The area of Sondrio was populated
in ancient times by the
Ligures and, from the 5th century BC, by the
Celts. Formerly an
Ancient Roman military camp, today's Sondrio was
founded by the
Lombards: in their language Sundrium
meant "Exclusive property", referring to the status
of free men (arimanni)
of the holders of the city and the surrounding land.
After the fall of the
Lombard Kingdom in Italy, Sondrio became part of
the
Holy Roman Empire. The Capitanei of Vizzola, who
controlled much of the Valtellina, had it in 1040
from the emperor
Henry II. From 1310 to 1335 the city was
involved in the war between the
Guelph and Ghibelline factions of the nearby
Como, and its war against
Milan. After having resisted several attacks by
the Comaschi, in 1335 Sondrio and Valtellina became
part of the
Visconti Milanese dominions.
From the second half of the
16th Century to the 18th Century, Sondrio was
governed by the Tre Leghe Grigie ("Three Grey
Leagues") of the
Grisons, as the capital city of
Valtellina. After the
Reformation, Sondrio was the centre of heavy
struggles between the Catholic Valtellinesi and the
Protestant Grisons. In 1620 the citizens, led by
Giacomo Robustelli, killed 180 Protestants and
declared the independence of the Valtellina.
After the
Napoleonic parenthesis, in which it was annexed
to the
Cisalpine Republic, Sondrio fought gallantly
with the Austrian
Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia for its
independence.