Valsassina is a valley in the Alps

Alps

The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....

 of Lombardy

Lombardy

Lombardy is one of the 20 regions of Italy. The capital is Milan. One-sixth of Italy's population lives in Lombardy and about one fifth of Italy's GDP is produced in this region, making it the most populous and richest region in the country and one of the richest in the whole of Europe...

, northern Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

, within the province of Lecco

Province of Lecco

The Province of Lecco is a province in the Lombardy region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Lecco.On 1 January 2001 the province had a population of 311,452 on a surface of 816 km² divided in 90 communes...

.

It is included between the Grigne range from West, and the Bergamo Prealps

Bergamo Alps

The Bergamo Alps are a mountain range in the Italian Alps which forms part of the Central Eastern Alps. They are located in northern Lombardy and named after the city Bergamo, south of the mountains....

 which, in a half-circle stretching from North to East, separate it from the valley of the area of Bergamo

Bergamo

Bergamo is a town and comune in Lombardy, Italy, about 40 km northeast of Milan. The comune is home to over 120,000 inhabitants. It is served by the Orio al Serio Airport, which also serves the Province of Bergamo, and to a lesser extent the metropolitan area of Milan...

 and the Valtellina

Valtellina

Valtellina or the Valtelline valley ; is a valley in the Lombardy region of northern Italy, bordering Switzerland. Today it is known for its skiing, its hot spring spas, its cheeses and its wines...

. Valsassina also reaches the Lecco

Lecco

Lecco is a town of c. 47,760 inhabitants in Lombardy, northern Italy, north of Milan, the capital of the province of Lecco. It lies at the end of the south-eastern branch of Lake Como...

's branch of Lake Como

Lake Como

Lake Como is a lake of glacial origin in Lombardy, Italy. It has an area of 146 km², making it the third largest lake in Italy, after Lake Garda and Lake Maggiore...

 at Lecco itself and Bellano

Bellano

Bellano is a comune and small town on the eastern shore of Lake Como in the Province of Lecco in the Italian region Lombardy, located at northern outlet of the Valsassina where the Pioverna forms a gorge before entering the lake....

.

The valley is run by the Pioverna

Pioverna

The Pioverna is a torrente of Lombardy in northern Italy. The stream is born in the Grigna massif and flows north and west through the Valsassina, forming a gorge at Bellano before entering Lake Como...

stream, which flows from the Grigne to the Lake Como.