Two mononuclear copper(II) complexes with the unsymmetrical tridentate ligand 2-[((imidazol-2-ylmethylidene)amino)ethyl]pyridine (HL), [Cu(HL)(H2O)](ClO4)2.2H2O (1) and [Cu(HL)Cl2] (2), have been prepared and characterized. The X-ray analysis of 2 revealed that the copper(II) ion assumes a pentacoordinated square pyramidal geometry with an N3Cl2 donor set. When 1 and 2 are treated with an equimolecular amount of potassium hydroxide, the deprotonation of the imidazole moiety promotes a self-assembled process, by coordination of the imidazolate nitrogen atom to a Cu(II) center of an adjacent unit, leading to the polynuclear complexes [[Cu(L)(H2O)](ClO4)]n (3) and [[Cu(L)Cl].2H2O]n (4). Variable-temperature magnetic data are well reproduced for one-dimensional infinite regular chain systems with J = -60.3 cm(-1) and g = 2.02 for 3 and J = -69.5 cm(-1) and g = 2.06, for 4. When 1 is used as a "ligand complex" for [M(hfac)2] (M = Cu(II), Ni(II), Mn(II), Zn(II)) in a basic medium, only the imidazolate-bridged trinuclear complexes [Cu(L)(hfac)M(hfac)2Cu(hfac)(L)] (M = Zn(II), Cu(II)) (5, 6) can be isolated. Nevertheless, the analogous complex containing Mn(II) as the central metal (7) can be prepared from the precursor [Cu(HL)Cl2] (2). All the trinuclear complexes are isostructural. The structures of 5 and 6 have been solved by X-ray crystallographic methods and consist of well-isolated molecules with Ci symmetry, the center of symmetry being located at the central metal. Thus, the copper(II) fragments are in trans positions, leading to a linear conformation. The magnetic susceptibility data (2-300 K), which reveal the occurrence of antiferromagnetic interactions between copper(II) ions and the central metal, were quantitatively analyzed for symmetrical three-spin systems to give the coupling parameters JCuCu = -37.2 and JCuMn = -3.7 cm(-1) with D = +/-0.4 cm(-1) for 6 and 7, respectively. These magnetic behaviors are compared with those for analogous systems and discussed on the basis of a localized-orbital model of exchange interactions.