Valmalenco

Valmalenco

Hand made by the women in Lanzada, Pedü were by far the most common footwear in Valmalenco until the 1950s.

The castle that overlooks Sondrio, erected in a strategic position at the entrance of the Valmalenco valley, is the only military structure in Sondrio of medieval origin to have reached modern times intact and is still in use, although over the centuries its function has changed. Its architectural structure also changed, leading it to the heterogeneous and stratified aspect it has today, so that Masegra Castle provides us with a visible cross section of the past 700 years of history in Valtellina. Its history is complex. Originally a medieval castle, the seat of the feudal lords known as the Capitanei, rulers of Sondrio, it was damaged and rebuilt many times, especially in the thirteen and fourteenth centuries. In the 15th and 16th century it served as the elegant seat of the Beccaria family, heirs to the Capitanei. Towards the end of the century, it was ceded to the powerful Grison clan of the Salis Soglio, who, following the grievous and sanguinary events of the two decades that opened with the so-called “Holy Slaughter”, turned it into a flourishing agricultural estate. It was seized and returned to its military function as a garrison with the territory’s annexation by Napoleon and finally, after World War II, it became a military post. Today, the castle complex is owned by the municipality. Features of particular note include the Renaissance camera picta in the dovecote tower, whose umbrella vaulted ceiling is decorated with a beautiful cycle of frescoes depicting scenes from Ariosto’s Orlando Furioso.

Alpacas la Foppa: the first alpaca farm in Valmalenco.

A beautiful balcony overlooking the landscape of the Bernina dominating the whole Valmalenco.

Scilironi can be considered a rational production unit linked to the land.

Built in the second 1688, the Sanctary of the Our Lady of Graces in Primolo is still a pilgrimage destination. The inhabitants of Primolo aimed at building a Church to suit their own spiritual needs withouth having to reach Chiesa to attend Mass. Despite the idea the inhabitants of Primolo had in mind was that of a modest building, the priest Giovanni Chiesa wanted to build a Sanctuary located in a prominent spot, clearly visible from the whole valley and destined to become a pilgrimage destination. Following years of disagreement, the priest managed to convince his parishioners: the Virgin Mary appeared to him in a dream and ordered the priest to built a Sanctuary dedicated to her right where he had always wanted.  Over the 18° Century the sanctuary became one of the most important of the province and it soon became customary to celebrate the feast of the Sanctuary on the first Sunday of August with a procession with the statue of the Virgin Mary through the streets of the town.  The devotion to the Virgin of Primolo led to the emergence  of traditions in which sacred and profane features overlap. This is the case of the "glass scratching": women looking for an husband scratch the glass of the niche that preserves the statue of the Virgin.

Ski and snowboard equipment rental shops

Insurance that protects yourself and against damage to others people

Bocchetta delle Forbici

Alpe Prabello