The Walsers of Formazza

The Formazza Valley, noted for its Alpine meadows and  for its abundant waters and waterfalls, was the place of the first Walser settlement. The Walsers were a people who came from the valley of the Valais in Switzerland, crossing the border in the 13th century to settle in the Western Alps.

The name “Walser” comes from the word “Walliser” which means “valaisian” (from the Valais area). The Formazza Valley became the first Walser community that accumulated and handed down the customs, habits and traditions of this population from the other side of the Alps, who were able to adapt to the difficult climatic conditions of high altitudes despite the harshness of the soil and the lack of raw materials.

Settlement in these areas meant a great deal of backbreaking work, involving clearing the woods to create open spaces for pastures and tilling the land. The Walsers managed to create a way of life at high altitude, braving the rigid winters, the perils of avalanches and the shortage of products from the land. 

They created a unique style of architecture, building their chalets with the technique of interlocking wooden beams (known as Block-Bau) and hand-built stone roofs. The village of Salecchio is one of the most attractive and  interesting Walser communities. Like all those of German origin, Salecchio is made up of 4 villages: Salecchio Inferiore at 1,322 m (Saley unter Barg), Salecchio Superiore at 1,509 m situated on a terrace about  600 metres above the Toce River (Saley ober Barg), Morando and Case Francoli at 1,555 m (Frankushuus).

Sbrinz Route: on the trail of the traders

A fascinating historic trail leads through pristine scenery along a route used since ancient times by muleteers, traders, craftsmen, pilgrims and smugglers. The muleteers whose job it was to carry vital provisions across the Alps were expert at devising the most efficient way to cross from one valley to the next. The Sbrinz Route came about as the shortest direct crossing through the Alps between Lucerne and Domodossola. It was named after the celebrated cheese, which was once transported along this trail in large quantities for trading. 
www.sbrinz-route.ch

Snails

Snail is a common name that is applied most often to land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs. However, the common name "snail" is also applied to most of the members of the molluscan class Gastropoda that have a coiled shell that is large enough for the animal to retract completely into. When the word "snail" is used in this most general sense, it includes not just land snails but also thousands of species of sea snails and freshwater snails. Occasionally a few other molluscs that are not actually gastropods, such as the Monoplacophora, which superficially resemble small limpets, may also informally be referred to as "snails".
Snail-like animals that naturally lack a shell, or have only an internal shell, are usually called slugs, and land snails that have only a very small shell (that they cannot retract into) are often called semislugs.

13th century Romanic Church

The Council of Crevoladossola is made up of lots of little quaint villages and, Crevoladossola itself prides itself in its 13th century Romanic Church dedicated to Saint Peter and Saint Paul.

Crevoladossola - Napoleonic bridge and hamlet Fabbrica

The majestic Napoleonic bridge, border between the Pennine Alps and Lepontines, was built in the early 1800s at the behest of Napoleon Bonaparte, who gave the order to build a road that would combine Milan and Paris through the step of sempione (site of a major battle in 1487 between the Helvetians and  the Duchy of Milan). Below you can see the remains of the bridge Renaissance.

 around the bridge on both sides of the river Diveria develops the hamlet of Fabbrica with the stone houses of the Ossola and the classic octagonal churches

Festival Chitarristico della Valdossola - Guitar Festival of Valdossola

Duo Bonfanti (Marco e Stefano Bonfanti), Premia frazione San Rocco chiesa Parrocchiale 25/07/2014

www.festivalchitarristicodellavalleossola.it