The first mention of Lierna dates to 854 AD, but Roman remains, including a mosaic floor now in the Palazzo Belgioioso of Lecco, attest to much earlier settlement. The name of the village may be of Roman or of Celtic origin. Between 1035 and 1202 it was a feud of the Monastery of San Dionigi in Milan. Lierna was contested between Milan and Como, and between the Della Torre and Visconti families. It passed into the hands of the Marchesino Stanga in 1499, and in 1533 to the Sfondrati family of Cremona, who held it until 1788. Lierna became a "comune" in 1743, when it was separated from that of Mandello.