Sondrio counts some 22,600 inhabitants and is located in the northern part of Lombardy just in the very centre of Valtellina. The area of Sondrio was populated in ancient times by the Ligures and, from the 5th century BC, by the Celts. A former Roman military camp, the 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.
