its 32 residents became the smallest Italian comune once again.
Morterone borders the following municipalities: Ballabio, Brumano, Cassina Valsassina, Cremeno, Lecco, Moggio, and Vedeseta.

## Etymology

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

### 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

| Year | Pop. | ±% |
| 1861 | 397 | — |
| 1871 | 205 | −48.4% |
| 1881 | 197 | −3.9% |
| 1901 | 190 | −3.6% |
| 1911 | 346 | +82.1% |
| 1921 | 399 | +15.3% |
| 1931 | 385 | −3.5% |
| 1936 | 244 | −36.6% |
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
| 1951 | 279 | +14.3% |
| 1961 | 118 | −57.7% |
| 1971 | 91 | −22.9% |
| 1981 | 37 | −59.3% |
| 1991 | 31 | −16.2% |
| 2001 | 33 | +6.5% |
| 2011 | 34 | +3.0% |
| 2021 | 31 | −8.8% |
Source: ISTAT :
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 |

## 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.
| Term | Term | Winner | Party | Position |
| 23 April 1995 | 13 June 1999 | Giampietro Redaelli | Partito Popolare Italiano | Mayor |
| 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 |

### Twin towns

Morterone is twinned with:
* Brumano, Italy (2007)

## Municipality
### Town Hall

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

#### Hours

Opening Hours :
| 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 Comune has and has had multiple plans for ANAC Compliance. It consists of calls for contracts and tender and datasets for both 2020 and 2019.

#### 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.