e-borghi travel magazine: 01 Mountain and villages

Digital travel magazine about villages and slow tourism

Issue 01 2019

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e-borghi travel www.e-borghitravel.com Publisher Salvatore Poerio direzione@3scomunicazione.com Publishing coordinator Luciana Francesca Rebonato coordinamento@e-borghi.com Art director Ivan Pisoni grafica@e-borghi.com Editorial office Simona Poerio segreteria@e-borghi.com With the collaboration of Alessandra Boiardi, Cinzia Meoni, Barbara Roncarolo, Luca Sartori, Giulio Tellarini Photographers Francesco Amendola Luciano Solero Translations Beatrice Lavezzari (English) Marina Bratsilo (Russian) Promotion and Advertising 3S Comunicazione– Milano Cosimo Pareschi pareschi@e-borghi.com Piersilvio Volpato volpato@e-borghi.com Editing 3S Comunicazione Corso Buenos Aires, 92 20124 Milano info@3scomunicazione.com tel. 0287071950 – fax 0287071968 The use of our website and our on-line magazine is subject to the following terms: all rights reserved. Any section of www.e-borghi.com can’t be reproduced, recorded or broadcasted in any form or by any means, be it electronic or mechanical or through photocopies, recording or other systems without a previous written authorization by 3S Comunicazione. Although a careful check of the information that are contained in this issue has been carried out, 3S Comunicazione won’t be considered responsible for any mistakes or omissions.

The opinions being given by contributors are necessarily the same as the ones given by 3S Comunicazione. Unless different directions, the individual copyrights belong to the contributors.

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ENHANCE

Tastefully Italian

sanpellegrino.com

MOMENTS

ditorial

eLuciana Francesca Rebonato facebook.com/lfrancesca.rebonato

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he beginning of the new year means a new starting. We’re entering this 2019 with a new publishing project: the first issue of e-borghi travel, a series of digital free tourist guides that have the soul of a magazine and are dedicated to the villages, the geographical areas and the slow-tourism of our beautiful country. We’ll be present on the Web each month with a theme subject available in English and Russian as well that will be focused on a specific topic and we’ll lead the readers through an interesting journey starting with the mountains. It’s going to be a journey featured by very famous places and unexpected new ones: the year 2019 is the National year of the slow-tourism to discover Italy the same way as sipping a good meditation wine: little by little you’ll be enjoying every single moment. The pace of hiking is constant and the villages are similarly set on a natural canvas like the “great cathedrals of the earth with their gates of rock, pavements of clouds, choirs of steam and stones and altars of snow» (John Ruskin). We will take you with us to Sauris in Friuli-Venezia Giulia and Lusèrn, Folgaria and Lavarone on the Cimbrian Alpes, to Valtellina through a route that is laid out between Teglio, Tirano, Mazzo di Valtellina and Grosio then on the Etna, on Abetone and on Gran Sasso then we’ll head towards the forests of Sila. And this isn’t over since if you leaf the e-borghi travel magazine you’ll be able to find many hints and ideas for your next adventures: the different destinations, the villages and the areas will be described and they will be available for all tastes and for the “four seasons” and they will come with practical advice and suggestions related to the facilities, the food & beverage sector, the shopping together with a careful attention being paid to the local traditions.

There’s more than that, there are the legends, the curiosities, the delicacies and the food specialties. You’ll be able to go through the columns like “Holidays out of place” in a relaxed and easy way. We are not going to reveal anything in advance, the unknown will catch your attention and your feelings will leave on their journeys.

Luciana Francesca Rebonato publishing coordinator

Sauris

Valtellina

Alpe Cimbra

Sila

Etna

Gran Sasso

Abetone

Alvito

Crossborder: Ucraina

Special BIT

Out of place holidays: Liguria

Tastes in the altitude

Legends

Curiosity

Review

The backpack

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Udine, Friuli-Venezia-Giulia

Sauris, the North-Eeast passage Luca Sartori

Luca Sartori

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Alessandra Boiardi

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Photo Solero

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hick forest, pastures surrounded by shepherd’s huts (malghe) and alpine lakes.

This is Sauris and much more: it’s a mountain village in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, it’s surrounded by the Dolomite summits and its soul shows out with three faces: Sauris di Sotto, the lower district, Sauris di Sopra, the upper district and Lateis. You are in the heart of Carnia, nature lies steadily and lake Sauris and its emerald green and the turquoise red colours welcome the visitors who reach this corner of heaven. In Winter you can do alpine skiing, cross-country skiing and ice-skating, you can have a ride on a snowmobile, you can attend sled-dog classes or go on a very romantic

ride on a sleigh pulled by horses surrounded by amazing snowy landscapes. In Summer you can walk along the paths, you can ride your mountain-bike or go horse-riding in the woods along the lake’s banks, you can go canoeing, play tennis, basket or go horse-riding in the open air in the equipped sports centre, the “Village of sports and well-being” equipped with a wellness centre, the sauna, the pools surrounded by the green between Sauris di Sopra and Sauris di Sotto. Art, culture, food and wine are added values too: actually Sauris is a village rich of history and traditions and it is also a landmark of good food where you can taste wonderful local products.

Sauris to explore

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Sauris is a continuous discovery. In the shepherd’s huts in the woods along the lake’s banks, on the pastures above 1.500 metres of altitude, among the original huts of the “blockbau” and the wooden overlapped stuck trunks. If you’re fond of architecture and history you can’t miss a visit to the shrine in the lower part of the village featuring a clock-bell with its typical pinnacle in the shape of an onion and a beautiful front rose-window dedicated to saint Oswald king of Northumberland since it was one of the main devotional centres of the Venetian republic between the sixteenth and the seventeenth century. To go deep into the knowledge of this area,

you can see the Saint Oswald museum in the parsonage, you’ll go on an incredible journey among the scrolls dating back to the ‘400 and the ‘500, you will see beautiful silverware, sacred vestments and a nativity scene dating back to the ‘700 made of wax and fabric. You can’t miss the tiny alpine church of San Lorenzo in the upper part of the village, it dates back to the sixteenth century and it is located on a slope, the ethnographic centre “haus van der zahre”, located in a rustic once used as a stable and barn and today used to held exhibitions, for the popular devotion, the Carnival events, the worship of saint Oswald and the local network of paths.

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Hotel Pa Krhaizar

The construction and the tastes

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he hotel Pà Khraizar is the triumph of wood.

It was made out of a building dating back to 1720, it is located in the district of Lateis and the original construction has been preserved during the restoration works. The open spaces and the rooms are furnished according to the taste of the local handcrafts which remind the XIXth century: the spaces are warm and friendly, and they feature the typical fogolar (fireplace) and the stube (the stone stove). In Summer you can go on the panoramic terrace to taste the local food and enjoy an incredible view of lake Sauris and the Carnia mountains. The hotel Pà Khraizar is the perfect place to start your hiking up to the mountains’ cabins and the shepherds’ huts (malghe) surrounded by a landscape where the time has stopped, trekking lovers, horse riders and mountain-bikers can find their paradise there and tracks for all skills. Antonella, the owner, belongs to a local family that have been making the ham for generations.

She loves her land and she is fond of her Meublè Pà Krhaizar that she shares with her daughters Silvia and Fulvia who welcome the guests in a reserved gentle atmosphere that is perfect for the ones who are seeking for a refreshing holiday. It is the right place to relax in the peaceful morning while you’re having your breakfast in front of a wide choice of season fruit, raw bread and home-made sweets and cakes, the honey from the beekeepers, genuine cheese, jams, local and traditional ham and sausages, the eggs from the surrounding henhouses to be tasted in the stube (stove) room in Winter or on the terrace in Summer. If you prefer sipping a fine herbal tea made of flowers and plants in front of the fireplace there is the typical fogolar (fireplace) from Friuli. If you like the grappa liquor and other liquors you can take a seat in the Kleine Bar Lateis where you can also find syrups made of flowers or plants, natural refreshing drinks and herbal teas made of flowers and herbs.

The rooms and the culture

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he name of the hotels Pà Krhaizar comes from the nickname of one of the past owners “Krhaizarle”, a goody friendly fellow who loved the good wine and the feasts. In the area where the hotel is now located they used to dance at the sound of the accordion and the violin in the past, it’s a happy history they didn’t want to forget. If you choose the hotel Pà Krhaizar in the heart of Carnia you’ll find the nature, the authenticity, the bed & breakfast service and thanks to a partnership with the restaurant Peickele of RiglarHaus – located at around fifty meters from the hotel, you’ll also have the chance to choose the half board or the full board. The rooms are designed to meet all needs. Room number one, for instance, on the first floor is kissed by the early morning sun while rooms two and three are furnished with wooden furniture from the spruce tree, the walls are made of wood and the ceiling too. The room number four looks out on the mountains and on the garden, it’s located on the first floor on the North-West side of the building while the room number five is an attic and it is the perfect room for the family with two bedrooms and an entrance. The room number five is in the attic too, it’s featured by the wooden ceiling, on the second floor, it has a double bedroom that looks out on the forest on the North-East side of the building. This hotel is also related to culture, meetings and a lot of reading. The Lateis Club is an appointment that is held every first Friday of the month: the program includes the tasting of wine, meetings, concerts, theme evenings and the telling of ancient stories acted by experts and entertainers. Then there are books at the Pà Krhaizar. At the end of the XIXth century a family with eight children used to live in this building, four priests and four notaries so it was a place full of books and papers unfortunately lost in time.

Nowadays, in the small library next to the ancient stone basin there are the books that the guests leave in the hotel so if you’re staying at the Prà Krhaizar you can read or leaf these books in the complete silence and peace.

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The hotel, a typical mountain chalet

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he hotel-restaurant Riglarhaus welcomes their guest in one of the most suggestive mountain areas of Friuli Venezia Giulia. It’s a typical chalet, nestled in the Carnia Dolomites at 1.200 metres

altitude. Equipped with a free parking area, the hotel Riglarhaus is located at 40 kilometres from the highway A23 and eighty minutes from Udine by car.

The restaurant, Carnia on your table

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ou can taste genuine dishes at the Riglarhaus, in the dining room heated by the characteristic fogolar or in the cool patio in Summer. Their specialities are made by using genuine products delivered by the local farmers and cooked in a traditional style: ham, mushrooms, fresh herbs are used to flavour pasta dishes like gnocchi, the risotto and the soups are the king of main courses and they must be tasted as well as the second courses. Among the delicacies you can taste the dunkatle – the ricotta cheese cream with polenta -, the frico – the landmark of the region made of different types of cheese and the cjarsons, similar to ravioli and a stuffing that is a combination of salted and sweet ingredients that also include the raisin, the apple, the cinnamon, the spinach and the ricotta cheese.

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Hotel Riglarhaus

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The bedrooms face the mountains and the woods

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he wood is the protagonist in these bedrooms, all equipped with a big terrace that look out on the woods and the mountains. The furnishing reminds

the typical houses of that area featured by warm colours that combine a peculiar atmosphere with the best comfort in an unspoilt natural landscape.

The wellness on the top

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omfort, warm, traditions and authenticity. Regarding wellness you are spoilt from choice: there are chromatic and emotional showers, the Turkish bath and the Finnish sauna. As you enter the wellness area you will immediately find a wide relaxing area sur-

rounded by spaces dedicated to the wellness treatments. A large panoramic window offers you the view of the beautiful landscape of the Bivera chain of mountains. A charming panorama that invites you to relax while you are admiring the snowy peaks.

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he 32 independent flats of the Albergo Diffuso of Sauris are spread between the Upper Sauris, the Lower Sauris, Lateis and La Maina. Paola and Flavia, two DOC (Controlled Designation of Origin) women from Sauris from the characteristic Borgo San Lorenzo, the historical heart of the forest that is a favourite destination of peaceful and comfortable holiday makers are welcomed by them at the reception. The Albergo Diffuso Sauris offers different types of flats all equipped with the independent heating, a few of them with the fireplace or a majolica stove. There are the stu-

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Albergo Diffuso Sauris

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dios, the two-bedrooms flats, the three-bedrooms ones, the four-bedrooms ones with a view on the lake and there are also eight-rooms apartments.

All the apartments have got the kitchen tools, the linen for the bedroom and the bathroom, the weekly change of the linen and a supply of wood for the fireplace. There are different types of apartments: some are located in the historical buildings or in palaces dating back to the XIXth century, they are featured by wooden walls and wooden ceilings, there are the studios with two floors, with a wide terrace and panoramic big windows in the living-room that also light up the double bedroom, a furnished suite and an amazing view on the lake and some flats are located in old stone buildings with panoramic balconies. You can rent the mountain bikes, the snow rackets and the snow sticks and there is also the library and the laundry room. The hotel’s elegant wellness centre cherishes the hotel’s clients, it was made from an old construction equipped with a Finnish sauna, a relaxing area, hot drinks and the Turkish Bath with steam sprays containing natural essences. A relaxing area where you can sip hot drinks, essential oils and a charming bioethanol fireplace.

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he chalet Chalet Rikhelan is located by the ski tracks in Sauris di Sopra, the Upper District. In Winter you can ski up to it, you can use the snowshoes or you can drive the snowmobile and in Summer it’s even more convenient: you just have to get along a paved street that directly reaches the facility’s parking. It’s a house that looks out on the valley of Lumiei, Augusto and Daniela are fond of their chalet since it’s magic and it can convey strong feelings. After a tiring long restoration that lasted two years, the first

Chalet Rikhelan

guests started to arrive on Christmas 2015, they soon liked the style, the elegance, the care for details of this building on the Carnia’s mountains.

The simple elegance and the stone come together in this place, the iron and the wood are the great protagonists of a lifestyle where the relationship with the surrounding nature is constant. There are ten rooms with a terrace that look out on the garden equipped with an independent external entrance, they are all different and they are furnished in the typical classical and contemporary

alpine style, there is the Finnish sauna, a loan that is 20 square metres wide near the forest, a terrace equipped with what you need to sunbathe and there’s also an instructor of Nordic walking and electric mountain bikes for rent. From the chalet several tracks enable you to hike, ride your electric mountain bikes and you can run on those tracks by the snowmobile in Winter helped by expert guides. In Summer you can enjoy excursions in the open air and discover an amazing territory. A holiday at the Chalet Rikhelan Relax means doing sports activities on the snow in Winter, exploring the area in the open air in Summer and taste very good local food. Cheese and salami, the honey from the garden and several traditional dishes are served in the elegant room with the stube (stove) or on the terrace in Summer.

Meublè Schneider and the Restaurant “Locanda Alla Pace” DI

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ou can breathe history at the Meublé Schneider and Ristorante Locanda Alla Pace of Sauris. The building dates back to 1804 and it is located in the heart of the village of Sauris in the lower district. It is surrounded by the forests and the mountains of Carnia, and the tradition of the old Locanda Alla Pace has been kept alive, it’s a traditional construction very near to all the main facilities that can make the guests’ stay enjoyable and comfortable: the supermarket and the tobacconist’s, the newsagent’s, the tourist office, the cash-point, the little pharmacy and the ski track. A mix of comfort and facilities that have been improving throughout the years and have been accompanied by the kindness and gentleness of the working staff. The Schneider family got the place in 1900 and they have been always committed to this place and they inaugurated the guest-house in 1992.

There are eight rooms that are furnished according to the best local traditions, they are all equipped with their private bathroom, the air-dryer, the independent heating system, the TV and the nearby

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parking area. The warmth of the rooms is enriched every morning with the rich buffet breakfast. The restaurant is particularly appreciated for its typical cuisine made of genuine and original dishes that feature their refined good taste. The recipes coming from different places and cultures, the Italian one, the one from Friuli and the Austrian one too are revisited and the restaurant has been awarded by the famous Michelin Guide in 2007.

At the Ristorante Alla Pace many specialties are served and the classic “frico�, a dish made of different types of cheese featured by different seasoning is one of the most traditional together with the potatoes and onions, the tortelli (a traditional Italian type of filled pasta) with herbs and ricotta cheese, the baked lard, the venison and the seasonal mushrooms all deserve to be tasted.

Sauris to taste

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n a tiny paradise of tastes like Sauris the gourmand people make their dreams come true. In this area the ham is certainly the protagonist among several high quality products that include different types of salami like the speck, the cheese, the crafted non-pasteurized beers, the vegetables and berries.

The ham from Sauris is famous at a National and International level and it has been protected by the IGP designation (guarantee of origin for foods produced in specific areas of Italy) since 2009 and its uniqueness is due to a particular type of smoking process which is carried out by using the beech wood from the local forests. It’s an old method which is to preserve the trouts as well. They are bred in a natural environment and go back up from the

plane. After being selected the trouts are smoked according to tradition on the river shores where the pure air and the right degree of humidity produce a genuine and surprising taste. You can’t miss tasting the cheese from the shepherds’ huts: the raw milk that is used enables the cheese to keep all the organoleptic features of milk from the pasture. A special gift for your taste is the Alpine cheese, the old and the very old Riserva that thanks to the ideal microclimate of this area offer the most demanding food lovers an amazing sensory experience featured by evident herbaceous aftertaste. Beer is very good too, whole brewed, not pasteurized and not filtered without any preservative substances, there are five different types of beer.

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The Wolf Ham Factory

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The landscape and the history of the factory... is exciting and it is set in the Lumiei valley where the village of Sauris is located. Nature is the undoubted protagonist of this part of Friuli Venezia Giulia, surrounded by the biggest lake of a region like a green hug: it’s the lake of Sauris, a tourist and art destination, a unique place features by special flowers and animals that have elsewhere disappeared, popular, religious and food traditions. The production of smoked ham and the other types of high quality salami is an old local tradition that Pietro Schneider started more than a century ago. He started to sign a collection of smoked ham products, the speck and other typical salami from the region and his secrets of a skilled pork-butcher have been have been passes on to the new generations. Giuseppe Petris, Pietro Schneider’s nephew set up the Wolf ham production in 1962. A successful experience that was widen in 1983 by putting up another building in order to meet the increasing demand. In 1998 the ham factory got the 9002 ISO certification after reaching important aims than-

ks to their skulls and advanced technology, their skilled staff and specific microbiological test during all the production steps. A new change came in 2001 when the factory was enlarged again thanks to a project that met the surrounding environment. In 2006 the important designation of the guarantee of origin for foods produced in specific Italian area (IGP) made them even more proud and in 2010 la Wolf moved from the 9000 Iso certification to Ifs (food safety initiative) and in 2012 they celebrated 150 years from the birth of Pietro Schneider and more than 50 years of activity with Petris Giuseppe. The factory employs 60 people today and they produce 50.000 Igp hams from Sauris every year, 100.000 Speck hams and thousand of tons of high quality salami and sausages.

The steps of production and the products

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n order to make to excellent products like the smoked ham and the speck, the Wolf factory follows a number of fundamental production steps. From the arrival of the raw materials you move to the salting,the smoking, the coating and maturing process. Only the perfection of each step assures a final excellent product. The raw material s chopped: the back thigh comes from the North of Italy, generally from Friuli and especially for the production of the speck from Baviera then the fat from the back is used to make the “lardo” and the cheek and the throat for the “guanciali”. The salting process is carried out by means of some machines like the “massaging tool” used to make the meat softer then there is the salting tool that covers the product of salt, pepper and garlic. The salting process is repeated three times for the production of the Igp ham and two times for the production of Speck, then the products are kept in the refrigerator for one week. Then the cleaning to remove the salt and spice is carried out and

the hams are then kept in the refrigerator for two months and a half. The smoking process can now start, the beech tree wood is used and the smoke must be correctly distributed by avoiding the heat of fire that must not reach the product. The process is much shorter for the ham that is only enriched with flavours and spice. Another important step is the coating because the ham is protected with the leaf lard that enables the ham to breath and mature When all these steps are over the ham is ready for the maturing period, the Wolf factory’s ventilation system is perfect because the pure air from outside is used to change the temperature and the air in the factory’s rooms. Finally the horse’s bone is use to make a hole in the ham and by sniffing it you can understand the level of maturation of the product. If the ham passes the test it is ready to be sold. Among the other delicacies produced by Wolf there is also the salami, the headcheese, the “wolfino” (type of salami) and the sausages.

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Zahre Beer Brewery Alessandra Boiardi

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eer is a perfect mix of its ingredients but it can be much more than that, as the story of Zahre Beer Brewery can show us. It’s a story of learning, care and commitment. Passion started this tradition in the heart of Carnia at 1.400 metres of altitude and the pureness of excellent raw materials has been the landmark of this beer for the last 20 years. Sandro Petris, home brewer since 1994, made his fantastic idea come true by creating the Zahre Beer Brewery in 1999 and he has never stopped mixing hop, malt and

water with total dedication, without any compromise, keeping the best Italian and foreign home brewers’ secrets to improve their recipes.

And while they were mixing the ingredients the Petris brothers also started to consider producing them directly and they have become one of the very few breweries in Italy using the malt from their own production. They put everything inside their beer, secret recipes and traditional ones, time and innovation until they reached amazing results to be all tasted from a choice

of five different types of beer: the Pilsen, Lager type and intentionally less bitter with a soft herbaceous aftertaste; the Canapa, in the Lager style too with a delicate herbaceous aftertaste; the Ouber Zahre, American Pale Ale made with four hops and top fermenting brewer’s yeasts; the Red Wien from an old Austrian recipe with a light caramel taste; the Smoked one that will make your palate curious amongst games of

malt and smoked shades. When passion drives you everybody can see it. That’s why the Petris brothers didn’t just create a perfect production process but they went further to stubbornly set their ties with nature and the territory they belong to. Thus they are ready to introduce a special training project for their fans as soon as possible, a training room dedicated to school learning.

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astures at high altitude, unspoilt environment, forage rich of nutrients and non pasteurized milk to keep the enzymatic characteristics. The outcome from all these factors is the range of products from Alta Carnia and its most representative place, Sauris: this farm was born to work, mature and sell the cheese made by the shepherds’ huts people and it has been following the same type of production since it started a long time ago.

The cheese is made in the mountains at an altitude between 1.500 and 1.800 metres, it is made from fresh milk mixed with animal and vegetable rennet. The refining cellar is located inside a rural building, an old stable and an old barn where the cheese from the different shepherds’ huts is kept during the Summer. Thus the cheese can mature, the process slows down in Winter because of the cold temperature then it can restart maturing in Spring. The blocks of cheese are put on a number of spruce planks, when the maturing process begins they release deep scents and the mould is cleaned by the refiner, an ancient skill that comes from France that requires the best experience in this field. The refining consists in improving the quality of the cheese so that it can reach a unique taste through the seasoning as well, it is a process that requires a deep knowledge of this product.

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Malga Alta Carnia Cheese

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Among the delicacies from the shepherds’ huts of Alta Carnia there are different types of cheese, the new one, the seasoned one, the old one and the very old one, the blue one and the refined one, there is also the cheese made with sheep milk and other similar types of cheese. For the most demanding palates there are three delicacies like the Beer Block of cheese, the Hemp Cheese and the Greiser Kahse (cheese), refined in the beer from Sauris, in the hemp that is used to brew the beer and in the aromatic and medical herbs.

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The trout of Sauris

n a place called La Maina on the Sauris river’s shore there is the House of ZEA where you can buy the smoked trout which is one of the top products from the alpine village in Friiuli. The farm and fish centre Sigalotti, founded in 1962 by Silvestro Sigalotti that is now run by his children Giuseppe and Silvano is the ideal environment where the trouts can find the pureness of the source water and the pure air of Sauris so they have a unique taste. ZEA was born in the area of

Sesto al Reghena, near Bagnarola where the farm is based. The fishfarming of the quaint little village of Borgo Siega exploits the pure water of Roggia Versa that makes the fishfarming easier in an ecological sustainable way. Then the smoking is perfectly carried out by means of selected types of wood, generally the beech, the cherry tree and the alder. The salting and the brining process is carried out by usig aromatic herbs and spice and it is very important to complete the operations

to get a perfect finished product. ZEA’s house, e few metres from lake Sauris is the selling point and the smoking lab too, you can taste and buy the products there and listen to the advice to make good dishes. There are three different main types of tastes, Flama, Šnea and Rach that feature the smoked trout of Sauris.

Flama is the smoked fillet of trout that you can taste with vegetables, pickles and boiled potatoes. Šnea that means snow in the local dialect is the cold smoked trout’s fillet that you can match with the courgettes and the delicate vegetables or you can make a “carpaccio” with lemon and olive oil. Rach, that means smoke in the local dialect is the cold smoked fillet that has a stronger taste than the Šnea one. It is very good as a starter on toasted bread and it is matched with the courgettes and the vegetables and it is a very good topping for the first courses. Rach is generally accompanied with the Zahre Beer, the smoked beer of Sauris.

Sauris to live

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auris means moving around, being in the open air, experiencing the nature and the landscapes. If you like hiking many paths and tracks are at your disposal; they are surrounded by the green forests in Summer and they feature wonderful colours in Fall. They connect the different districts or they reach more demanding tracks at the discovery of the lake and its surroundings up to the steep pastures filled with shepherds’ huts. The lake of Sauris, besides being a great fishing, canoeing and windsurfing area is also the favourite destination of

mountain-bikers. One of the main routes that flanks the river goes up to the upper part of the village and reaches Mount Ruke, there’s a track that reaches the canyon of Lumiei and other historical areas. In Winter you can go Nordic walking, you can ice-skate and you can ski down the red and the blue slopes by means of a ski lift while children can learn skiing at the local school. If you like the cross-country skiing the ring of Plotze in the upper part of Sauris is at your disposal on the same plain dominated

by Mount Bivera.

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Legnostile artistic Workshop Alessandra Boiardi

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he warm mood created by the wood, the appealing lines and the elegant design, the perfect match between nature and skilled handcraft: this is Legnostile, the Artistic Workshop of Sauris where true traditions are alive in the present and creativity takes its inspiration from unique raw materials. It was born in 1992 thanks to two brothers, Danilo and Ermanno Plozzer who were afterwards supported by their third brother Dario. They focus on contemporary customers’ needs by meeting their tastes and requests and they are very interested in natural and ecological products too. The Plozzer brothers make their items by using hardwood and they always certify their products. That’s why Legnostile is part of a network of companies from Friuli called “12-to-Many”, the first supply chain from the forest to the wood that offers new types of products with a low environmental impact made by using the local wood whose producing process is guaranteed by the PEFC certification (Programme for Endorsement of Forest Certification Schemes).

Sculptures come from this raw material, the decorated furniture and the customized furnishing too, including the kitchens, the living-rooms and the internal doors as well as the furnishing for the bars, the restaurants and the shops. And if you want to experience the top of tradition, the internal rooms featuring the typical “Stube” from Tyrol are made as well. Carving courses are held to teach how to make sculptures and masks. The produced items are not only featured by their raw materials, the working is an added value too thanks to a working process that matches handcrafts to modern techniques to get unique products whose details are highlighted to get a perfect final outcome. The outcome is perfect and ecological since the paints and the oils that are used for the finishing aren’t toxic, they respect the environment and the customers’ health.

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Handcrafted weaving of Sauris L

ocated in a typical house of Sauris, an ideal landscape to enhance and promote the exhibited products, the Handcrafted Weaving of Sauris can be found in the characteristic small shops of the village. It is a typical landmark of Carnia and goes back to the beginning of the XXth century when the writer Fulgenzio Schneider used to write “…no man will be bending on the loom anymore”. Actually men used to do the weaving while women used to cultivate the land, card and spin the raw materials such as the hemp, the wool and the linen. The writer’s prediction didn’t prevent Sandra and Adriana Schneider, the owners of the artistic textile shop that was born in 1980 where they spent their whole life, almost 30 years, from making it a true passion. Sandra and Adriana are trying to preserve an important cultural aspect of this tiny village in Friuli Venezia Giulia and they offer a great level of continuity to this activity that is the basis of the local history. The wool, the linen, the cotton and the silk are the raw materials that are used and they are strictly worked by using the traditional loom to keep the features of the handcraft technique unchanged. The items are featured by the natu-

ral drawings that take inspiration from the old traditional drawings that are enriched with new geometric lines and a detailed chromatic research. When you get into the small shop you are immediately overwhelmed by a warm atmosphere made of soft fabrics and colours, it’s jubilation that comes out of all these kinds of cre-

ations. The production is matched to the selling in the workshop, there’s a wide range of items: the traditional shawls made of pure merino or mohair wool or the wool scarves, the cotton centrepieces or the tapestries made from old pillowcases dating back to the XVIIIth century.

Customized items are made as well.

Curious Sauris

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ll seasons are great to discover this part of Friuli but there are some periods of the year when the village can’t really be missed. The Carnival is one the best events that are held since the traditions of this land come out in a great way. It is “The night of the lanterns” that is carried out on the Saturday before the Ash Wednesday. The masks gather in the main square of the upper part of the village, there is Rölar, a thrilling character disguised in dark clothes and the face covered in soot, there’s Kheirar, the king of masks with the face covered with a wooden mask and a big broom in his hand. They are the protagonists of the ritual that is performed in the most beautiful corners of the village and in the public places and goes on along the snowy woods and fields in the light of the lanterns whi-

le sipping a hot cup of hot wine. The Sanctuary of Lesachtal is the destination of the walk that is held on the third week of September through the Pesarina and the Sappada valleys where the pilgrims from Sauri and from Sappada meet up. The period between Christmas and the Epiphany’s night is really magic, you are surrounded by the Christmas Carols sung in old German, in Italian and Latin, the nursery rhymes for children and adults go from home to home and sing “Vieni Creator Spiritus”.

Sauris is village where you can feel the entire beauty of traditions as well as the magic of the ancient trades: the handcrafted weaving tradition that produces beautiful carpets, tapestries ad much ore than that or the wood carving and a remarkable production of furniture.

Sauris

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MUNICIPALITY OF SAURIS Udine, Friuli-Venezia-Giulia Inhabitants: 412 Altitude: 1212 m s.l.m.

Surface area: 41.49 km² Patron saint: Sant’Osvaldo Re e Martire - 5/08 TRIESTE

Borghi Autentici d’Italia Borgo dello Sport e del Benessere

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Sondrio, Lombardia

Valtellina The route between Teglio, Tirano, Mazzo e Grosio Luca Sartori

Luca Sartori

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Alessandra Boiardi

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Consorzio Turistico Media Valtellina valtellinaturismo.com

Slow motion

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orests, pastures, water and villages. This is the Valtellina and much more. It’s the mountains paradise of Lombardy, a diverse and lively landscape where you’d never take a stop. The four seasons of the year are four amazing opportunities to discover new places, to relax, to take your time, enjoy yourself and enjoy the cultural offer. Whoever reaches this part of the Alpes will find their dimension: according to the area and the

altitude Valtellina provides equipped ski facilities, tracks in the altitude or in the valley, historical routes and architecture, cycle routes, river routes and jubilation of good food and good wine. There are several things to do and you can be spoiled of choice from the foot of Mount Stelvio to lake Como. We have decided to explore the mid-valley setting off from Teglio, heading towards Tirano then visiting Mazzo of Valtellina up to Grosio.

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Teglio, the land of pizzoccheri

idway between Sondrio and Tirano, the Grigioni and the Cisalpina Republic there’s the panoramic village of Teglio, an ancient land of conquest for the Romans and the Longobards which is considered a certified “slow city” and it’s one of the best destinations because of the high quality of living and the protection of its historical and artistic landmarks, its tourist facilities and its food richness. One of the main reasons to visit

Teglio is tasting the pizzoccheri, a traditional dish of pasta that is acknowledged by the Pizzoccheri Academy. It is made by using the buckwheat flour and the white flour, the butter, the Valtellina Casera cheese, the Grana Padano cheese, the savoy cabbage, garlic and pepper. But in Teglio you can also see Palazzo Besta, a villa dating back to the Renaissance period that features an elegant front side, the wonderful courtyard, the main floor with

its beautiful decorated hall and the Antiquarium Tellinum on the ground floor where the ancient samples of the regional art are collected. Moreover, this area is a sports centre in the open air: from 400 metres of the valley floor to 3000 metres of the highest peaks there are lots of possibilities to do sports in the open air. There’s a network of old dirt tracks where you can go mountain-biking or horse-riding or you can go canoeing down the river Adda and the Castelvetro cliff is at the disposal of the most skilled adventurers. You can’t leave Teglio without taking a look at least once at the tower of “de li beli miri”, the landmark of the village on the top of the valley.

Tirano, the red train and the treasures of art

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he Bernina red train which is included in the Unesco Heritage is the landmark of Tirano which is divided into two different historical parts: the old village next to left shore of river Adda and the area of Madonna of Tirano. In the first area you can visit Palazzo Salis, an elegant house made of two towers that feature a front side dating back to the late XVIth century and its indoor space where you can see the “Saloncello”, decorated with frescoes belonging to the XVIIth and the XIIIth centuries, the staircase and the historical cellars.

In the old village Palazzo Merizzi which dates back to the XVIIIth century stands out too, it’s featured by a beautiful courtyard and a porch decorated with some plasters and the Parish of San Martino

dating back to the XVth century. The other historical part of Tirano is the area near the Sanctuary of Madonna of Tirano featuring elegant Renaissance shapes. The tower bell with three windows is matched to the interior which is decorated in the Baroque style with wooden statutes and a huge pipe organ dating back to the XVIIth century. Not far from the Sanctuary there is the Ethnographic Museum of Tirano that is focused on the local traditions. Tirano also means the taste of its typical dish, the Chisciöi, a sort of pancakes made of buckwheat and cheese but outdoor activities are remarkable too. You can do rafting, go mountain biking and go hiking. The river Adda is exciting for the lovers of water sports while if you are fond of cycling you can rent the bikes thanks to the service offered by “Valtellina rent a bike” and you can explore the whole area starting from “Via dei terrazzamenti”, the cycle-pedestrian route that connects Morbegno and Tirano. You can also enjoy an amazing view if you cycle along the Valtellina Track, a cycle route that reaches Grosio. It’s a route for everyone while the “track of smugglers” is very particular and exciting.

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Mazzo di Valtellina, in the shadow of Mortirolo

t is located in the shadow of Mortirolo, the legendary peak of the Italy Bile Tour, it can be reached by following a route that runs across the vineyards, the forests and the fields. You can find chestnut trees and conifers in the altitude while apples are cultivated in the valley floor and the bresaola is also made there. It is one of the typical products from Valtellina and it is and IGP product (guarantee of origin for foods produced in a specific Italian area). If you are into art you can’t miss a visit to the Church of Santo Stefano since it is a very old church and it once was the centre of religious life. It features a Baroque style and it keeps a lot of decorations and a vestry full

of interesting frescoes. The church of Santa Maria deserves a stop too: there are three religious buildings, the medieval baptistery of John the Baptist, featuring an octagonal shape, the Church of Saint Mary dating back to the XVth century and the Parish hall dedicated to Saint Ambrose and Carlo Borromeo which date back to the XVIth century. If you like hiking there’s the Foppa Pass which connects Valtellina and Val Camonica and it is surrounded by forests of conifers and the Alpine Chain and the track of Castels enable you to reach Mazzo from Tovo di S. Agata and continues towards Grosotto, a charming route across the apples cultivations, the forests and the vineyards.

The complex of Frasassi Caves is one of the most fascinating and grandiose underground routes in the world. A long itinerary in which a surreal landscape has arisen. An enchanted world that brings us back to the origins of nature. A complete underground ecosystem in which it’s still possible to observe the formation of concretions, the drops that dig and build their architectures and in which continues undisturbed for millions of years. booking@frasassi.com

www.frasassi.com Grotte di Frasassi, Genga - Ancona

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he castle of San Faustino features a Roman tower-bell and the New Castle is surrounded by two rings of walls and a huge walled tower.

They are two places rich of history and Grosio is a place of archaeological interest as well because of its Park of Cave’s engravings. Handcrafted products are very interesting too, the pewter is used to make the trays, the plates, the trophies and pieces of jewellery, there are the laces that are used to make the traditional costumes. Near the two castles of Grosio you can also visit the church of Saint Joseph featuring a rich marble altar in the Baroque style and the interesting church of Saint

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Grosio, the village of the two castles

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George which was rebuilt at the end of the XVth century that contains a number of beautiful frescoes and you can also visit the Museum of Villa Visconti Venosta, an old house belonging to the Visconti Venosta family where some rooms feature a number of decorations and paintings influenced by the Eastern art and some furnishings that date back to the XVIth and the XIXth century. Grosio also means experiencing a natural environment and hiking up historical tracks that enable you to discover an incredible natural richness, walking along religious tracks or water routes, another important richness of this area.

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Sassella Hotel Alessandra Boiardi

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n the mountains of Valtellina, in Grosio, Jim Pini and his family welcome their guests in their gem, the Hotel Sassella. It’s a place where you can be cherished, you can choose among twenty-five rooms that are at your disposal and you can also relax in the modern wellness centre Margherita, you can keep fit in the gym or you can choose a massage surrounded by an amazing view of the Alps. The hotel is located in a great position that offers you the chance to experience the mountains, to feel the touch with nature, hike in the woods, cycle along the cycle lanes or have a tour by the famous Bernina red train that will lead you to St. Moritz. You can taste the great food at the Jim restaurant, inside the hotel, you’ll taste the typical dishes of the local tradition and the modernity of new interpretations thanks to the chef Diego Carnini. Everything will be served in a perfect way under the supervision of Giuseppe Caspani.

Sleeping, tasting and buying Luca Sartori

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hen you take your seat at the table in the core of Valtellina ordering a dish of pizzoccheri is a must. At the restaurant San Pietro in Teglio, the main destination to taste the traditional pasta from the region, similar to tagliatelle mad of buckwheat they will serve you the pizzoccheri of the Academy cooked with the butter, the DOP cheese Casera from Valtellina, the savoy cabbage, the potatoes, garlic and pepper. At the Osteria Roncaiola in Tirano featured by rustic dining rooms in a panoramic area they will serve you the same type of pasta that is also mentioned in the typical menu of “smuggler from Valtellina” that also includes the sciatt, the little pancakes filled with the Casera cheese and perfect with the chicory and the salami, the beaf “scaloppine”, the encrusted potatoes and a sweet at your choice. The Pizzoccheri and the sciatt are also served at the farmhouse Al Castagneto in Mazzo di Valtellina on the road towards the Mortirolo Pass where the “polenta taragna” is an added specialty. If you’d like to stay in Valtellina on a holiday you can find the hotel La Rosa in Teglio, fifty metres from

the historical central area which has standard rooms equipped with wide terraces, the modern Bed and Breakfast “Le stanze del Trenino Rosso” (The rooms of the red train) that reminds the most beautiful stops of the train’s route and the hotel Gusmeroli of Tirano located in the central square e few steps from the terminus of the Red Train. Valtellina is the land of sports and good food and an opportunity for your shopping, you are spoiled from choice. You can start with the wine store of Tirano where you can chose between almost one thousand different types of wine, the most of them are the local ones and one hundred types of beer and a good selection of whisky. Then there’s the salami shop Bordoni of Mazzo di Valtellina, the king of bresaola, the very famous local type of salami that is featured by different types like the “Granfetta” or big slice, fat-free, “the Red one” which is perfect to cook delicious dishes, “the peasant’s one” and the “horse one” from the best pieces of the horse’s thigh. Finally in the shop of Adolfo Rinaldi in Grosio you can buy the leather high quality handcrafted products.

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Trento, Trentino-Alto Adige

Alp Cimbra, Glints of LusĂŠrn

Luca Sartori

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Azienda per il turismo Folgaria, Lavarone e Luserna alpecimbra.it

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he mountains that surround Lusérn are sweet. At 1.300 metres of altitude, this tiny village on the South-West of Trento is attached to the borders of a wide pasture that reaches Folgaria e Lavarone. It’s a huge chalky terrace surrounded by deep valleys and cliffs with climbs of almost six-hundred metres. Beeches, spruces and larches share the land with the pastures and the Vezzena Pass, the narrow crossroad of the Assa Valley and the Highlands of the Seven Councils (Altopiano dei Sette Comuni) are right next to Lusérn, a village where the Cimbro, an old type of dialect from Baviera that was brought from the Medieval colonizers is still spoken.

This area is made of two parts: the central one of Lusérn, that stretches on a plain on the border with the so-called Tal von San Antone featured by the classical “Strassendorf” which is the typical group of houses that has been developping along a single road and Tezze which is located in the lower side of a little valley on the Southern edge. Behind the ridgeline of Malga Campo, there is Un-

tarhäusar or Case di Sotto (the lower houses) and Obarhäusar or Case di Sopra (the upper houses) and Galen from Galeno which was the nick-name of a local family then there are the three areas of the Summer group of houses. The stone is the protagonist in this area, it is used to construct the fields and the terraced vegetable gardens which are essential for these communities. In Winter the wind from the North blows in Lusérn which becomes the ideal destination for a relaxing holiday near the ski areas and the tracks for the excursions with the snowshoes while in Summer this area is heated by the sun all day so it’s grea staying in the open air along the tracks and an amazing view is assured.

In this part of Trentino besides practising the Winter sports and plenty of activites in Summer you can also experience the local traditions and the local culture by following a number of theme routes full of history, art and culture. Of course a wide range of good food is never absent, it combines the dishes of tradition to the local tasty specialties.

What you can see in Lusérn

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he cultural city offers plenty of places to visit. On the top of Cima Campo, at 1.549 metres of altitude there is the Lusérn Stronghold, also called the “Padreterno” (the God almighty), it was built between 1908 and 1912 and it was aimed at controlling the crossing of Vezzena Pass together with the Busa Verle Stronghold that can be visited thanks to the Documentation Centre of Lusérn that was born as a Centre of Studies dedicated to the local culture where a number of guided tours are also booked and organized. The Documentation Centre deals with the promotion and the economic deve-

lopment of the local German community and it also features a museum where you can go deep into the knowledge of this land, discover the rooms dedicated to the history and the traditions of the old German community, the rooms dedicated to the First World War, the wildlife of the nearest mountains and the melting furnaces dating back to the Bronze Age. In the heart of the ciy the house museum Haus Von Prükk stands out. It’s the outcome of conservation works of an ancient house that has kept all the features of a Cimbrian house dating back to the XIXth century. This house museum exhibits

the domestic life of pesants families in a typical Cimbrian house and there are wide rooms, interesting furnishings, clothes and objects on display. It is an extraordinary example of the historical memory and the “track of the Cimbrian imaginary” starts outside this house. It’s an exciting route of seven kilometres in the forests and the pastures of Lusérn that takes inspiration from the legends and the characters of the popular culture like Frau Pertega and Tüsele Marüsele; the characteristic wooden works and the traditions by the local artists

that have been passed on for centuries further enrich this place. The “Track of Spring” means discovering the colours and the scents of this tiny alpine Heaven surrounded by little narrow streets and views in the deep Valley of Astico, the “Track on the bear’s foorprints” tells about this animal which is still mentioned in the stories and in the legends and the “Track from the stories to the history” is one of the most exciting theme routes of the Cimbrian Alpes with all its stories about the people from Luzérn before and after World War I.

The tastes of Lusérn

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he good food is the protagonist in Lusérn and it’s one of the main reasons to visit this place: in these mountains there are plenty of specialties to taste and to buy. On the village’s tables you can find different types of salami like the speck, the carne salada (salted meat), the landjager, delicate little sausages savoured with red wine, the krainer, made of a dough of meat and cheese and the cooked ham, made of aromatic herbs and the cheese of Vezzena, a slow-food brand, halffat and made by using the cow’s milk. Then there are the gifts from the wood: several types of mushrooms, the “porcini” mushrooms for instance, the blueberries, the strawberries, the raspberries,

the blackberries. One of the best known local dishes is the “polenta” of potatoes made by boiling and pressing the tuber. This mash must be first cooked with the butter, the chopped onion and the Vezzena cheese and it must be served with meat cooked in the oven or in the sauce or matched with the Tonco of Pontesel, another typical dish from this area, a sort of stew of different types of meat and fresh sausage from Trentino.

The “Kaiserschmarren” is a dish that goes back to the German tradition, they are big fried crêpes that must be served when they are very hot and they come with the blueberries or with sugar.

Sweets must be tasted as well, the classic strudel

and the zelten, made of dried fruit whose origins go back to the XVIIIth century, it is made of nuts, pine nuts, almonds and candied fruit. In the restaurants, in the moutain huts the tradition is the protagonist of all dishes, the different types of salami, the cheese served with the alpine honey,

the ham and the aromatic herbs, the pappardelle (a type of pasta) with mushrooms sauce, the tortelloni of Vezzena produced in the shepherds’ huts, the venison with mushrooms, the sweets mainly the strudel of warm apples and the Sacher cake are the kings of the table.

What you can do in Lusérn, Folgaria and Lavarone

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esides Lusérn, Folgaria and Lavarone are the two other destinations on the Alpes.

Folgaria is one of the oldest communties of Trentino featuring a long avenue where you can walk and buy in the characteristic shops, in the sweets shops, you can enjoy the bars and you can taste the typical dishes in the restaurants. Folgaria is a well-known holiday resort,

it’s the ideal place for a Summer holiday since you can enjoy 18 holes at the Golf Club, the bike area and many hiking tracks for each age but it’s also a great place for a Winter holiday on the ski tracks since you can enjoy the alpine skiing and the cross-country skiing. Lavarone is a more romantic place, famous celebrities from the past used to spend their holidays there like

Sigmund Freud and the Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria. The precious core of this area is certainly lake Lavarone, awarded with the European blue flag in 2017. It is a charming iced ground where you can go ice-skating in Winter while it becomes an exciting setting for water sports and the mountain-bike in Summer thanks to its famous Bike Park. The ski area Alpe Cimbra-Folgaria Lavarone is paradise for Winter sports lovers: there are 66 tracks that cover 104 kilometres and they are available for all types of skiers and for all types of activities. Alpine

skiing, snowboarding, cross-country skiing, fat bike and sleddog. The track Avez is one of the most beautiful, it’s quite difficult and exciting and it takes its name from the huge white spruce that has recently fallen down because of the strong wind. It is a track of two kilometres with a climb of 400 metres while the amazing Ski Center Millegrobbe is dedicated to the cross-country ski lovers and the cross-country skiing Centre of the Alpes of Folgaria-Coe is open during the day and the night to give the magic of the night skiing.

Sleeping, tasting and buying

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he polenta of potatoes cooked with the butter, the chopped onion and the grated Vezzana cheese is one of the main specialties of the Cimbrian alpine area. At the rustic restaurant Tana Incantata in Lavarone, surrounded by the green forests, this dish is served with the fresh sausage stewed with the mushrooms that you an eat after the breaded fried lasagne and before the home-made strudel. This is the typical menu from Trentino. The nuggets made of the local cheese and the “carpaccio” of salted meat with the porcini mushrooms are the starters that are served at the old Osteria Coe in Folgaria that dated back to the XIXth century. The deer meat, the boar meet, the venison are a few specialties of the Restaurant Rossi of Piazza Marconi in Lusèrn where the canederli are served together with the red turnip and the melted butter or with the little grass and the tomatoes or with four types of cheese or the meat sauce. If you are on holidays you can stay at the hotel Lusernarhof of Lusèrn, in the centre of the village. It is a relaxing place where you can rest after a long hiking trip

or a skiing day or a sightseeing tour of the local beauties. There are 14 rooms and the typical restaurant make it a ideal destination in the nature in front of beautiful views. The elegant Folgaria Post Hotel is located in the main avenue and it offers its guest all the comforts for a relaxing holiday. The rooms are furnished in a rustic way and there’s a big SPA equipped with an indoor pool, the hot tubs, the sauna, the Turkish Bath, the infra-red shower and the aesthetic treatments. The SPA is also present at the historical hotel Stella d’Italia in Folgaria. A hundred metres from the sports centre where the wellness centre offers you the Finnish sauna and the Turkish Bath. The Cimbrian Alpine area also means strong tastes to enjoy and to buy. You can buy the speck, the sausages, the salami, the cooked ham with juniper at the historical butcher’s Cappelletti while if you like the cheese you can visit the dairy farm of the highlands (Caseificio degli Altipiani) and the Vezzena in Lavarone where you can buy the seasoned and extra-seasoned Vezzena cheese, the tosella and the little “caciotte”.

Luserna

MUNICIPALITY OF LUSERNA

Consorzio dei Comuni Trentini

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Trento, Trentino-Alto Adige Inhabitants: 269 Altitude: 1333 m s.l.m.

Surface area: 8.2 km² Patron saint: Sant’Antonio da Padova - 13/06

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Sila’s sense of snow Giulio Tellarini

Giulio Tellarini

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Nua Visual Design

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n the heart of Sila there’s a special place which has got the same taste of high mountains.

150thousand hectares of Heaven on earth where the nature and the snow are the sovereigns. On the edge of our boot (Italy) we have taken off to Sila. The forests, the lakes, the highlands where the sea scents come in Summer and the silence of snow covers everything in Winter. The mountains almost reach 2000 metres of altitude and the white snow lets the sun shine in plenty of multicoloured shades from the dawn to the sunset. The Sila, also known as the Sila Highlands or the Sila forest covers an area of three provinces: Cosenza, Catanzaro and Crotone. Before starting our journey let’s remind that we can’t actually identified one area only because there are three different are-

as, each featuring its own wonders. The Greek Sila which stretches out up to Longobucco – Cosenza - Pollino then there’s the Small Sila which stretches out towards the South up to Catanzaro and the Big Sila that is maybe the most representative one. Our route will start here: we are in the oldest national park of the region, it was created in 2002 and it covers more than 70 thousand hectares of protected land. It’s considered the green heart of the whole region and it has been entered into the Unesco heritage among the best reserves of the Italian biosphere. The wolf is the symbol of this park, it has been an endangered species until 1970, when a law to protect these animals was approved. We hope we’ll be able to meet them in the snow near the forests.

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e are moving towards Camigliatello Silano, a district of Spezzano della Sila, a place well known for its ski-lifts and ski tracks.

We are in the heart of Cosenza, in the core of the Big Sila at 1300 metres of altitude. The first stop along our route is the Info Point of the National Park in a district called Cupone near the Dam of lake Cecita. Although the lake has been artificially made to produce the power we haven’t been the first ones to highlight the richness of this area. Remains dating back to the Neanderthal Man have come out and other remains dating back to the Greek and the Roman Age have also been found, mainly the bones belonging to a very rare type of mammoth that has been dated back to 700thousand years ago. All these remains are kept at the Archaeological Museum of Sila near the lake.

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At the Cupone Exhibition Centre we have immediately visited the animals in captivity that are hosted by the Educational Wildlife Centre that makes plenty of children happy since they can see the wolves, the deers, the roes and all the wild species of the mountains. The tracks of CAI (the Italian Alpine Club) are very well marked and they enable you to cross the whole National Park of Sila and they stretch along 700 kilometres to make your excursions great. Our guide has assured us that these tracks can reach the most unspoilt areas where we’ll be ale to see the wolves in their natural environment if we are lucky. For the time being we can just trust her while we are coming back towards Camigliatello just a bit winded. This is a land of she-

pherds so we can easily find very good cheese, the caciocavallo DOP (protected designation of origin) that is considered the top cheese here.

Walking around the small shops we can also see the best handcrafts of this region like the precious carpets, the fabrics and the tapestries coming from the near villages of Longobucco and San Giovanni in Fiore where the masters of weaving have been passed down the tradition to new generations. Let’s move to another place called Tasso at 1.380 metres of altitude, a reference point for the Winter sports lovers. We go up to the top of Mount Curcio by the cableway at 1786 metres. The blue sky is turning into pink then it turns into violet in the sunset. The wol-ves are safe in the forest.

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n the core of the Natonal Park of Sila, the Hotel Tasso of Camigliatello Silano, a well known place in the province of Cosenza is the ideal destination for all sports lovers, for Winter and Summer activities and for the ones willing to discover the beauty of Sila Grande(the Big Sila). In the museums or the animals reserves children and adults can enjoy a close observation of animals that enrich this territory. From Camigliatello you can also reach the near natural reserve of Giants of Sila, the realm of pine centenarians trees of majestic proportions. Moreover, from the tourist centre of Cupole a number of tracks that are very well marked by the CAI (Italian Alpine Club) enable you to reach the quiet forests and all the

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tiny villages that are spread in this area tat have been developing along the main street that leads to Lake Cecita and lake Arvo. It’s an area to be discovered mainly in Winter and it’s featured by a reference hotel: the Hotel Tasso, located at only 900 metres from the ski-lifts. By using the cable car from the Tasso station you can reach the top of Mount Curcio at 1.786 metres of altitude. In Winter you can enjoy the country-cross skiing, the alpine skiing or the snowshoes hiking and cross the wide snow planes while you can go trekking, cycling, mountain biking and nordik walking in Summer. The Hotel Tasso is equipped with all types of facilities so you can relax and refresh after a long day on the ski tracks or after

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walking around the several interesting places of this area. The hotel’s restaurant, featuring a wide and comfortable dining room offers you all the typical and traditional dishes of the region, well known for its choice of salami, cheese and specialities made of mushrooms and potatoes. On demand all your food needs can also be met.

The hotel as got a meeting room, a playground

area for kids, the TV room, the bar, the reception available for 24 hours a day, the solarium terrace, the outdoor parking and the paying garages indoor. In some periods of the year there is also an animation service and a disco to light your night up after the sunset behind the Big Sila, a unique view full of colours and charm that you can enjoy from your peaceful Tasso Hotel.

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The next day, the sun soon invites us to go out in the fresh air on a perfect Winter day. We meet the guide and we head to San Giovanni in Fiore, it’s the oldest village of the Big Sila, famous for its weaving traditions and mastery and for its history. At the end of the XIIth century the Monk Gioacchino da Fiore, mentioned in Dante’s Paradise too, founded a Priory in this area that soon became one of the most important religious landmarks of the whole region. The Abbey features a Roman style and it’s a place full of charm where the lithographs of “Tavole del Liber Figurarum” are kept, they were made by Gioacchino Da Fiore and they are considered among the best Medieval

Religious drawings. Enlighted by this wonder we move towards the main square of the village that took its name from the Abbot to visit the main Church dedicated to Santa Maria delle Grazie. It was built between 1530 and the second half of the XVIIth century, it features a front side in the Roman style while the Baroque style is more evident inside the church and it is shared with many other old buildings of San Giovanni in Fiore. The big painting that covers the ceiling of the vestry is remarkable, it shows the Christening of Gioacchino da Fiore by San Giovanni Battista. It’s a peculiar painting since it shows the Abbey in a completely different way from nowadays.

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Caruso Artistic Weaving

he ozaturi a “pizzulune”, the typical “trappigne” or the la “n’cullerata” blankets are some of the best creations by the master Domenico Caruso who has been passing on to new generations the mastery of creating true works of art by using the fabric. The story of this art from the Sila started in the Middle Ages when women from the Hamlet of San Giovannni in Fiore started to work the fabric for the weaving of clothes and houses furnishing because of the very cold Winter. The quality of this type of weaving that was born close to the very ancient Florense abbey soon became very famous and around the mid XXth century a school was born, managed

by the Armenian masters who taught the local weavers the techniques to make carpets. Finally this experience ended up in a crisis of this handcrafting tradition that was interrupted only by Savatore Caruso in the 1970s. He started to use the old weaving machines and he started up his own workshop, the Artistic Weaving by Caruso.

Nowadays the workshop is run by his son Domenico and it is a reference point for the most important brands of contemporary art. Thanks to his experience and skills Domenico makes fabrics, carpets, tapestries and projects featuring a high artistic value like the copies of the drawings from the Liber Figurarum (Book of Fi-

gures) by Joachim of Fiore on wonderful silk tapestries fully hand knotted. An amazing and difficult work that combines traditions and artistic mastery. Just consider that it takes a whole year to complete a drawing by using the knotting technique. The two workshops, the historical one in San Giovanni in Fiore and the most recent one in Cosenza enable you to discover all the precious creations made by Domenico whose value is acknowledged all over the world.

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e go to Lorica in the afternoon, it’s a district of San Giovanni in Fiore and the National Park of Sila is in that area. While we’re strolling around the Lake Arvo’s banks the guide tells us about the ancient origins of the human presence here: actually a few remains dating back to around 700thousand years ago that are related to the homo erectus have been found in this area. Meanwhile the sun is reflecting on the iced surface of the lake as it often happens in this season and some beautiful seagulls fly away and leave us out of words.

The guide tells us that it isn’t rare to see these wonderful birds throughout the whole year. In the forests surrounding the lake there are the wolves, the boars, the badgers, the foxes, the woodpeckers and the buzzards. It’s a natural paradise and the excitement is really great.

Our last day starts early in the morning and our guide takes us to another incredible natural place: the Biogenetic Reserve of the Giants of Sila. Along the track we notice an old spinning mill and the country house of the Mollo barons who moved there in the XVIIth century. It’ s a tiny place called Croce di Magara and it’s featured by tall pine trees like the “laricio pine tree” and the “old black pine tree” that are more than 100 yers old. These huge trees are 45 metres

high and their trunk is around 2 metres wide.

From here we move on to Moccone where we can travel by an historical steam train that brings us back to a very old past. The white quiet warmth of the snow is surrounding us and from the train we can see the wolves that wisely and kindly inspect us. This is the last feeling we get from Sila, together with the splendour of its snow and the charm of its history. It’ the Sila’s sense of snow.

The Sila Train

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ou can time travel in the heart of Sila. It’s a route that goes back in time from Moccone to San Nicola Silvana Mansio, going through Camigliatello by this historical train. You can cover an exciting route by the Sila train and you can discover the valley and the mountains, the lakes and the forests, the tiny villages and their culture by travelling on vintage carriages pulled by a steam locomotive, the old proud of the mechanical industry of the 1920s and 1930s. The train of Sila guarantees commuting journeys throughout the whole year, it reaches the ski tracks, it invites its passengers to enjoy unspoilt landscapes by sitting quietly on the old wooden coaches. It was designed to attract tourists and take them to a natural area which is considered the mountains heart of the most Southern Italian region and it was aimed at developing that area in order to connect the people and the places.

It was a demanding and expensive project that was started between 1916 and 1956, it followed a number of steps during its construction and strong and willful workers built 100 kilometres of railway between Cosenza and Catanzaro and around 70 kilometres from Cosenza to San Gio-

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vanni in Fiore. After almost one century from the beginning of works this train is an exciting experience in the heart of the National Park of Sila that reaches the highest narrow-gauge station at 1.400 metres of altitude. One hundred-twenty seats on the old carriages where mothers, fathers, children and grandparents are enchanted by the whistle and the puffing of the train along the route that almost touches the interior of the

houses, the living-rooms, the bedrooms, the kitchens featuring beautiful coloured tiles. From the windows and the little balconies between the coaches the passengers wave at the families who are sitting in their balconies or are staying in their gardens while everybody stops at the crossing passages of the railway; the car drivers often get out of their cars to clap their hands at the train and its passengers who are travelling

in the park. The National Park is located on the highest European highlands in a very interesting area from the environmental, cultural and historical point of view and it covers 19 municipalities and 3 provinces, Cosenza, Catanzaro and Crotone on a surface of almost 74 thousand hectares and it is featured by a number of unique landscapes. The Sila is covered with trees and it is called “the great forest of Italy�, it has been exploited for ages since the civilization of Magna Grecia for its precious wood that was used for the building of ships, houses and churches. The most of its area is covered with forests and it’s rich of water and there are three artificial lakes that produce electric power and there are also many fields and pastures. In the shade of

Mount Botte Donato and Mount Gariglione, the highest peaks in the park, the black pine tree of Calabria is the most widespread type of tree, it grows at this altitude together with the beeches, the white spruces, the maple trees, chestnut trees, the oaks and the lindens. It’s the blossom of nature while under the thick forest there are the wolves, the boars, the otters, the badgers, the foxes, the deers, the fawns, the rabbits, the wild cats, the buzzards, the kites, the hawks and the woodpeckers. The Sila Train travels across this unspoilt realm of nature and animals and its puffing still enchants whoever is crossing this magic corner of Italy between the Tyrrhenian and the Ionian Sea.

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The Sila’s sense of snow’s route on the Sila Highlands was designed by “GuideOnCosenza” owned by Alessandra Scangia. It deals with taking Italian and Foreign tourists all over the region. The aim of each guided tour is encouraging tourists to fall in love with places they have never seen before and giving them good reasons to

La “GuideOnCosenza” propone itinerari adatti ad esplorare non solo la provincia di Cosenza ma tutta la REGIONE CALABRIA, territorio pieno di scenari suggestivi di forte attrattiva turistica; è una terra bagnata dalle acque dello Ionio e del Tirreno, protetta da boschi e da montagne. Venne scelta dai greci e amata da Federico II, le cui impronte rimangono nelle numerose fortificazioni. Fu la terra dei Santi Francesco, Nilo, Umile da Bisignano e del misticismo di Gioacchino da Fiore; è orgogliosa della propria storia che si può vivere attraverso le numerose testimonianze presenti sul territorio. Tante sono le leggende che alimentano un’aura fantastica, una per tutte quella del misterioso tesoro del Re Alarico.

come back. So Alessandra will be waiting for you in this amazing area since if you know it, you’ll be loving it more and more Per info e prenotazioni: www.guideoncosenza.it oppure chiamare il 329/4452028.

www.guideoncosenza.it Tel: +39 329 44 52 028

La “GuideOnCosenza” vi accompagnerà in un’emozionante avventura alla scoperta di incantevoli paesaggi e magiche realtà artistiche.

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Etna, a mythical mountain Cinzia Meoni

Sicily

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he Etna, “the mountain”«a muntagna» in the Sicilian dialect is the place where nature and myths inextricably come together for the people of Catania and its surrounding area. According to the Ancient Greek people, Eeolus, the God of winds had been confined in its caves while Efesto had chosen the volcano for his forges. Even in a more recent time there are many beliefs that connect these places full of mysticism to miracles. The votive chapels and altars remind of that, they are spread along the vol-

cano’s slopes, mainly the “tre altarelli” built in the village of Nicolosi exactly on the spot where the lava stopped its running in 1.776 or the sanctuary of Moncalieri that was built exactly where the simulacrum of Madonna delle Grazie had been erected by the Virgin Mary according to tradition. It is 3.350 metres high and it is fifty kilometres long, Etna dominates the whole Sicily and its unique shape of a cone rises straight up out of the Continent, from Sicily to Carriddi or the Strait of Messina.

Linguaglossa and Nicolosi, the paradise of snow

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n the highest active Volcano in Europe, 150 kilometres from the African coastline you can go skiing and look at the sea at the sae time in two areas that offer you cross-country rings and alpine skiing tracks, it is an unforgettable experience. You can reach the top from the Southern edge and you go through Nicolosi and pass by the cabin Sapienza or you can reach the top from the Northern edge passing by Linguaglossa to reach the ski-lifts of Piano Provenzana. In the Southern part you can ski between 1.910 and 2.700 metres of altitude along 20 kilometres of blue and red

tracks and you can see a wonderful landscape from there, the gulf of Catania and the valley of Simeto. One of the main tracks is 4 kilometres long.

In the Northern part of the mountain you can ski between 1.800 and 2.317 metres of altitude along six different tracks and you can try the Baby one that crosses an amazing forest of pine trees and beeches. From Sapienza cabin a number of different tracks will offer you the chance to go down to the valley of Bove, a huge basin on the Eastern side of the volcano whose walls that are a thousand metres high are crossed by deep canyons.

A terrace that looks out on the Mediterranean Sea

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ou can drive up to the Etna or you can catch a bus or you can take the cable way then an off-road vehicle ad you can finally walk or mountain bike or ride on the seal leather according to the season to enjoy the incomparable landscape of the island and the Mediterranean Sea and push your sight up to Malta on the brightest days. The colours and the vegetation change along the route: from the citrus groves of Zafferana Etnea, the village which is famous for its honey, to the woods of chestnut trees, beeches and oaks that cover that side of the volcano

up to 2000 metres of altitude where you can find junipers, soapworts and violets. The top of the mountain sounds a moon landscape above 2.500 metres of altitude where the species of vegetation are rare since they can’t survive among the black rocks of lava. Each Season is great for a journey on the Etna, a Unesco heritage Site since 2013. You will discover the several tiny villages in the park of Etna, created in 1987 and you will be thrilled by the snowy top of Mongibello, the other name of this mountain that lives and breaths together with you.

Medieval villages, Sicilian carts and Sicilian puppets

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f you visit the park of Etna you will have the chance to see the several tiny villages spread in the area, they are tiny jewels built with lava stones that keep unexpected treasures. Randazzo for instance is known as the village of hundred churches or “borgo delle cento chiese”, you will be charmed by its network of narrow streets sided by sacred buildings and the Svevo castle, the Museum Vagliasindi and the Museum of Puppets. In Castiglione, on the other hand, you can see the Alcantara Gorges where the river runs and creates particular shaped rocks. The

“cuba bizantina” deserves to be seen as well, it is a rural Church that dates back to the VIIth century, the church of Santa Domenica too that was acknowledged as an Italian wonder “meraviglia italiana” in 2011. If you want to go deep into the typical popular traditions you can’t miss a visit to Bronte where you can visit the Gulotti Museum of Sicilian Carts with more than 300 items ranging from the carts to the horses vestments and decorations of “mascillari”, the side edges of the carts or the “gambetti”, the spokes of wheels.

The land of pistacho nuts, strawberries and wine

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ood is one of the many wonders from the Etna region. Thanks to the fertility of its soil and its mild climate the pistachio nuts from Bronte are considered green gold with a protected designation that has made the name of the village famous in the world. The scented strawberries from Maletto has been a slow food brand since 2007.

The tabacchiera peaches, a slow food brand since 2001 grow up in the soil that was once given by the King Ferdinand of Naples to the admiral Horatio Nelson whose castle is located near Bronte.

The extra-olive oil of Monte Etna Dop (designation of protected origin) is another remarkable product. There is also the wine route that is crossed by the old Circumetnea railway. The six different types of wine with their controlled designations of origin (DOP) “Etna� – are the white wine, the white superior, the red, the red reserve, the rosato wine and the sparkling one. They must all be made from grapes cultivated within specific borders that include Nicolosi, Trecastagni, Zafferana, Linguaglossa, Castiglione and Randazzo.

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he pistacchio is one of the main ingredients of the cooking from the Etna area in Sicily. At the foot of what is simply called “a muntagna” (the mountain), the dishes from the Sicilian traditions are served and they are very often enriched with this product that can be used in plenty of different ways. The menu of the restaurant “Osteria del Siciliano” in Nicolosi offers dishes like the caserecce (a type of pasta) with the cream and the pistacchio sauce, the filled pork chops in the Sicilian way with the vegetables, the lard, the provola cheese and the pistacchio grain. The pistacchio is present in the menu of the restaurant Antico Orto dei Limoni as well, it’s in Nicolosi and the pistacchio is the main ingredient of the “pennette” and it’s also present inside the sausages’ stuff. The restaurant Ardichetto in Zafferana Etnea offers dishes cooked with the pistacchio that enriches the “fettuccine” (a sort of tagliatelle) with the porcini mushrooms, the meatloaf and the porcini mushrooms as vegetables.

The typical sweet is the Pistacchio cake. If you fancy spending your holiday near the Etna there’s the elegant hotel Biancaneve in Nicolosi with its 82 rooms, the pool and the Onidia Centre, the wellness centre which offers the massages with the essential oils ad the lava stones, the healing crystals therapy and the plantar reflexology. The B&B Casa Etna is located in the historical centre of Linguaglossa, it has three suite rooms equipped the microwave and the fridge. The hotel Il Nido dell’Etna is in Linguaglossa as well, few kilometres from the Natonal Park of Etna and the beach of Marina di Cottone, a perfect starting point for your excursions. The wine, the jam and the products made of pistacchio are the gems of the local food traditions. In Bronte there is Sciara Pistacchio where you can buy the torrone, the crunches, the minced pistacchio, the sauce and many other treats made of this local delight. At Vinetna in Linguaglossa the wine is the protagonist: the red wine, the white wine, the rosé wine and the jam of oranges too, the figs, the black mulberry, the mandarins and the lemons complete this list.

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Central Italy

Gran Sasso,

“the belly-button� of Italy Cinzia Meoni

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handful of rocks looking up at the sky.

This is the first image of Gran Sasso and its 2.912 metres of altitude, a huge mountain that stands out in the centre of Italy, It was called “Fiscelllus mons”, the belly button mountain by the ancient Romans because of its strategic position in the country. Winter can be the right moment to discover the tiny villages that are spread on this huge stone where you can enjoy Winter sports in the “small Tibet” as Campo Imperatore is

called. It is the wide highland that stands above the villages of Castel del Monte, Santo Stefano di Sessanio and Calascio. It’s an area featured by an archaic beauty that Pope John Paul II loved, an iron cross was put there in his honour since he hallowed the tiny chapel of Madonna della Neve that was captured in the cult movie “…They call me Trinity” or in the videos on the web like “Eppure sentire (Un senso di te)” by the singer Elisa.

Medieval villages and the paradise of free riders

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he National Park of Gran Sasso and the mountains of Laga are considered a sort of paradise for free riders: actually the downhill on the fresh snow gives the skiers a floating feeling on the soft snow that is as soft as powder. The “powder� in the heart of the Apennines is softer than the snow that falls in the North of Italy thanks to the sea that is not far, it’s a special snow that attracts the skiers who love spending their days in the height and look at the waves in the distance while staying in one of the characteristic me-

dieval villages. There are 44 villages in the park surrounded by the wild nature featured by the peaks, the canyons of rocks from the Dolomites and crossed by the meadows and creeks of the valley of Cento Cascate (hundred waterfalls), above the village of Cesacastina. A natural frame to be experienced throughout the year where you can hike, you can go horse-riding along the horse-route of Gran Sasso that horse riders love together with the bikers and the mountain bikers.

Campo Imperatore, the little Tibet

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n the slopes of the Aquila side there is Assergi, a village surrounded by the walls dating back to the XIth century whose main landmark is the Roman church of Santa Maria Assunta which keeps the tomb excavated in the rock. The cableway of Gran Sasso reaches a climb of 2.128 metres in Campo Imperatore, the theatre of outdoor activities in Summer and skiing in Winter. You can ski along 13 kilometres on the tracks under the Corno

Grande and Calderone, the most Southern glacier of Europe. It’s the ideal destination for kitesurfing lovers and alpine skiing lovers who can leave on their crossing of the mountain from there. The highland of Campo Imperatore also offers sixty kilometres of tracks for the cross-country skiing lovers mainly the ones near Castel del Monte, the characteristic village between the peaks of Gran Sasso and the Tirino Valley.

Small ski resorts, inscriptions and bagpipes

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n the Teramo side you can go skiing in Prati di Tivo where the tracks are laid at the bottom of Corno Piccolo in Prato di Selva that features the longest tracks of the mountain and in Monte Piselli-San Giacomo. Prati di Tivo is a district of Pietracamela, a village that looks out on the Rio Arno Valey, it’s surrounded by century-old forests of beeches in Aschiro and it keeps plenty of memories of the Medieval corporations like the old wool carders in the House of Signuritte”. There are

14 tracked kilometres in Prato di Selva near Fano Adriano, a village at the bottom of Mount Corvo that features an historical source, the Source of Cannalecchia identified by the seven “F” of a curious inscription: “Fanesi furono forti, fatevi forti figli fanesi.” That means “the people from Fano were strong, be strong too, children of Fano”. You can’t miss the village of Cerqueto in the surroundings and its “Ethnographic Museum of Popular Traditions” where a peculiar type of bagpipe is kept.

Rocks, hermitages and arrosticini

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efore or after skiing you can visit many villages in this area all featured by an interesting cultural heritage and good food. Rocca Balascio for instance is a tiny Medieval village under a thousand–year-old rock where a number of scenes from the movie “The name of the Rose” and “LadyHawke” were shot. You can’t miss a visit of the hexagonal church of Santa Maria della Pietà that was presumably built around 1451 from Bramante’s drawings. For a complete enjoyment of this area you can’t miss the richness of its food that is a

mix of traditions and tastes: from the goat arrosticini to porchetta, the gnocchi (a type of pasta) and the castrated steer without forgetting the cheese.

Some of these products are really excellent and they belong to the PAT (the list of typical Italian Products) list like the Pecorino Canestrato of Castel del Monte. The legumes must be taken into account as well since they belong to a number of slow food brands among which the beans of Paganica or the delicious lentils from the fortified village of Santo Stefano di Sessanio.

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he lentils and the cheese are the typical ingredients of this area of Abruzzo, a simple way of cooking featured by intense tastes. At he restaurant Rifugio della Rocca of Calascio the starter is made o salami ad cheese among which there’s the typical canestrato of Castel del Monte, it’s a fresh salted ricotta cheese and there’s also the lentils soup of Santo Stefano. At the restaurant Rifugio del Pastore of Castel del Monte the cheese is the main protagonist of the table, the ricotta cheese and the mozzarella for instance besides the traditional dishes that are matched with the best types of wine from the region like the Montepulciano, the Pecorino and the Trebbiano. The restaurant Clara features strong savoury tastes and the specialties made of lentils are a must and the salami and the cheese as well.

The mountains landscapes and the tiny villages of Castel del Monte and Santo Stefano di Sessa-

nio are the main destinations for the lovers of treccking and the lovers of villages. If you choose this area for your holidays you can consider staying at the Locanda delle Streghe in Castel del Monte. It’s an old house on the border with the historical centre. There’s also the residence Le Civette which is a B&B located inside an historical house in the village. There’s also the Palazzo residence which is located in an old farmhouse it has four flats, the restaurant and the pizzeria. If you intend to buy the local products there’s the Zotechnical Fram Gran Sassdo in an area called Piè di Colle where you can buy the caciocavallo cheese, the pecorino cheese of Castel del Monte, the vegetables and the lentils of Santo Stefano di Sessanio and the purple potatoes. At the Farm of Rosa Ciarrocca in Santo Stefano Sessanio besides the lentils you can also buy the saffron and the extra-virgin oil from the valley.

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snow, venture captains and heroes

Tuscany

Abetone:

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idway between Florence and Bologna the impressive Mountain stands out against the Southern side of the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines. This area includes the villages of Abetone Cutigliano, a wide municipality, Marliana, San Marcello Piteglio and Sambuca Pistoiese. This mountain has been the only passage along the Apennine between Tuscany and Emilia and it sounds that the general Hannibal from Carthage crossed this passage to go from Piacenza towards the South. According to a legend several places have rivalled to be

honoured for giving the name to a pass in the Luce Valley where a red track and a ski-lift are located in the Abetone’s area. A part of Italy that was crossed by armies and revolutionists many centuries ago that has become the paradise of winter holidays lovers nowadays: the area covers around fifty kilometres of ski tracks, 22 ski-lifts and 18 kilometres of cross-country ski tracks. You can be spoilt for choice, for all tastes and for all skills: if you are fond of skiing there’s one difficult track, 14 easy ones and 14 quite difficult ones at your disposal.

The Ximeniana way and the pyramids of Abetone

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n the mountain Gomito, where the Luce Valey, the Lima Valley and the Scoltenna valley are linked there is the most famous skiing area of the region: the Abetone, a small district of Abetone Cutigliano. This village was born thanks to the logging of a huge spruce (Abete in Italian) thus the name Abetone (big spruce) during the construction works of the pass that the grand duchy of Tuscany and the duchy of Modena started in 1766. This event is still reminded by the church of Saint Leopold, featured by a simple style

that was influenced by the Jansenist ideas of the client, the Grand Duch of Tuscany. There are also two pyramids dating back to the XVIth century in the centre of the village. They were commissioned by Leopold and Francis the III and they are decorated with their coats of arms. Actually they are located in the area that once belonged to the Grand Duchy of Tuscany and the other one in an area that once belonged to the Duchy of Modena that were finally linked by the pass along the Ximeniana way.

Full moon and Zeno Colò’s ski tracks

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ports icons like Zeno Colò started their stunning golden career in this area, three ski tracks have been dedicated to him: Vittorio Chierroni, Celina Seghi and more recently the Giuliano Razzoli one. The ski area offers around fifty kilometres of tracks between 1.385 metres of altitude at its bottom and 1.940 at its top of Alpe Tre Potenze, dedicated to better skilled skiers who can have great fun and let their sight go as far as Florence. And you can trust your feelings especially when special events are held and the “Full

moon party” is one of the most famous and it is a magic experience in the bright moon. But the Abetone isn’t only skiing, nature, culture and good food. In Winter you can hike in the park on your “ciaspole” (snowshoes) helped by a guide or you can go cross-country skiing in the snowy forets. In Summer the area becomes the paradise of cyclists or “bikers” thanks to the “Abetone Gravity Park”, a meeting point where exciting disciplines like the downhill and the cross country come together.

Cutigliano, coat of arms and snow tubing

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n alternative is the ski area of Doganaccia a few kilometres away from Abetone: ten kilometres of sunny tracks either for beginners or for skilled skiers that look out on the Apennine between Tuscany and Emilia, a snow tubing track that will let you go down the slopes at full speed on board of rafts around the two rings of the country-cross skiing area. The most beautiful way to reach the tracks of Doganaccia is by going up with the ski-lift of Cutigliano, a village that dates back to the Dark Ages

that you can’t miss at all. The palace of justice dates back to the XVIth century, it’s decorated with the Mountain captains’ coats of arms that have followed in time and the church of Madonna of Piazza are two steps-over that can’t be missed for no reasons at all. The “Museum of people from the Pistoia Apennines” of Rivoreta near the village offers another journey at the discovery of local traditions and invites visitors to try their manual skills by making toys with poor materials.

Stars, murals and suspended bridges

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n the mountain near Pistoia there are several villages where history matches nature and traditions and finds new definitions. Like Lizzano Pistoiese which has thousands of years of history and it’s featured by a number of frescoes that changed its name into “the village of murals”. If you go up towards Gavinana da Maresca, a village on the border with the forest of Teso where the palace Rospigliosi dating back to the XVIth century is located, you’ll find the Astronomical Observatory of Pian dei Termini. The Medieval village of Gavinana is related

to a hero and a museum that has been dedicated to him: Francesco Ferrucci, a leader belonging to the Florentine Republic’s army. From San Marcello Pistoiese, a village surrounded by forests, you can reach two important landmarks: Pontepetri, where the battle during which Catilina died in 62 B.C. took place and the suspended bridge which is 227 metres high above the Lima river. It has been the highest walking bridge in the world until Japan has entered the Guinness World Records for the longest “suspended walking bridge in the world”.

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he main ingredients of Abetone cuisine can be nothing else but the mushrooms. The valleys and the forests feature this part of the Apennines, you can go down from the mountains near Pistoia to the land of Modena. At the restaurant Da Fagiolino in Cutigliano the mushrooms come with the starters, with the maccheroni (a type of pasta), with the roasted duck with olives and with the filled scaloppine. In Cutigliano, at the restaurant Il Nonno Cianco where the cableway reaches the ski tracks of Doganaccia you can taste the “gonfiate”, sort of potatoes gnocchi with the cheese sauce, the fried porcini mushrooms or the big beef stakes with the mushrooms or the pork wraps wit the grass. The restaurant La Casina di Abetone is a rustic place near the border with Emilia where you can taste the polenta with mushrooms, the pappardelle (a type of tagliatelle) with the deer sauce and the encrusted polenta wit cheese and at the Circolo Carpineta of Sambuca Pistoiese the food is home-made too and there’s a lot of venison. If you want to stay on the Abetone to ski in Winter and enjoy the nature

in Summer there is Villa Patrizia near the historical centre of Cutigliano which has 18 rooms surrounded by the green forests and there’s also Villa Basilewsky, an old settlement dating back to the beginning of the XXth century that was also the Summer house of the fire-fighters at the end of the century and it’s an elegant hotel now with 21 rooms, including the suites and there’s also the B&B La Casa di Zeno, the house that the famous alpine skier Zeno Colò built in the 1960s, if you like leaving your place on your skis. If you like taking the tastes of Tuscany with you there is the biological farm I Taufi, where you can buy the biological products, the cheese, the butter ad the meat and the workshop I Sapori del Lago Nero where you will get lost among plenty of delicacies. The classical cantucci (typical biscuits) made in many different ways, the frollini (typical cookies) made in many different ways, the canestrelli (typical biscuits), the fagottini (typical sweets), the biscolatte (typical biscuits), the chestnut biscuits, the rice biscuits and the “brutti ma buoni” (ugly but good) biscuits.

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PHOTO CREDITS: Tonino Bernardelli, Vittoria Pagnano, Mauro Fazio

a journey in time

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Frosinone, Lazio

Alvito,

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ime has stopped in Alvito, a tiny Medieval village between Lazio and Abruzzo where you can walk along a century-old experience, you can breathe the charm of the old time and enjoy your days in the nature without forgetting tasty stops according to the food traditions of Ciociaria. It dates back to the XIth century and the Cantelmo family wanted it to be rebuilt in the XIVth century, actually its name is Cantelmo

castle. On bright days it’s great to walk up to the fortress at 475 metres of altitude along the narrow streets with great views on the Comino Valley. And walking around the walls, entering the courtyards, exploring the paths, seeing the watch-towers and let your imagination go back to the facts that happened there towards the North in the Comino Valley that has always been in a strategic position in the centre of Italy.

Palaces and dark legends

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ccording to a legend, the inhabitants of the village threw stones at Bernardino of Siena in 1443 and he foretold they would never brought anything to an end. The tiny village and its historical buildings, artistic keepers of the past prove the opposite every day. It’s exciting to walk in the narrow streets and the steep staircases of Alvito and remind the stories that happened there and discover the protagonists in the names of the noble palaces. The Doge’s palace (Palazzo Duca-

le) deserves a stop. It was wanted by the Archbishop Tolomeo Gallio at the beginning of the XVIIth century: the Council Theatre is based there, in the former theatre of the Court and the former Council House where the hall, the honour staircase, the episodes from “The Liberation of Jerusalem” (Gerusalemme Liberata) stand out in the Duke’s room and the Council’s staircase is decorated with ornaments and frescoes belonging to Luca Giordano’s workshop.

A village, a thousand paths

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lvito, in the middle of the Comino Valley is surrounded by the National Park of Abruzzo, it’s the ideal starting point to explore the entire area.

110 kilometres of well marked tracks start from this point and you can mountain-bile, you can horse-ride, you can hike, you can use the snowshoes when the snow covers the paths on the park and you can be amazed from the beautiful shapes from the ice on the trees’ branches. There are tracks in the mountain and on the hills among the vineyards of Cabernet Atina Doc /Denomination of Controlled Origin), there are interesting

hiking routes to discover the doline, mainly the FossaMaiura, a sort of overturned cone a hundred metres deep. You can also see the 15 fountains that are spread in this area. Your senses will lead you to the discovery of the wild herbal scents, the taste of pecorino cheese, of torrone that has been entered into the PAT list (traditional food farming products) and the truffles while from the village’s fortress you can enjoy an amazing view of the surrounding forests and wild animals. But your imagination is your best sense since you can capture the charm of every route through it.

Ghosts and peasant traditions

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n Cortignale and La Cappudine, old districts in the surroundings of Alvito the hand of the clock goes back in time and shows the traditions of the past centuries. The farmhouses are not always evident in these old villages. Sometimes you have to search in the vegetation, in the bushes that have grown during the years in order

to find the walls of these old constructions that were once used to store the olives and the grapes after being pressed. And it deserves finding them since the two ghost villages will take you back in time ad will let their walls speak to tell the story of the simple daily life of the peasants that has been carried out for centuries.

The origins, between sacred and profane

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he origin of Alvito might go back to the Volsci and the Sannitis that preceded the romanisation of this area in the III century B.C. Starting from the year 1000 the village started to develop thanks to the monks of the near Montecassino and it became a typical town-fortress: the Medieval village was at the top of the hill and it was surrounded by the churches of Santa Maria in Porta Coeli and Santa Maria Assunta where the tomb of San Rocco is kept. Midway there is the Peschio, surrounded by noble buildings like the Peschio Panicati Pala-

ce featuring its towers and the front door which is framed with a diamond- edged ashlar and finally there’s the village which looks out towards the valley enriched with a number of buildings and churches in the Baroque style. As the centuries went by the village became a feud of the Reign of Naples and it was involved in the wars between the families of Aragonesi and the Angioini and it became a Shire first with the leading of the Equino family then it became a dukedom with the Gallo family who could root the banditry out.

Sleeping, tasting and buying Luca Sartori

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he undisputed symbol of Alvito’s delicacies is the “torrone”. In this geographical area called Ciociaria it was already produced in the XVIIIth century and it is now in the PAT list of Traditional Food Industry products. The old sweets shop Di Tullio has been the landmark of the local sweets production since 1850 and it offers its customers a wide range of products from the classical torrone, the one with the almonds, the honey, the egg white and the sugar, the one with the royal dough, the one with the almond dough, the mostaccioli made of jam, cacao, spice, flour, sugar and honey, the crunched one which contains the almonds and the caramel. Alvito is also a land of vineyards. At the winery Cominium, located in the vineyard inside an old farmhouse dating back to the XIXth century you can taste and buy the red wine, the rosé wine, the white wine and the reserve wine from the DOC grapes like the Cabernet Sauvignon, the Cabernet Franc and the Merlot, besides the other products of the farmhouse like the extra-virgin olive oil, the grappa and the wine marmalade. Truffles are also at your disposal on the rich local tables.

The restaurant Agria in Santa Maria street offers, among its specialties, the fresh pasta with porcini mushrooms and truffles, the venison and the barbecue while at the Restaurant Pizzeria dell’Orologio in Roma street they serve the pappardelle (a type of tagliatelle) with the boar sauce, the filled chicken and the tripe in the Roman way. In Posta Fibreno a village near Alvito there is the Oasi dei Sapori where the tonnarelli (a tye of pasta) with cacio cheese and pepper are served, the lamb and the pork fillet with the cabernet sauce as the main course. Alvito is the ideal starting point to explore the surrounding area of the National Park of Abruzzo. At the farmhouse Tenuta del Daino near the historical centre you can’t miss a visit of the Comino Valley and relax with the deers amongst the olive trees. At the elegant Relais Chalons d’Orange, a little far from the centre you re welcomed by a beautiful pool surrounded by the mountains, you can choose a room or a suite while at the farmhouse Erbadoro, surrounded y an amazing garden, you can stay in the small suites equipped with private bathroom and the sitting-room.

Agriturismo “Cerere” Via Valle di Rio, 42 Tel 0776 509110 www.agriturismocerere.it Agriturismo “Fata Verde Orto e Locanda” Via Colle San Martino Tel 392 9366134 FACEBOOK: Fataverde Orto e Locanda – Agriturismo Agriturismo “Il Lago nella Valle” Via Cappella della Volpe Tel 329 9616693 Facebook: Oliviero Burdiat Agriturismo “Il Viale dei Ciliegi” Via S.Rocco Contrada Maiali Tel 340 1660233 www.vialedeiciliegi.it Agriturismo “L’Arceto” Via Campo Piano Tel 0776 509018 Facebook Agriturismo “Tenuta del Daino” Via Fontanelle Tel 340 3783780 www.tenutadeldaino.it Soc.Agr. “Cominium Benessere” Via Fontana Ufa Tel 335 6313419 www.cominiumbenessere.it Hotel “Relais Chalon d’Orange” Via Colle Buono Serre di Conca Tel 342 7493526 www.relaisorange.com Agiturismo “Il Tiglio” via san nicola 42 tel 347 6868211 www.iltiglioalvito.it

Riserva Naturale Lago di Posta Fibreno

Project realized thanks to the contribution of the Lazio Region.

“Funding for Business Networks between Economic Activities on Road DGR n. 94 of 15/03/2016 “ Beneficiary subject: Municipality of Alvito. Contracting subject: VisitAlvito network

Download the APP with the economic activities of Alvito, the tours of the inhabited center, the 100Km of itineraries in the hills and mountains, the points of historical architectural interest and associations.

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Alvito

MUNICIPALITY OF ALVITO

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Frosinone, Lazio Inhabitants: 2668 Altitude: 475 m s.l.m.

Surface area: 51.72 km² Patron saint: San Valerio - ven. - sab dopo la pentecoste

BACK TO THE SUMMARY

Lviv: nature, villages and traditions

Crossborder: Ukraine By the “Tourist and resorts managing Body of Leopolis, the regional state administration Agency� loda.gov.ua/upravlinnya_turyzmu_ta_kurortiv

W

e are in Ukraine, in the region of Lviv (Leopoli), a land of amazing natural landscapes, culture and traditions. Lviv is an ancient city, it belongs to the UNESCO Heritage and there are many characteristic villages in its surroundings where the ancients traditions of Galizia are kept. The Carpathian Mountains stand out there, it is a true paradise for the lovers of the mountains. First you must visit the “Skolevski National Park, a protected area of more than 35 thousand hectares on the Eastern Carpathian Mountains that feature many interesting attractions. Starting with

Maidan, a village in the district of Drohobych followed by the forest of Maydan where there are 33 buffalos that live “in the wild”. The highest peak is Paraska - 1.268 metres of altitude, you can turn your eyes towards all the Carpathian Mountains. The Gurkalo waterfall is very peculiar, it is separated by a rocky edge that makes two streams that are 5 metres high. The State Historical Cultural Reserve of “Tustan” deserves to be seen and the Medieval fortress-city of Tustan is an unmissable destination too since its remains are in the heart of the Carpathian mountains.

Crossborder: Ukraine

The religious Leopolis

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f you are interested in the spiritual life of this region there are several examples of artistic and religious places to visit that are well represented by the characteristic wooden churches. These sanctuaries combine the orthodox features with the local ones, they are built on three levels and they mainly feature octagonal domes. They are worship places featured by beautiful tower-bells, towers, coloured carpets and plenty of multi-coloured indoor decorations that represent many symbolic and sacred references that are

related to the local traditions. At the bottom of the village of Rozgirche, surrounded by a forest of spruce trees, the Monastery of Pecherny deserves a visit. It is a unique rocky group of constructions that dates back to the VIIIth and the VIIth century B.C. The Church of the apostles Peter and Paul dating back to the XVIIIth century can’t be missed. It was designed by the famous architect from Galicia and it is considered one of the most beautiful stone temples in this region of the Carpathian Mountains.

Crossborder: Ukraine

Crossborder: Ukraine

Oltreconfine: Ucraina

Slavske and Volosyanka, unmissable villages

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he villages of Slavske and Volosyanka, in the region of Leopolis are featured by the cool mountain air, the high peaks ad the very good food: it’s an ideal destination for a cultural and relaxing holiday that offers plenty of different routes. The village of Slavske is in the sunny and characteristic valley of the Resistance river and it’s the ideal destination for Winter sports lovers: it’s one of the widest skiing area of Ukraine where plenty of facilities are available and leisure time activi-

ties for all ages and for all tastes too. Volosyanka, a village in the Skole district is another interesting place to visit, it’s located in the valley of the Slavka and it is near the Yalinkuvaya rivers, eight kilometres Southern Slavske. Volosyanka is famous for its food and its ancient traditions: mushrooms soup, “banosh “of the Carpathian Mountains, filled cabbage and gnocchi, the trouts, the grilled sausages ad the kebab, the home-made pickles, the tea, the delicious local herbs and the berries jam.

Crossborder: Ukraine

Crossborder: Ukraine

Farmhouses in the Carpathian mountains

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he farms and the farmhouses of this area deserve to be visited since many fresh products are made there like the woven bread made of wheat flour, the “caustica” cheese, the huslyanku, the goat cheese, the tea from the Carpathian mountains and much more! You’ll find here a number of useful addresses like the “Eco-Gazda” farm where a number of types of cheese are made and sold like the Suluguni – a semi-hard cheese, the mozzarella cheese and the husnyanskyy, a sort of ricotta che-

ese. In the farmhouse “Komarnicki” you can taste the typical home-made products, the woven bread made of wheat flour, the “caustica” cheese and the huslyanku. You can’t miss the “Boyko” cheese, a typical product for more than a hundred years. A number of interesting leisure activities include the pottery workshops at the Cottages “4Sezony”, the forging of metals at the guest house “Forge Estate”, the weaving and the embroidery that are the typical manual skills of this regions.

Crossborder: Ukraine

Skhidnytsya, at full mountain

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khidnytsia is a mountain village of extraordinary beauty surrounded by forests of conifers and endless alpine fields. The tourist facilities and the hotels are spread all around in an area where the air is unpolluted and the environment is green and healthy. The most important treasure in this area is the mineral water. There are 38 sources and 17 water wells in the area of Skhidnytsia: the healing

properties of this water has been known for a long time and it represents an opportunity to rebalance your body and your mind. Regarding your free-time activities there are a number of pottery courses at the cottage “4sezona” -, the forging of iron at the “Kovalskaya manor”, the weaving and the sewing.

A handcraft full immersion, it’s one of the several aspects of this multifaceted destination.

Crossborder: Ukraine

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Crossborder: Ukraine

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Villages on stage Bit 2019 From the North to the South, from the cities for arts to the alpine villages or the food and wine tours, at the Bit 2019 the villages will be the right offer to the demand of experience tours.

Villages on stage Bit 2019

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e If travelling isn’t just being on holidays anymore but it implies experiencing the typical Italian lifestyle, the tourists especially the foreign ones will get their answers in the beautiful Italian villages that will be the protagonists at the BIT (International Travel Exhibition) 2019 being held at fieramilanocity from 10 to 12 February 2019.

Which are the main hints for the ones who don’t want to go too far but are looking for something different than usual? The network of Pro Loco that belong to UNPLI Lombardy offers the chance to

visit a number of tiny villages far from the mass tourism that are even more interesting and charming. Bossico for instance in the province of Bergamo, a village in the mountains that offers its visitors an amazing view of the Alto Lago d’Iseo, or Idro in the province of Brescia where the river Chiese becomes a beautiful lake or Sabbioneta with its wonderful Renaissance architecture.

Following the popularity of the food tourism the farmhouses are a must for a romantic holiday: you can find them in every region and they offer many

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cecina and Valdera valleys.

This edition of the Bit 2019 will be the most important marketplace for the promotion of the product “Italy� in the world and all the regions will be present, mainly : Abruzzo, Basilicata, Campania, Emilia Romagna, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Lazio, Liguria, Lombardia, Marche, Puglia, Sardegna, Sicilia, Toscana, Umbria and Veneto. The different associations, the tourism Boards and the convention bureaux from different areas like Agrigento, Cittadella, La Maddalena, Lake Como, Riva del Garda, Termoli, Volterra-Valdicecina-Valdera, Costa Rossa Sardegna, the Regional Board of the cities or arts of Veneto will have a leading role.

There will be an intense information and training activity with more than 90 scheduled events.

Villages on stage Bit 2019

experiences that go far beyond the typical countryside holiday. From the experience of a real farm in Puglia in Torre di Nebbia di Corato to Dolcetna in the Etna Park near Catania in Sicily where the combination with food offers breathless views of the sea and the volcano. You can also chose an active holiday in Casa Wallace and Casa Margherita in the Lower Monferrato, where you can go hiking, go horse-riding or work for the vineyards or the vegetable gardens (all strictly biodynamic) in an environment that is open to the echo-sustainability.

Which are the ideal villages for a seasonal break?

This year you must focus your attention on the cities for arts like Cittadella or the Etruscan Tuscany with Volterra and its amazing surrounding Valdi-

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Luciana Francesca Rebonato facebook.com/lfrancesca.rebonato

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Liguria, the villages of Neptune

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hy Liguria is included in this issue of e-borghi travel, dedicated to the mountains? Since its salty beauty counterparts the articles that are focused on the forests’ charm: they are the “out of place holidays�, the alter ego of the peaks and the ridges, a hint for new ideas about the waves and the sea floor. Here comes Liguria, a rainbow spotted with villages linked to the ground and pusched towards the sea on the two opposing corners on the Eastern and on the Western sides facing each-other as they wanted to reach the figurehead of a ship.

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OUT OF PLACE HOLIDAYS

Liguria, the villages of Neptune

t’s the homeland of caruggi (the narrow streets) featured by a sequence of tiny shops filled with the local handcrafted products, the bakers where the hot focaccia is made, the grocery stores where coffee is still roasted, the heritage from their important ancestor, Cristoforo Colombo. From Genoa the curtain is open on the Eastern coast that gathers

the rocky and the sandy shores, the bays, the streams and the inlets flattered by the sea. If you leave Genoa your first pit stop will be Camogli, the village from Liguria by definition, it developed in the eight around a number of narrow streets, staircases and houses featured by many different colours spread along the coastline.

Liguria, the villages of Neptune

OUT OF PLACE HOLIDAYS

OUT OF PLACE HOLIDAYS

Liguria, the villages of Neptune

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rom the pear you can set sail in all seasons to follow the coastline from your ship between Punta Chiappa and San Fruttuoso: they are choreographies of rocks and coral shapes cleared by the sun. Liguria is a deeply charming destination: on the seafloor of the bay of San Fruttuoso and thanks to the divers from Genoa the Cristo degli Abissi (Christ of the Abyss), the bronze statue has been protecting all the sailors and the sea-dogs since the 1950s. In the Paradise Gulf Portofino is the protagonist featuring its famous little square that looks out on the marina and the Castle of Saint Gorge perched on the cliff. If you pass by the little bay of Paraggi you’ll reach the elegant Santa Margherita Ligure while Rapallo is located a few kilometres from there, you

can cross the “bridge of Hannibal” made of stone with a single arch. Now it’s time to move towards Sestri Levante whose isthmus offers two exciting views, “Baia delle favole” (the Bay of Fairy-tales),a place-name that was given by Hans Christian Andersen who stayed there in 1833 and the “Baia del silenzio” (The Bay of silence).

On the Eastern edge of the region, Unesco and the Cinque Terre (The Five Lands) are the protagonists: Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore, the sea villages featured by tiny beaches, gutters, rocks and hills at the edge of the sea. Finally there is the Gulf of La Spezia, on its opposite shores there are Portovenere and Lerici, the two old walled villages that look at each other in the sea that has been linking them for centuries.

Liguria, the villages of Neptune

OUT OF PLACE HOLIDAYS

Liguria, the villages of Neptune

OUT OF PLACE HOLIDAYS

Liguria, the villages of Neptune

OUT OF PLACE HOLIDAYS

Liguria, the villages of Neptune

OUT OF PLACE HOLIDAYS

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rom Genoa you can turn on the Western coast and reach Varazze, the protagonist of an old ship-building tradition, the city is featured by old walls that date back to the XIIth and the XIVth century. They were constructed to protect the area from the Saracens coming from the sea. After visiting Albissola Marina that is famous for its artistic nature being expressed in the production of beautiful pottery, you can reach Spotorno and Noli: so near, so different. The former prefers the social life and the latter is more quiet and it’s considered one of the best maintained villages of Liguria.

Echoes from the past can also be heard in Loano with its houses spread along the seaside and Albenga too, a chest of ancient art in its historical centre and fi-

nally there is Alassio with its “muretto� (the little wall) which has been famous since the 1960s when many celebrities from the music and the artistic world used to gather there and sign their autographs that have been afterwards reproduced on the pottery. Moving ahead towards the Western side you can reach Sanremo that is featured by its Medieval rocks and entrances in the Pigna area, the historical centre, so called because of its unusual shape. When the sand of the coast approaches the French border you are in Bordighera whose most ancient core is a walled village with an irregular pentagonal shape where many botanical, archaeological and cultural details may attract your attention ad your feelings.

Liguria, the villages of Neptune

OUT OF PLACE HOLIDAYS

Liguria, the villages of Neptune

OUT OF PLACE HOLIDAYS

OUT OF PLACE HOLIDAYS

Liguria, the villages of Neptune

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Since 1907 AssoBirra stands for beer excellence in Italy

Barbara Roncarolo twitter.com/barbaronk

Tastes in the altitude, From the North to the South

Tastes in the altitude, From the North to the South

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e sometimes forget about the mountains if we don’t live there.

But we do love good healthy food. We like the pure air ad the pure food too.

Let’s start our journey among the fruit by mentioning the little red ones first, like the red berries that decorate the recipes and make our skin more beautiful since they are rich of anthocyanins, the anti-aging substances of nutrition. Wild blueberries, the blackberries, the raspberries and the strawberries that are cultivated at a high altitude. They can be used to decorate the masterpieces of sweets that are made by the sweets shops from the South Tyrol or they can be used in modern recipes like the ice-cream made by using the raspberries and the rosemary, the acid cream and the pumpkin seeds’ oil which was invented by the young chef Philipp Fallmerayer, the organizer of Brix 0.1 in Bressanone, a cosmopolitan city food park. What about the strawberries? The ones that grow up in the unspoilt alpine silence must absolutely be tasted, the ones from the Martello Valley near the Venosta Valley in the province

of Bolzano for instance. If you’re patient enough to wait for the warm season, you’ll be able to join the Feast of Strawberries in Martello, the most important village in the National park of Stelvio; it is held in June, the strawberries are cultivated at 1.800 metres of altitude and they are served after the huge cake and the canederli (typical pasta from the region) made of strawberries. The farms in this area print their quality label on their products “Qualità Alto Adige” they stamp it on the cheese, on the speck and the “grappa” liquor. The highest strawberries in Europe are the ones that are produced

by Giorgio Elter, the owner of the farm La Motte, 4 hectares of fields surrounded by the national Park of Gran Paradiso in the Aosta Valley: He states: “You can taste the coolness of the frozen night and the sweetness of the mountains sun”. If you are near Courmayeur buy a gentian or an edelweiss from the local garden centres Flavio Gamerro has been picking up the wild plants’ seeds for thirty years to make them reproduce in captivity. You’ll give your home recipes an alpine touch.

Tastes in the altitude, From the North to the South

Tastes in the altitude, From the North to the South

Strong and tasty L

Slow-food brand. The most rare and the finest, very white and gentle, it’s the one from Brezzo, picked up in the Upper Maira Valley, in the area of Cuneo. All that food must be matched to perfect wine!

Let’s move to an unexpected Sicily then!

In the estate of Ficuzza at 700metres over the sea level between Palermo and Trapani in the city of Corleone, the Cusumano brothers produce the Insolia and the Chardonnay and the “700” as well. It’s a sparkling wine produced from the Classical Brut Method. Now let’s put the ball in the centre and head towards Abruzzo to chase the Ferrari of saffron that is produced in the province of l’Aquila in the old medieval village of Caporciano one of the 13 tiny villages that have been awarded with the DOP brand. There’s an ideal climate there to grow the bulbs of this precious flowered-spice. We have started our journey with the fruit, let’s finish with the marmalade: the one made of arbatus, a frugal red marmalade also known because of the bitter honey that the bees take from its flowers. The jam is very good too and it is produced in the villages at the foot of Gennargentu, like the barbaricino Fonni, the highest in Sardinia.

Tastes in the altitude, From the North to the South

et’s go back for a while to Trentino Alto Adige to write about the yellow flour of Storo, a unique product to make the alpine “polenta”, this type of flour is very tough but it’s also very digestible.

Like the carbonera made with the sausages or the Macafana with the chicory or the “concia” the one made of cheese.

It’s the Marano wheat, reddish, dried by the mountain’s wind and ground in the mill of Storo in the province of Trento.

We could write books about the cheese and the milk from the Italian mountains.

We have decided to write about the cheese from the sheep of Carnia since it is a region full of different types of cheese of high quality that are made by using the milk from selected sheep like the Camosciata that are fed in the pastures and freely graze in the foothills in the province of Udine. This type of cheese is featured by a tough rind and a white crumbly paste, it can be perfectly matched to the chestnuts’ flour bread from the Apennines between Tuscany and Emilia. There’s also a more seasoned type of cheese made of honey and ginger. This type of honey is one of the best together with the “millefiori” honey and the “melata” from the spruce, they all belong to the

Tastes in the altitude, From the North to the South

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Tastes in the altitude, From the North to the South

Ivan Pisoni

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Legends in the mountains of Aosta Valley

Legends in the mountains of Aosta Valley

The bridge of the devil of Pont-Saint-Martin O

nce in the past between Pont-SaintMartin and Carema, two places that look out on the opposite sides of the river Lys there were no bridges and although the inhabitants of both districts made all efforts to build it every night a mysterious strength used to destroy their work. The two groups of people started blaming each other until Martino, the Bishop of Tours and the Great Saint of the Village arrived there from Augusta Pretoria. After gathering information about that strange history this man understood that the Evil might have had a hand in these sabotages so he decided to make a deal with him with Gold’s help. Martino could convince the Devil to let the people build their bridge but he wanted the soul of the first man who would cross it in exchange. The people were put down and were afraid for the bad luck that would hit one of them but the Bishop already had a

plan. It was the dawn and the bridge was ready, it was strong and huge and the Devil was there and he was ready to collect what he expected. Martino threw a loaf of bread to the opposite end of the bridge, he pushed his cloak aside and set a weak and hungry dog free that immediately crossed the bridge to eat the bread.

The Devil wanted a soul and Martino kept the promise. The Devil who was furious for the deceit took the dog and lifted it up towards the sky and he started to swear and hit the bridge’s stones so he made a big hole where he fell down and got drawn in the waves on the river below.

The Saint Man convinced the men to build a chapel on the big hole, you can still visit this tiny church if you cross the bridge. Then the two districts came together and the village of Pont-Saint-Martin was born . A song dedicates to this strange fact is still sung on each Carnival.

That tiny house at the depth of the Blue Lake I

and he gave the poor man a bowl of milk.

His parents were offended because their son was better than them so they gave him a bowl of dirty water even before he could drink the milk. The traveller left, he sad and disappointed and he whispered strange words. Those two bad people told their son off and they punished him and sent him to collect the wood in the forest at night. Afraid and cold the boy spent a long time collecting the wood and when he came back the house had disappeared. There was a lake instead. The boy was sad because of his parents’ death but he soon understood that the disappearance of the house and the coming of the lake represented a punishment for his parents who could love no-one, their son neither.

The boy decided to stay there and built a new house, he got married with a wonderful girl and had a long happy life and children too. The word got out and everybody knew the story and they also knew they would be well welcomed on the shores of the amazing blue lake forever since.

Legends in the mountains of Aosta Valley

n the Aosta Valley, at around 1.980 metres of altitude, you can see an amazing water surface. It is featured by a deep blue colour that counterparts the green of surrounding spruces and the light of the snowy mountains. The Blue Lake is the protagonist of a melancholy legend.

If you carefully look at the lake, on its centre and into its depth you can notice some big pieces of wood that look like the remains of an old construction. They say that in the past there was a house there where a family of shepherds lived, these people were bad, surly and selfish.

On a cold and rainy evening, a tired and hungry traveller knocked at their door looking for hospitality and a shelter. He hoped he would be given something to eat and a soft bed but a surly woman open the door and looked at him from head to toe and she immediately shut the door in his face without saying a word. The man begged for help but the woman didn’t change her mind. The shepherds’ son was moved by the traveller’s begging

Legends in the mountains of Aosta Valley

The spirits in the origin of the name of Mont Blanc T

here was a time when no-one dared approaching or getting near the top of the mountain that was called Grand Mont. Strange voices, strange presences, strange facts used to happen in that cursed place. It sounded there were imps, witches and evil spirits there that caused all sorts of problems, storms, landslides and evil facts.

The people used to avoid that place because they were terrified and they

didn’t even look at the mountain. On a Summer night, a brave traveller arrived there and after being informed about all those strange facts he decided to climb to the top and send any evil creatures away. Thanks to a big landslide the traveller could bury all sorts of evil presence under the white thick snow.

So the Grand Mont was purified by this event and was renamed the Mont Blanc (the white mountain).

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The Mount Ciamoseira and its witches sted from 10.00 p.m to 2 a.m. until the viewers started to see what is today called “the dinner” that is the moment when the small fires were attracted from a mysterious strength, they moved towards the bottom of the mountain and they put themselves in a circle as they were the dinner companions around a huge table. At the end of the dinner the fires started standing in the line and they started to go in procession across the Lys towards the plain of Portola o the border with the Biella area, a well-known area for the legends related to the witches. The following morning a group of brave people went to the place where they had seen the small fires at night but they didn’t find anything. We don’t know if they were the witches but the fact that happened in November 1877 was real and it happened before a big number of viewers. There are still some people who say that some precessions of fires on the mountain can still be visible nowadays, anyway they have never been so big. Maybe they are the witches on the Cimoseira?

Legends in the mountains of Aosta Valley

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ear the Lys Valley between the villages of Perloz and Lillianes there’s the huge Mount Ciamoseira featured by a breach that splits the mountain into two equal parts. In this breach the broom trees, the wild hay and bushes grow and the month of May flaunts deep white colours thanks to the Saxifrages of the Pyrenees. This place was inhabited by the chamois from which the name Ciamoseria is taken but nowadays the goats pasture there in Winter too since the snow never stops falling. This area isn’t famous just for its natural and beautiful landscapes but they say there are the witches too! The story of the witches started on a November night in 1877. On that night the inhabitants of the left side of the Lys were astonished when they saw the mount brightly shining as it was during the day, there were plenty of small fires that were running all around: they sometimes gathered in small groups or they run towards different directions, they jumped, it was like a merry-go-round that lighted up the mountain’s edge. This strange fact la-

Ivan Pisoni

facebook.com/pisoni.ivan.7

Did you know that‌

Did you know that... mountain special

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hanks to Mr Farina Cini you can ski on the Abetone. he reached the hotel Cimone in 1904 with two curved pieces of wood a Norwegian friend had given him. After several tumbles and failures this poor fellow decided to give up and he gave the two basic skis to the hotel’s owner whose name was Pietro Ferrucci. Mr.Ferrucci, after many tumbles too could finally take control of the two pieces of wood, also helped by two sticks and he was soon followed by other reckless skiers who started to slide down the slopes of the Abetone.

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In Alto Adige there’s the highest museum of Europe. It’s the Messner Mountain Museum, MMM, it is located in Plan de Corones between the Badia Valley, the Valdaora and the Pusteria Valley at 2.275 metres of altitude. It is dedicated to the history of climbing and to one of the most famous protagonists of this sport Reinhold Messner. The museum is on the edge of one of the most amazing views of Alto Adige. The breathless view from the building designed by Zaha let your sight go far towards the four directions: from the Dolomites of Lienz on the East side up to the Ortles on the West side, from the Marmolada on the South side up to the Alpes of Zillertal on the North side.

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till considering the high peaks, the highest mountain hut on the Alpes is the Capanna Margherita. Perched on the Gnifetti Peak at 4.556 metres of altitude on the Monte Rosa it takes its name from the Queen Margherita of Savoy who spent a night there in 1893 in the inauguration year. There are 70 beds spread in a number of rooms equipped with bunk beds, there’s a bar and a restaurant, the electricity, the wi-fi and even a library. It got the UNI EN ISO 14001 certification in 2002 to highlight its low environmental impact. The hut isn’t only a shelter for climbers but a facility that offers the chance to help the scientific research at a height.

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he Body of the National Park of Gran Sasso has created the Atlas of nestled birds of the park. Thanks to its wide range of natural environments the park is the destination of birdwatchers, scientists and researchers. This online database is very important to know about the presence of the species that nest in the park and the species that migrate there without nesting.

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f you want to go beyond the mountains but still discover curious things maybe you didn’t know that... there are flies on the snow! Yes, there are flies on the snow. They are called “Isotoma saltans” they are small insects of 3-4 millimetres that are very resistant to the cold temperature and they can survive even on the glaciers. They can be found above 6.000 metres of altitude, even on the top of the Himalaya. Thanks to some substances that decrease the water’s freezing point in the body similar to the antifreeze we use in our cars in Winter they can avoid their cells to be covered by the ice crystals so they can resist to the temperatures below zero. Unfortunately the tropical temperatures above 12 degrees can kill them. Will you still eat the snow after… …knowing that?

Did you know that... mountain special

ne of the most extraordinary places for the mountain trecking in Italy is in Sardinia. The mountains chain of Gennargentu offers amazing routes, real alpine tracks. You can touch the wild nature on these peaks and you can hear the “earth’s breath” in the silence. It’s a destination to discover, to experience in a deep touch with nature and find the unusual aspects of a region that has always been matched to the sea “only”.

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Review Hold out your hand to nature The voices of woods

by Mauro Corona

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he mountain discloses all its secret beauty to the ones who are willing to face its harshness and its strictness by going deep into a personal relationship with nature at its original state. Maybe no-one in the last years has embodied the rough and deep personality of the lovers of the rocky tops like Mauro Corona. Born in 1950 in Baselga di Piné (Trento) and grown up in Erto (Pordenone) in the valley of Vajont, Corona is much more than the raw philosopher identified with the hilarious parody of Maurizio Crozza that

made him so popular for the collective imagination. His history is marked by a difficult childhood due to a number of personal tragedies (his mother left the family because of her husband’s violence) and collective ones (his home in Erto was swept away by the flood of Vajont), he has been fond of hunting and climbing since he was a child and he soon fell in love with Russian literature and he also became an excellent wood carver so he’s a multifaceted and somehow enigmatic person. His several books, some of them became bestsellers, are filled with his special connection with the natural spaces and the traditions of the mountain villages. The Voices of Woods, first issued in 1998 by Biblioteca dell’Immagine then reissued

by Mondatori is a reading to be suggested to anyone aiming at going beyond the sharpness of rocks and the hardship of hiking to meet the vital spirit of the mountains. In his work Corona leads the reader towards the knowledge of the alpine woods by showing the voice and the personality of each element of the earth. Mainly the trees, the favourite characters of his narrative become vital objects whose personality featured by human characteristics is described

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Giulio Tellarini

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in details. Fir trees, maples and larches are well known fellows and they are introduced in a familiar way thanks to forty years being spent on quiet dialogues with “them”. The voices of Woods is not just a nice reading but it is mainly a hint to go beyond the narrative and personally experience a close and deep relationship with nature. Corona writes that the relationship with the other animated beings is personal like the rela-

tionships between human beings and the features that we can find in each tree derive from “personal reasons that imply a deep connection that arises from unconscious similarities”. Thus his words are an invitation to discover the mountain villages, to go through those places, to walk through the woods, stop for a while and put your hand on the wrinkled log of a tree to get to know each-other.

Review

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The backpack

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Multi function survival kit, OCDAY 13 IN 1

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Anti-wind jacket with hood for the outdoor activities and multiple pockets. Full Zip Pile, suitable for hiking, working, fishing and doing sports in general. Covered with a waterproof professional coating and pile. € 65,99 - 67,99

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CAMEL CROWN Men’s waterproof jacket

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O MPR

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All in one survival kit. It contains whatever any survivalist or outdoor activities lover may need: a fire protection device and a fire protection scarper, a lighting compass, an electric torch, a penknife, a tungsten tactic touch pen, a led mini flash, paper, a tools holder, multiuse bracelets, a wire saw, an emergency blanket, a whistle and a waterproof black box. € 23,99

CAMEL CROWN Women’s 3 in 1 jackets

Waterproof anti-wind jacket Softshell Windbreaker for snowboarding, skiing, trekking, camping, hiking and other outdoor activities.

The lining is made of nylon, the inner fabric is pile. € 81,99

Ivan Pisoni

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O MPR

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O MPR

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Shawl with a Squared Styled Nappa

Made of wool with a soft pile lining.

€ 13,99

O MPR

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1,4 metres x 1,4 metres. Acrylic materials. Quite big, it can cover the neck and the shoulders. € 11,99

Goodbye wool men’s cap and scarf

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152 cm snowboard for intermediate level riders. It is a flat rocker, directional twin snowboard with a 4 medium flex. Fastenings with 4x4 universal discs compatible with all available systems. . € 239,00

The backpack

Airtracks wide men’s snowboard with Master Fastec fastenings and bag

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XPETI Thermator women’s waterproof trekking boots

O MPR

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O MPR

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Izas Wengen women’s mountain trousers

Made of a Mount-Stretch (92% Polyester + 8% Elastane 240-250gr/m²) textile, they are waterproof, breathing, fast drying, and they are stretchy. € 25,62 - 93,95

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Waterproof, anti-skidding, breathing, light, warm, perfect for hiking and outdoor activities.

The upper is made of waterproof mesh with a Hydroshield layer to keep your feet dry in the rain.

The coating provides a Thinsulate insulation up to -30°. € 39,99 - 69,99

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The backpack

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ENKEEO Folding Trekking stick

Aluminium alloy folding stick with fastening system, handles, ultra-light (300g) and adjustable. Length: 113-135cm. € 19,99

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The North Face Exploration Men’s pants

O MPR

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Versatile and suitable for all months of the year, they are made of a resistant nylon, light and stretchy textile, they have strong waterproof finishing and a UPF 50 protection. € 33,69 - 67,59

XPETI DIMO men’s waterproof trekking boots

Waterproof, anti-skidding, breathing, light, warm, perfect for hiking and outdoor activities.

The upper is made of a waterproof mesh with a Hydroshield layer to keep your feet dry in the rain. € 29,99 - 69,99

The backpack

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It’s 100% made of polyester with waterproof finishing. 450 grams of weight, it’s 45 x 30 x 20 cm. € 24,95

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Under Armour Hustle Backpack Ldwr Men’s backpack

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A OR

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O MPR

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The backpack

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Unisex Julbo Cham sunglasses

O MPR

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A combination of shiny metal, soft leather, rivets and high performance MIRROR lens. The best protection from the sun radiations in the extreme conditions.

99,8 g of weight and their dimensions are 15,2 x 4,8 x 6,4 cm. € 99,00

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Richoose Winter women’s gloves, knitted, no fingers to keep your hands and legs warm. 100%made of high quality wool. Lenght: 29-30 cm

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€ 11,99

HUTACT PROFESSIONAL 10X42 Compact Binoculars

With 42MM multilayered lenses and Bak4 high refraction index prism. The colours are bright and clear and the resolution is high.

The hands’ vibration is reduced during the observation, it prevents the eyes tiring and it is suitable for a long lasting observation. € 56,77

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Beardski Easy Rider ski/snowboard face cover

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This warm neck cover, ski mask, scarf will prevent you from freezing while you are on the tracks and you’ll get noticed for sure. Made of neoprene, it protects the neck, the ears and the face from cold thanks to the adjustable fastening tape (Velcro) easy to install. It’s a waterproof face cover, it is hermetically sealed and it has breathing holes to easily breath in and breath out, it is well stuck on the nose and on the eyes to prevent the sunglasses fogging. € 29,90

With a 2 inches touch screen you can fast shift to different modes, you can perfectly frame the image then see your shoots on the touch screen. HERO has got easy voice controls.

Download the GoPro App for the remote control of your camera to see your shots and quick share your favourite ones. € 219,99

The backpack

Gopro Hero (2018) 10MPX Camera