Merate Astronomical Observatory

Merate Astronomical Observatory has watched over the hills near Lecco, Italy, since 1926, home to one of the country's historic large telescopes.

About Merate Astronomical Observatory

Part of the Astronomical Observatory of Brera, the Merate site sits at 362 metres elevation and has housed a 1-metre Zeiss reflecting telescope on an equatorial mount since 1926. It was one of the largest telescopes funded by the Kingdom of Italy before the country became a republic in 1946, and the same model of Zeiss telescope was also installed at the Hamburg-Bergedorf Observatory and the Royal Observatory of Belgium.

History

Founded in 1926, Merate Astronomical Observatory has spent nearly a century as one of the Brera institution's outstations, its 1-metre Zeiss instrument standing among the notable telescopes of interwar Europe.

Telescopes & research

The observatory's centrepiece is its 1-metre Zeiss reflector on an equatorial mount, a design shared with sister instruments in Hamburg and Belgium, reflecting the era's push toward larger, precision-built telescopes.

Location & getting there

Merate Astronomical Observatory sits at 362 metres elevation in Merate, in the province of Lecco, Italy, in the hilly country north of Milan.

Visiting Merate Astronomical Observatory

For opening times, tours and any public events, contact the observatory directly by phone (+39 039 5971100) or check the official website before visiting.

See your named star from here

With its historic 1-metre Zeiss telescope, Merate Observatory has the reach to observe the coordinates of a star named through Star Register. Find your star's exact position in the catalogue ahead of a visit.