UPPER VALLEY
BALME
ELEVATION
1432 m a.s.l.
POPULATION
111 (November 2017)
DISTANCE FROM TURIN
57 Km
TOWN BOUNDARIES
Ala di Stura, Groscavallo, Lemie, Usseglio, Francia
PATRONAL FESTIVAL
Holy Trinity, The First Sunday after Pentecost
ACTIVITIES SUMMER Hiking Trekking Mountaineering Climbing Mountain Bike Sport Fishing
Balme is the most elevated village in Val d’Ala (1432 m above sea level). It is the last village before the valley opens in the large plain called Pian della Mussa.
WINTER Nordic Skiing Downhill Ski Snow Shoe Baby Ski Touring Ice Skating
connoisseurs of the mountains peaks, became expert alpine guides and let earn to Balme the title of “cradle of the Turin alpinism” and “alpine guides village”. Today Balme is the ideal place for experience an immersion in the purest alpine environment.
The spectacular alpine’s peaks amphitheatre around Balme makes it a unique place. From here, in fact, one can admire the highest mountains of the Lanzo valleys: Mount Bessanese (3604 m) and Mount Ciamarella (3676 m) which mark the border between Italy and France. The mounts Mount Albaron di Sea (3,262 m asl), Mount Punta Rossa di Sea (2908 m), and Mount Uja di Mondrone (2964 m) separate Val d'Ala from Val Grande; while Mount Punta Servin (3108 m) and Mount Torre d'Ovarda (3075 m) delimit the border with Val di Viù. The natural landscape around Balme alternates green fields and suggestive woods of beech, larch, birch and pines, which surround rich areas of rhododendrons, junipers and blueberries. The river Stura crosses the valley and collects the water coming from the upper mountains’ streams and lakes.
CURIOSITY
This rich and varied environment is the ideal habitat for bouquetins, chamois, roe deers and marmots that can be seen abundantly all the year-long and at very close distance. Frequent sightings are confirmed in Pian della Mussa and in the neighbourhood of the alpine refuges Ciriè and Gastaldi. Alpine croaks, hawks, buzzards, bearded vultures and eagles have found their home between the mountain peaks and the sky above Balme. From the second half of the 19th century, Balme, which used to be inhabited by shepherds and miners, began to attract the interest of Italian and foreign alpinists because of the spectacular nature of its mountains. For this reason, many residents who were keen 27
1874
At Christmas Eve, Antonio Castagneri, a balmese guide, together with the alpinists Martelli and Vaccarone, climbed for the first time in winter the mountain Uja di Mondrone. This successful event launched the winter alpinism as a sport.
1896
Adolf Kind uses the first pair of ski to reach Pian della Mussa starting from Balme.
1922
The aqueduct of Pian della Mussa is inaugurated. Still today it brings water to Turin.
1927
Toni Ortelli, fascinated by Pian della Mussa, composed the famous song La Montanara.