My summer on Grignone

Italiano

My summer on Grignone lasted until the end of the season, September was a hot month. I kept my promise to stay on the paths and locations of the blog. I reached Pialeral, my summit this year, just a few days ago, on the 13th of the month. Crazy summer of reading, writing, reading, writing, late into the evening! Phrases and words that wake me up at dawn the following morning. Of those who have actually walked the mountains during the day in search of freedom and well-being. The photos were the source for describing the route of the trails. A second part was missing, where they are located, who manages them, possibly anything else significant, which I undertook to fill. I felt like I was an honest worker of the Sentiero Pasturo - Pialeral. It was possible thanks to the new Lenovo Intel Core i7 computer equipped with Windows 10 which worked perfectly and to the Vodafone mobile network, fighting for every gigabyte consumed, with some small interruptions and requests for clarification from the company. I give thanks to God for the gifts and protection, may his holy Name always be praised and blessed.

As expected my pace has been slow, my back is not right and there is pain in my face and teeth which needs to be investigated. Much has changed in the blog, starting from the name in the two languages, in English Grignone in slope of Pasturo and in Italian Il Grignone nel versante di Pasturo, which now has an introduction. Grignone is also Grigna Settentrionale, Northern Grigna, Grigna, Pasturo mountains. I defined what a trail is and removed the numbering from the routes because they are the work of the Club Alpino Italiano, which is no longer involved in their management. The number 33 of the Sentiero 33 Pasturo - Pialeral remains imprinted on me, of which numerous horizontal trail signs remain on the mountain, as well as that of the tram line 33 that I took near home in Milan. The only route added is the short Sentiero Brunino - Cornisella, which closes the Brunino ring.

The protagonist of my summer holiday was the vertical signage of the bikes, which I cross numerous times and mark routes in common with mine. The red trail sign has the name Pedalando nel Parco (Pedalling in the Park) of the Lombardy Region Parks System, on the directional sign there is the Valsassina, Valvarrone, Val d'Esino and Riviera Mountain Community logo. To go to Grigna from Barzio I pass in front of the head office at the bottom of the valley, near the Pioverna stream, in the Prato Buscante area. A world has opened up, I discover also that the Grigna Settentrionale has been a regional park since 2005! I find institutional and other information on the websites of the mountain community and Parco Grigna. More than a third of the over 5000 hectares of the Northern Grigna Regional Park is under special protection, including the Site of Community Importance IT2030001 Northern Grigna.

I didn't leave it out that the Grigna was the inspiration for Antonia Pozzi, the Milanese poet who stayed in Pasturo. The eighteenth-century villa was finally opened to the public, I visited the rooms, the study which remained as it was then, the garden, which can also be observed from the window where Antonia wrote. On the internal wall of the Church of the Alpini in Cornisella there is the emblematic verse of an internal conflict, Anima, sii come la montagna (Soul, be like the mountain), the first verse of the fourth stanza of the poem Examples. The nature, animals, birds, flowers, plants, rocks, remained outside of a specific topic.

At the the little church of Cornisella dedicated to Maria Regina Pacis I had the opportunity to participate in the mass and party held every year on the second Sunday of September organized by the local Pasturo local group of Alpini, on the anniversary of the inauguration of the Alpini chapel. I shot a wonderful video of over a minute of the flag raising. As a spectator who loves sport, I was present at the Alpe Cova finish line of the non-competitive running and cycling race Pasturo - Alpe Coa, on the fourth Sunday of July, and at the mass, among the people of Pasturo.

Like someone who committing all of himself to the goal he was focused on no longer has the strength or time for the rest, for the Grignone I neglected the mountains on the opposite side of the Pioverna valley, the mountains of Barzio, which I instead attended with continuity in the summer season seven years later. I will return to Valsassina on the feast of Sant'Ambrogio and sometimes in winter without writing any more posts, just as I will not do so next summer because are enough, and left over, the 16 articles from summer 2016.

Copyright © 2016 and 2023 Mauro Vezzoli

Site of Community Importance IT2030001 Northern Grigna

Northern Grigna (Grigna Settentrionale) is a Site of Community Importance (SCI), in Italian Sito di di Interesse Comunitario (SIC), of Natura 2000, encoded into IT2030001.
Natura 2000 is a network of Sites of Community Importance and Special Protection Areas, a European Union project that stretches for 28 union countries. The Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora aims to promote the maintenance of biodiversity, taking account of economic, social, cultural and regional requirements. It forms the cornerstone of Europe's nature conservation policy with the Birds Directive and establishes the EU wide Natura 2000 ecological network of protected areas, safeguarded against potentially damaging developments.

SIC IT2030001 "Grigna Settentrionale" was identified with D.G.R. n. VII/14106 of 12 September 2003; later, with D.G.R. n. VIII/1876 of 8 February 2006 borders with minor variations have been adjusted.
Its management was entrusted entirely first to Valsassina, Valvarrone, Val d'Esino and Riviera Mountain Community, with D.G.R. VII / 18453 of 30 July 2004, then by the Regional Law 2 March 2005, n. 11 institutive of the Regional Park of the Northern Grigna, to the administrator body of the protected area for the portion included within its borders, while for the remaining liability has been attributed to the Administration of Lecco Province. They have thus identified two areas, sufficiently distinct also geographically, one of 990 hectares located north of Cresta Piancaformia, the other of 630 hectares that lies to the south of the same.

1. Natura 2000, en.wikipedia.org
2. The Habitats Directive. EU Nature Law. Nature and biodiversity. Environment. ec.europa.eu

Sentiero Brunino - Cornisella

Italiano

The Sentiero Brunino - Cornisella is a flat trail that connects the two places of Grignone in Pasturo in a quarter of an hour's walk, at just over 1000 meters above sea level, going around a mountain peak. The path begins a little hidden at the first bend in the road that goes from the Agriturismo Brunino down to the Sacred Heart Chapel and Balisio.[^][^] It is not marked by the bodies that manage or have managed the mountain paths, Valsassina, Valvarrone, Val d'Esino and Riviera Mountain Community and Club Alpino Italiano. For the path from Brunino to the chapel, where the road comes from Pasturo, to Spinarolo and Cornisella, you should instead read Sentiero Cornisella - Brunino, described in the opposite direction. The two routes that start from different places in Brunino join together after about 5 minutes of walking.

From the first bend in the road to the intersection with the other Brunino path

From the center of Brunino, where the farmhouse and Cascina Margherita are located, at the first bend on the left of the road that goes down, on the right a path goes into the woods towards the west, an old yellow sign among the trees indicates it for three indications with terminology uncommon (or grammatical error): Cornicella (i.e. Cornisella) Pialleral (two l's instead of one) S. Calimero.[^]

The dirt and sufficiently wide path opens after a curve towards the Cold Water Valley, the trees thin out. Here you can see beautiful flowers, in summer daisies,[^] martagon lilies, and then cyclamens, crocuses. I don't even have time to reflect on the beauty of nature that enlivens the hiker's path, when the houses of Spinarolo are already in sight. At a dilapidated farmhouse, you cross the Sentiero Cornisella - Brunino, marked by a signpost of the Pedalling in the Park route on a metal pole like 3 for Brunino on the right downhill, which arrives at the opposite end of the locality, we from the agriturismo, bikes or those who follow it to the chapel of the Holy Family. Halfway up the same pole, a ZacUp signpost and a yellow Agriturismo Brunino cell. 339 67 18 395 sign point in the direction we came from.

From the crossroads to the abandoned farmhouse in Cornisella

At the abandoned farmhouse where the perpendicular path crossed, on the right the bike trail sign for Brunino, on the left nothing, where the Grigna Settentrionale rises in the background. We are expert enough not to be mistaken in believing that we go to Cornisella on the left. My description of the route becomes lighter because there is one in the opposite direction on the Sentiero Cornisella - Brunino. However, each route in the two directions offers a different experience.

On the flat you continue across a meadow, fenced in summer by a wire, where horses with white and brown piebald coats, or all brown, a beautiful mane and tail,[^] or cows graze. There is a house with swings in the garden and a giant electricity pylon on the hill. Going down a few meters, on the trunk of a tree Cornisella finally appears on a wooden arrow in our direction of travel, while at a crossroads you leave the path on the left that goes down to Balisio. A bike trail sign points where we come from, as does the ZacUp table. You go up along the white house, on the flat you pass in front of a yellow hut and the Baita Caterina where a dog barks at you and chases you. The gaze goes to the Church of the Alpini and to the Grigna Settentrionale on a dirt road with grass in the middle. A double hairpin bend with other indications leads us to the Cornisella intersection with the Pasturo - Alpe Cova road.

Conclusion

Even a short track, like the path to Spinarolo which branches off in Brunino at the first bend of the road to Balisio, unknown to the official signages, it's enough to excite for those who frequent the Northern Grigna Regional Park. At the path intersection with a bike trail sign near an abandoned farmhouse, turn left towards Cornisella. In the opposite direction, the route is a small part of the ZacUp mountain race.

References

1. Mauro Vezzoli (3 August 2004- ). "Sentiero Brunino - Cornisella". [Google Photos Album]. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
2. Mauro Vezzoli. "Sentiero Brunino - Cornisella". [Flickr Album]. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
3. Mauro Vezzoli (8 December 2015). "One of the most frequent excursions in recent years is undoubtedly the Barzio - Pasturo - Alpe Cova, which in the end takes about 3 hours. Returning to the town where I spend many days of the year, especially in summer, at the little Regina Pacis chapel I sometimes deviate for Brunino, making a circular tour, always in the same direction, clockwise. I then arrive in Brunino along the path that emerges near the road that goes up from Pasturo where there is a small chapel with some statues, I continue towards the farmhouse or refuge. Going down a few meters along the road to the Church of the Sacred Heart, among the plants stripped by the beginning of winter, a yellow sign Cornicella Pialleral Calimero and the path.". In Brunino, Segnaletica dei sentieri della Grigna, Sentiero Brunino - Cornisella. [Flickr photo]. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
4. Mauro Vezzoli (2 July 2015). "Path along the Acqua Fredda Valley between Spinarolo and Brunino with bunches of daisies. Being in nature, among plants and colorful flowers, is one of the reasons that lead you to visit the mountains.". In Escursioni sul Grignone, Escursioni sulle Grigne, Escursionismo in montagna, Escursionismo in Valsassina, Estate, Sentiero Brunino - Cornisella. [Google Photos photo]. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
5. Mauro Vezzoli (30 July 2015). "Three horses at Spinarolo in the Northern Grigna Regional Park.". In Sentiero Brunino - Cornisella, Sentiero Cornisella - Brunino, Spinarolo. [Flickr photo]. Retrieved 16 October 2023.

Antonia Pozzi

Italiano

Antonia Pozzi[^][^] was an Italian poet, born in Milan on February 13, 1912 and died suicide at 26 years old in the same city on December 3, 1938. At Pasturo she spent summers in the eighteenth-century family villa in Via Alessandro Manzoni, 1 at the foot of Mount Grigna. She is buried in the cemetery of Pasturo.

Short biography, poems and writings

Raised in a familiar and cultured environment, Antonia manifests at a young age her predilection for classical studies, literature, knowledge, written word and poetry. The love for her Greek and Latin high school professor, Antonio Maria Cervi, opposed to her father, and the renunciation of the dreamed life, not according to the heart but in the good (1933), leaves in her sensitive mind an unmistakable void and it causes pain.[^]

The theme of her poems,[^] autobiographical, is love, fragility and search for oneself. Words are dry and minimized. Nature is example, for good and for evil, where to find the strength to start again or die. The environment is often the mountain, with streams, plants and flowers, peaks, silences, darkness and sunrise.
In her writings,[^] diaries and letters, the Villa of Pasturo and the country, are a place of refuge and regained serenity.

Pasturo

Pasturo, in 2012, devoted a poetic journey, a permanent exhibition along the country's streets in 22 stages with panels of various sizes. They include a careful selection of poetry, diary passages or exceperts of letters, matched with photographs taken by Pozzi herself or by others, that portray her in "pasturesi moments". Each reference is tangible and verifiable with the image of a specific place, a house, a front door, a fountain, a wash house or a chapel.

Villa Pozzi

Villa Pozzi in Pasturo is occasionally open to the public, in summer 2016 it has been for two months, July and August. I myself had the pleasure of visiting it
The villa has remained as it was at the time of Antonia Pozzi. The first emotion was the corridor to the poet's rooms, which is accessed by a small balcony door on the first floor. The two studios have many objects and memories of the poet. From each one, a window looks at the garden of the villa, neither large, nor small, which really transmits serenity.

I admire Villa Pozzi from the outside when I go to Grigna, in recent years I start from Barzio. It comes after Via Roma and passed the Cariola torrent, that it borders; it is large and perfectly preserved, ancient, one understands that it is an important house. Towards the mountain, there is a gate that opens onto a large courtyard; high up on the yellow façade of the villa, a plaque, which recalls Antonia (in block letters):

In questa romita dimora
si svolse per un ventennio
la pensosa adolescenza
di
Antonia Pozzi
che animò di sogni e di canti
le montagne della Valsassina
Estate 1918 Autunno 1938

In this hermit dwelling
took place for twenty years
the thoughtful adolescence
of
Antonia Pozzi
which animated with dreams and songs
the mountains of Valsassina
Summer 1918 Autumn 1938

Looking up, sideways, stands the long balcony supported by columns.
Turning the corner of Via Alessandro Manzoni, in Via Cantellone, my climb begins along the wall of the villa. Returning to Pasturo, the mule track ends right where there is a small gate at the edge of the villa's garden, from which Pozzi set off into nature.

Exhibitions

Milan, at the Oberdan Space, from October 23, 2015 to January 6, 2016, has dedicated her a beautiful exhibition, titled Sopra il nudo cuore. Fotografie e film di Antonia Pozzi, in English Over a naked heart. Pictures and movies by Antonia Pozzi,[^][^] which I visited.

References

1. "Antonia Pozzi". antoniapozzi.it (in Italian). Retrieved 14 September 2017.
2. "Antonia Pozzi". [Search in Google Italia]. Google. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
3. "Biografia". antoniapozzi.it (in Italian). Retrieved 14 September 2017.
4. "Poesie". antoniapozzi.it (in Italian). Retrieved 14 September 2017.
5. "Scritti". antoniapozzi.it (in Italian). Retrieved 14 September 2017.
6. 10 December 2015. "Sopra il nudo cuore". antoniapozzi.it (in Italian). Retrieved 14 September 2017.
7. "Exhibition: ‘Over a Naked Heart’ Pictures and Movies by Antonia Pozzi". In Events. Where Milan. Retrieved 14 September 2017.

Pasturo

Italiano

Pasturo is an Italian town of just under 2000 inhabitants in the province of Lecco[^][^] in Valsassina on the slopes of the Northern Grigna, the starting point for many excursions. The eastern slope of the mountain is in its territory, also called monte di Pasturo or the Pasturo mountains. The town is located at an altitude of 641 metres, to the north not far away at 615 meters above sea level is Baiedo,[^] the only hamlet with a inhabited centre.
The name Pasturo, Pastür in the Valsassinese dialect, seems to indicate the fertility of the pastures, the plains and the mountains.[^] Cattle breeding and milk processing are still today one of the main activities. In 1920 the Emilio Mauri factory was built,[^] in 1960 the marketing of Carozzi began,[^] two realities of the dairy industry known throughout the national territory. For almost a hundred years, on the last weekend of September, the Valsassinesi Zootechnical Events have been held.[^]

In the center of the town there is the Church of Sant'Eusebio rebuilt at the end of the 1500s on a pre-existing one from the 1300s; the saint[^] is the patron saint of Pasturo, whose anniversary is on August 2nd. Great devotion is for the Madonna della Cintura, to whom a small sanctuary or church of San Giacomo apostolo is dedicated, a few meters from the parish church. The statue of the Madonna is solemnly carried in procession on the first Sunday of September. Anyone traveling along the Valsassina provincial road or entering the town cannot fail to notice the presence of billboards, panels, itineraries with photos, phrases, poems by Antonia Pozzi, who spent her holidays in Pasturo in the eighteenth-century family villa. The poetess and her parents are buried in the Pasturo cemetery.

In the valley flows the Pioverna torrent which flows to the north into Lake Como in Bellano. Beyond the stream, in a large flat area in the municipality of Barzio, the Sagra delle Sagre[^] is held for about ten days between August 15th, a rich display of typical products of the valley and beyond, culinary such as cheeses, and crafts, such as knives. The fair and gastronomic event attracts many visitors from all over Lombardy. Here is also the headquarters of the Valsassina, Valvarrone, Val d'Esino and Riviera Mountain Community.

A cultural reference is the quarterly newspaper Il Grinzone,[^] available online, which alongside current news, recalls some historical fact of the country, curiosities, descriptions of particular characters, excerpts from poems.

The country for me

Pasturo is an agricultural center not spoiled by tourism protected by the Grigna, where residents still speak to each other in dialect. I walked through the narrow, shady streets of the town that converge in Piazza Vittorio Veneto with the war memorial, in the Church of Sant'Eusebio I admired frescoes; I also visited the cemetery. Mainly, it is the starting point for the Grignone.

When I was leaving Milan, it was essentially the bus stop in front of the Albergo Grigna. Back and forth from Barzio, Pasturo is Via Roma, the Cariola torrent and Via Alessandro Manzoni, with Villa Pozzi and the fountain in which I quench my thirst with a vase of geraniums above it. The country is for me Via Cantellone, the two brown arrows Grigna Sett.le and Pialeral, the horizontal signpost 33 on the wall, the beginning of the Sentiero Pasturo - Pialeral. The mountain reflects the history, the Christian faith, the life and the economy of the village, through the surnames of the fallen of the Second World War in the church of the Alpini in Cornisella, Agostoni, Pigazzi, Platti, Ticozzi, Ticozzelli and all the other comrades, San Calimero, the Madonna della Cintura, the cows grazing, those who work hard by cutting and collecting hay in the meadows.

References

1. "Pasturo". Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
2. "Comune di Pasturo". comune.pasturo.lc.it. (in Italian). Retrieved 11 August 2023.
3. "Baiedo". Wikipedia: L'enciclopedia libera. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. (in Italian). Retrieved 11 August 2023.
4. (19 October 2021). "Cenni storici [Historical notes]". (in Italian). In Storia di Pasturo. Comune di Pasturo. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
5. "Mauri". mauri.it. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
6. "Formaggi Carozzi". carozzi.com. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
7. "L'Uomo [The Man]". In Il Territorio. Parco Grigna. (in Italian). Retrieved 11 August 2023.
8. "Eusebius of Vercelli". Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
9. "Sagra delle Sagre". sagradellesagre.it. (in Italian). Retrieved 11 August 2023.
10. "Il Grinzone". ilgrinzone.it. (in Italian). Retrieved 11 August 2023.

Valsassina

Italiano

Almost parallel to the famous branch of Lake Como, bounded by the majestic Grigne to the west and to the east by the Bergamo Pre-Alps, the verdant Valsassina opens up, which has an outlet to the north on the coast of the upper lake from Colico to Dorio and to the south between the slopes of the Grignetta and Monte due Mani. The real Valsassina starts from the hill of Balisio and spreads out in wide prairies interrupted by sweet hills shining with the green of the grasses punctuated by the lively colors of the flowers and by the darker patches of the trees. Everything is dominated by high mountains, among which the following stand out:

• The peaks of the Grigne group (rocks of marine origin) have undergone the action of atmospheric agents to such an extent that they present unexpected scenery; real towers rise high in the sky which, with numerous cavities and galleries inside, are a tempting destination for speleologists.
• The summit of Zuccone Campelli, opposite the Grigne, seems to close the basin. Formed by rocks of calcareous origin, it enlivens the panorama with its alternation of meadows and sudden spiers of various sizes. The basin full of pastures, chestnut and beech woods is currently home to many craft, industrial and tertiary activities and is crossed by the Pioverna stream whose sources rise just above the Balisio hill.
• The Pioverna river crosses the whole valley collecting the Cremeno - Troggia - Bobbia - Acquaduro - Freggerola tributary waters, forming a rich and sometimes picturesque water network to then channel itself into the deep fractures of the rocks and create particular effects which can be observed in the famous Bellano ravine or in the waterfall formed by the Troggia at Introbio.
• Pizzo dei Tre Signori behind the Zuccone Campelli (ancient border between the territories of the Duke of Milan, the Grisons and the Republic of Venice) is the border line with the Bergamo area. Contrasting the Grigne group with the red color of its rock (Verruccano Lombardo) we find La Nava di Baiedo which leads to the historic Rocca, a strategic point until a few decades ago as it allowed, given its position, to gaze from north to south with ease.

The conformation of the territory, defined by A. Stoppani as "one of the most beautiful morainic landscapes" demonstrates its geomorphological origins. After the settlement of the mountains, huge glaciers crept into the area occupied by the sea, continuing their erosive action, until due to telluric upheavals, the glaciers were replaced by a lake which gradually reabsorbed itself over the centuries. However, the valley remained characterized by the presence of morainic debris, a mass of stones that earned the denomination of Valsassina, i.e. the Valley of the Stones.[^][^]

References

1. "La Valsassina". altopianovalsassina.it. (in Italian). Retrieved 6 September 2016.
2. "La Valsassina". Altopiano Valsassina. (in Italian). Intenet Archive. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
3. "Valsassina". Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
4. "la valsassina". lavalsassina.com. (in Italian). Retrieved 16 August 2023.
5. "Discover Valsassina". Lake Como tourism. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
6. "Valsassina News". valsassinanews.com. (in Italian). Retrieved 16 August 2023.

Club Alpino Italiano

Italiano

Club alpino italiano (C.A.I) was founded in Turin on 23 October 1863 for Quintino Sella[^]'s initiative. It is an indipendent national association, that "has mountaineering, the knowledge and study of mountains, specifically those in Italy, and the protection of the environment in the forefront in all of its events".[^][^]

Club alpino italiano, in English Italian alpine club, usually is written in the form with the first letter of each word in capital letters, Club Alpino Italiano, in english Italian Alpine Club, while the acronym C.A.I. without the dot after each word, CAI.

On Grignone, the CAI traced the paths until several years ago, probably until, in 2005, the Regional Park of the Northern Grigna was established, whose management is entrusted to the Comunità Montana Valsassina, Valvarrone, Val d'Esino and Riviera. The old CAI signage are still present on the mountain, with some characteristic signposts with a yellow background and the now faded horizontal signs along the main routes.

I am one of the more than 300,000 members of the Italian Alpine Club, consecutively since 2004.[^] For free I receive the paper copy of the Montagne360 magazine, the magazine of the Club alpino italiano since 1882.[^] At the beginning of each new year, I renew my enrollment at Club Alpino Italiano's Sezione di Milano,[^] going to its recent home in Via Duccio da Boninsegna 21 and 23.

References

1. "Quintino Sella". Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
2. "Storia [History]" (in Italian). cai.it. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
3. "Titolo I Articolo 1: Costituzione e finalità [Title 1 Article 1: Constitution and purpose]". In Statuto [PDF file] (in Italian). cai.it. p. 4. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
4. Mauro Vezzoli (20 October 2017). "Annual validity stickers of my membership identification card of Club Alpino Italiano Sezione di Milano". In Timeline Photos. [Facebook photo]. Retrieved 20 October 2017.
5. "Montagne360" (in Italian). cai.it. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
6. "Club Alpino Italiano Sezione di Milano". caimilano.org (in Italian). Retrieved 20 October 2017.

Pedalling in the Park

Italiano

Hikers going to Grigna Settentrionale find numerous signs with the name Pedalando nel Parco, or "Pedalando nel Parco". What do Pedalling in the Park signs refer to? They are the indications of cycling itineraries for mountain bikes that the Valsassina, Valvarrone, Val d'Esino and Riviera Mountain Community has traced on the Grignone, presumably in 2014, to discover ancient itineraries of naturalistic, environmental and historical-cultural interest in the Northern Grigna Regional Park.[^] The Pedalling in the Northern Grigna Regional Park itinerary are five, of various difficulties, in a ring from the Mountain Community headquarters, two of which are entirely on the Pasturo side of the mountain.

Five itineraries

The Pedalling in the Northern Grigna Park itineray are designed for mountain bikes by the Valsassina mountain community exploit the network of roads, trails and mule tracks already present in Grigna, with a route partly common to the traditional hikers'routes, whose widespread vertical signs create curiosity and some confusion or perplexity in the latter. The surface is variable: long stretches on asphalt and concrete roads, because that's how the mountain is now, straight and with hairpin bends, alternating with dirt roads, mule tracks made of broken cobblestones, dirt paths with grass, more insidious stretches, with roots, rocks and small rocks, steps. Since we are in the mountains, there are climbs and descents, even steep ones, for an overall difference in altitude between 500 and 1000 meters, the altitude varies from 600 to 1500 meters, the mileage is between 12 and 25 km.

A common characteristic of the five routes is that they start where the Valsassina cyclepedestrian path begins — in Pratobuscante di Barzio, near a large car park and the pedestrian bridge over the Pioverna stream which divides the municipalities of Pasturo and Barzio (590 m above sea level) — and they are a circular tour, i.e. they end in the same starting point, where it is imagined that the two-wheel tourist left the car. Thus the Valsassina Mountain Community gets some free publicity and knowledge, because the headquarters are in a building in this locality on the valley floor, next to a furnace, which has become a museum.

In Valsassina Outdoor, for each of the five mountain bike tours Pedalando nel Parco regionale della Grigna Settentrionale, there is a description of the environment in which it takes place, the difficulty, the technical skills required, the detailed altimetry and a name, of which there is no trace on the mountain signs. They are called Bike tours, two of which are Gran bike tours due to their length:[^]

• MB9 it1 Gran Bike tour della Grigna Settentrionale,[^] 22,150 Km and about 1000 meters of climb
• MB10 it2 Bike tour dei maggenghi,[^] bike tour of fallow ground, 16,900 Km and less than 600 meters of elevation gain
• MB11 it3 Bike tour della dorsale,[^] bike tour of the dorsal, 12,600 Km and 500 meters of altitude difference uphill
• MB12 it4 Gran Bike tour della Fasana,[^] Fasana is the name of a vertical mountain wall, 25,800 Km and 400 meters of altitude difference
• MB13 it5 Bike tour dei castagni,[^] Bike tour of the chestnut trees, 20,200 Km and 600 meters of altitude difference

Itinerary 2 Bike tour dei maggenghi and the 3 Bike tour della dorsale are totally on the Northern Grigna side above Pasturo. A stretch of itinerary 3, from the church of the Alpini in Cornisella, coincides with the Cornisella - Brunino path.

The vertical signs

The trails for two-wheeled Pedalling in the Grigna Park are indicated in one direction only. Vertical signage signs are present at every crossroads and locality, compliant with the CAI guidelines. The signs of this mountain community project are unmistakable because at the top of the galvanized pole there is a table with the drawing of a cyclist with a backpack on his shoulder going uphill (the bike is inclined) and a logo, Lombardy Region Park System, the table background is red. What is interesting is that there are locality tables with altitude, which is rare in Grigna. It is paradoxical that the signage for bikes is uniform, while the main paths of the Grigna are not managed by a body, with improvised signs, lacking in some forks. Each Pedalando nel Parco waymark table consists of:[^]

• three aluminum lines. The indication is in the middle line if it is unique, if there are more than one the top one is the furthest destination, the other or the other two are intermediate. The format is the name of the place to reach, a dash, and only for the top line the number of the route, from 1 to 5; on the right, a colored circle representing the difficulty of this part of the route, green = easy, light blue = medium
• to the left of the three lines, a red border with the logo of the Comunità Montana Valsassina, Valvarrone, Val d'Esino and Riviera
• on the red arrow, the Grigna Settentrionale Regional Park logo

The desire to know pushed me to look in Cornisella at the tables on the opposite side, to discover that the manufacturer is the Mec.Tir company of Tirano.[^]

Conclusion

The mountain is a beautiful natural place for walking. The lower part of Monte Coden (as the Grigna was called until 1800) is well suited to bicycles due to the presence of roads, mule tracks and wide paths. I love cycling, I have fun and support the sport and the champions in front of the television, but I don't ride a bike. A few years ago the Mountain Community of Valsassina, Valvarrone, Val d'Esino and Riviera launched a mountain bike project by designing five routes with the name Pedalando nel Parco. This signage on the mountain is dense, recognizable by a red sign with a cyclist, which disorientates hikers who are not aware of the routes. Cyclists on the Pedalling in the Northern Grigna Regional Park trails are rare. Two-wheel lovers, more every year due to the spread of e-bikes, have fun on the Grignone while remaining on the Pasturo-Alpe Cova agricultural-silvo-pastoral road, an uphill concrete road with a difference in altitude of around 700 metres, generally to reach the Pialeral, and return to the valley along the same route.

References

1. "Due ruote nel parco [Two wheels in the park]". (in Italian). Parco Grigna. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
2. "Mountain Bike". (in Italian). Valsassina Outdoor. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
3. "MB9 it1 Gran Bike tour della Grigna Settentrionale". (in Italian). Valsassina Outdoor. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
4. "MB10 it2 Bike tour dei maggenghi". (in Italian). Valsassina Outdoor. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
5. "MB11 it3 Bike tour della dorsale". (in Italian). Valsassina Outdoor. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
6. "MB12 it4 Gran Bike tour della Fasana". (in Italian). Valsassina Outdoor. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
7. "MB13 it5 Bike tour dei castagni". (in Italian). Valsassina Outdoor. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
8. Mauro Vezzoli (11 June 2015). "Recent vertical signs Pedaling in the Park in Cornisella, in front of the CAI signs and the church. Cornisella 1050 meters locality table, Risciöl - 2 signpost table, Brunino - 3 signpost table. Two logos in each table, one Valsassina, Valvarrone, Val d'Esino and Riviera Mountain Comunity, the other Northern Grigna Regional Park.". In Cornisella, Escursioni sul Grignone, Escursioni sulle Grigne, Escursionismo in montagna, Escursionismo in Valsassina, Estate, Itinerario Pedalando nel Parco 2 Bike tour dei maggenghi, Itinerario Pedalando nel Parco 3 Bike tour della dorsale, Segnaletica dei sentieri del Grignone, Sentiero Pasturo - Pialeral, Sentiero Pasturo - Pialeral (da Pasturo a Cornisella). [Google Photos photo]. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
9. "Mec.tir snc - Segnaletica EU". segnaletica.eu. Retrieved 8 September 2023.

Numbering of the trails

I touch here on the thorny issue of the numbering of the trails, I introduce it with general considerations.
Thinking about the big roads, they have a number in front of the route or its own name, Autostrada A4 Torino - Venezia (Motorway A4 Torino - Venezia), Strada Statale 36 dei Giovi (State Road 36 of Giovi), Strada Provinciale 62 della Valsassina (Provincial Road 62 of Valsassina), and so on.

Club Alpino Italiano in the trails regulators plan explains the reasons why in a network must be numbered, so that each trail:

• become more easily identified by the hiker on the ground and in the hiking maps
• it can be neatly surveyed in a list (register) of the trails
• to be manageable in a computerized system allowing the identification uniquely throughout the national territory

Grignone since 2005 is Regional Park of the Northern Grigna managed by Valsassina, Valvarrone, Val d'Esino and Riviera Mountain Community which is responsible for trails marking. It not numbers the trails and marks only:

• Colle di Balisio - Pialeral
• Pialeral - Summit (Summer trail)
• Pialeral - Summit (Winter trail)
• Traversata Bassa
• Traversata Alta

The Mountain Community introduces five itineraries Pedalando nel Parco (Pedalling in the Park) for bikes, numbering and marking them in one direction.

Another remark is that on the Grignone remains the old signs of CAI that had marked all the Grigne and numbering it, I cite Sentiero 31 Colle di Balisio - Pialeral and Sentiero 33 Pasturo - Pialeral - Rifugio Brioschi. Breaking down these numbers, the first one, that is 3, refers to the sector Grignone in the slope of Pasturo, the second one to the trail. So the number 1 starts from Colle di Balisio, 3 from Pasturo and goes to the summit as the main trail, while usually the most popular trail is the number 1, there's a bit of confusion.

After these reflections and the examples I have shown, I have to make a decision on how to formally give a title to my trails, I will inevitably be wrong to one or the other, and is more important Colle di Balisio, the quickest route to the top and most popular, even closer when coming from Lecco, or Pasturo the country?
I decide not to put the number, giving priority to a previously partial knowledge of the mountain, remain the locations or references names that already tell who it was, at the expense of the number that directs more easily, and it is not my intention to make a register of the trails. Indeed however, there might be duplicates, I will have to add something in parenthesis. In the content telling what I see, here and there returning the numbers 31 and 33, as do the horizontal trail that occasionally appear faded on the trails, and the yellow trails tables.

Introduction

Italiano

I would like to avoid creating a useless and big thing, which always expands, imprecise, boring the reader and weighing down the hiker. For years I have been walking in the Lombard Prealps and the photographs have accumulated. The mountain I have frequented the most are the Grigne, for the diversity and charm of the environment, and because they are close to Milan. I am not a mountaineer but a sportsman. I spend my holidays in Barzio, in Valsassina, because it is cool in summer, there are the Grigne and the Piani di Bobbio. The photographs have become the source for mainly describing the path, and the writing forces me to return to find out more and to browse the internet to know and learn more.

On this new trip, I start from Pasturo and I go to Grignone. I run Sentiero Pasturo - Pialeral. I walk and run on the the slope of Pasturo paying attention to where I put my feet, on the worked stones, ground trampled, concrete, ground and rock. I meet huts, localities, a road, meadows, small buildings of worship for Christians, chapels dedicated to the Madonna and churches, crossing streams and junctions between trails, which I have photographed and perhaps will describe, without introducing new names. For a few hours I live in nature, among trees and colorful flowers, which intrigue me, and with cows. I breathe clean air and enjoy a splendid mountain panorama, it's cooler, I seem to feel better and I am happy. Signage is multifaceted. The refuges and high mountain pastures are higher up, who knows if I'll get there, it is more uncertain and longer than doing it on foot.

I tell in Blogger and I don't think I can earn anything, I just hope to go back to the mountains again. Each post has the date of publication, any changes do not change it. The first were written in the summer of 2015, I reread and rewrite almost exclusively in the summer. This introduction comes after 23 articles!
Although the photographs were the source, they are not there, because I prefer to concentrate on writing. I upload my photos to Google Photos, facebook and Flickr, organizing them in albums, linked externally at the bottom in the notes, together with the citation of the sources. The first occurrence of the title is in bold, as well as synonyms or aliases, the highlighting is useful to confirm that I am really dealing with the topic. Quotations are in italics. Hyperlinks are directed to other posts that allow for easy navigation. In the first line, a link changes the language, from Italian to English and vice versa; in English in the title the words Sentiero, Rifugio, Agriturismo are not translated. I often write the abbreviations from the signs in full: so the two road signs Grigna Sett.le that are in Pasturo I write them Grigna Settentrionale (Northern Grigna), Capp. Sacro Cuore - 3 at Brunino as Cappella del Sacro Cuore (Chapel of the Sacred Heart) - 3.

Trails of the Grignone on the Pasturo side are hiking trails, while Traversata Alta is alpine trail. The Pasturo - Alpe Cova and Cappella del Sacro Cuore - Agriturismo Brunino roads are agro-forestry-pastoral roads. The paths are without numbering, but the old numbered CAI signposts are still found. I describe them according to the uphill path, while when the path is level according to the main direction of the signs. The Sentiero Pasturo - Pialeral I tell it as a whole and in two parts, Sentiero Pasturo - Pialeral (from Pasturo to Cornisella) and Sentiero Pasturo - Pialeral (from Cornisella to Alpe Cova), and even downhill. It continues to the Brioschi Refuge, a few meters below the cross at the top of the Northern Grigna.

Without wanting to, I walk on the Pedalling in the Park itineraries of Valsassina, Valvarrone, Val d'Esino and Riviera Mountain Community, which are nothing more than the union of stretches of hiking trails to discover the Northern Grigna Regional Park.

Valsassina, Valvarrone, Val d'Esino and Riviera Mountain Community

Italiano

The Valsassina, Valvarrone, Val d'Esino and Riviera Mountain Community (in Italian Comunità Montana Valsassina, Valvarrone, Val d'Esino e Riviera) is a mountain comunity[^][^] formed by the union of four areas which includes 25 municipalities in the Province of Lecco.[^]
The Valsassina Valvarrone Val d'Esino and Riviera Mountain Community is based in Barzio, in Via Fornace Merlo 2, in Località Prato Buscante, which is the place where the renowned Sagra delle Sagre is held in August; telephone 0341 910144. The president of the Comunità Montana is Fabio Canepari.[^] The community has a corps of Voluntary Ecological Guards. The Valsassina - Valvarrone - Val d'Esino and Riviera Mountain Community is also the managing body of the Northern Grigna Regional Park. The website of the Muntain Community is www.valsassina.it.[^]

The Comunità Montana aims to enhance its mountain territory, mainly through the conservation of the natural environment and the re-evaluation of the trades, products and lifestyle of the mountain populations.[^]

Coat of arms and list of the 25 municipalities

The coat of arms of the Comunità Montana della Valsassina, Valvarrone, Val d'Esino e Riviera is a banner made up of 4 golden keys on a blue background, each representing one of the four areas that include the territory of the community, Valsassina, Valvarrone, Val d'Esino and the Lecco Riviera of Lake Como.

The 25 municipalities that are part of the Mountain Community are: Barzio, Bellano, Casargo, Cassina, Colico, Cortenova, Crandola Valsassina, Cremeno, Dervio, Dorio, Esino Lario, Introbio, Margno, Moggio, Morterone, Pagnona, Parlasco, Pasturo, Perledo, Premana, Primaluna, Sueglio, Taceno, Valvarrone e Varenna.[^]

Volunteer Ecological Guards

Since 1982, the Valsassina Valvarrone Val d'Esino and Riviera Mountain Community has had a corps of Volunteer Ecological Guards, in Italian, Guardie Ecologiche Volontarie (GEV), who carry out their duties throughout the entire territory of the Mountain Community. Since the Northern Grigna Regional Park is managed by the Valsassina Mountain Community, the GEV of the Mountain Community are available for the protection of the regional park.

In the Comunità Montana Valsassina, the Volunteer Ecological Guards carry out important activities, such as observing and reporting the presence of threatened or endangered endemic flora and fauna, patrolling and monitoring the territory, to prevent the spread of illegal waste dumps, the information, preventive and, if necessary, sanctioning action for illegal tents and campsites in the park area, unauthorized transits on mule tracks and paths, mushroom picking, protection of protected species. There are currently 9 volunteer guards, recognizable by their uniform and badge.[^]

The Voluntary Ecological Surveillance Service was established with Regional Law no. 105 of 12.29.1980,[^] subsequently updated with the Regional Laws n. 9 of 28.02.2005 and n. 14 of 06.05.2008. The GEV (Guardie Ecologiche Volontarie) or Gev (Guardie ecologiche volontarie)[^] are citizens who have voluntarily chosen to provide a public service to protect the environment, without remuneration for the activity performed.

Regional laws that entrust the management of the Northern Grigna Regional Park to the Mountain Community

The Regional Law in force which entrusts the Regional Park of the Northern Grigna to the Valsassina, Valvarrone, Val d'Esino and Riviera Mountain Community is the Regional Law 4 August 2011, n. 12:[^]

New organization of the managing bodies of the regional protected areas and changes to the regional laws 30 November 1983, n. 86 (General Plan of protected regional areas. Rules for the establishment and management of reserves, parks and natural monuments as well as areas of special natural and environmental significance) and 16 July 2007, n. 16 (Single text of regional laws on establishment of the parks)

Article 3 (Special Managements), Comma 2:

The management of the Regional Park of the Northern Grigna is entrusted to the Comunità montana Valsassina – Valvarrone – Val d’Esino e Riviera.

In the previous regional law of 16 July 2007, n. 16, article 189:

The management of the park is entrusted to a consortium between the mountain community Valsassina - Valvarrone - Val d'Esino and Riviera and the Municipalities of Cortenova, Esino Lario, Parlasco, Pasturo, Perledo, Primaluna, Taceno, Varenna.[^]

The Grigna Settentrionale Regional Park is a mountain regional park established by regional law 2 March 2005, n. 11.[^]

Note the proper name Comunità montana Valsassina – Valvarrone – Val d’Esino e Riviera in the declaration of the Regional Law respecting to Comunità Montana Valsassina, Valvarrone, Val d'Esino e Riviera or even Comunità Montana Valsassina Valvarrone Val d'Esino e Riviera.

A bit of history

A mountain community is an Italian local territorial body established by law 3 December 1971, n. 1102[^] and now governed by art. 27 of Legislative Decree lgs. 18 August 2000, no. 267 (consolidated law on local authorities). In Valsassina, the law was welcomed with enthusiasm because it went to give recognition to scattered and uneven local initiatives. The need for discussion and coordination found fulfillment in a Valle Council, chaired by the engineer Pietro Pensa,[^] mayor of Esino Lario since 1956. Three years later, in 1974, the Mountain community n° 16 Valsassina, Valvarrone, Val d'Esino and Riviera was born with headquarters in Villa Migliavacca in Introbio, with Pietro Pensa himself as president. In the 1980s, among the delegates of the Comunità Montana with president Alvaro Ferrari[^], the hypothesis of a new headquarters in the vast area of the Fornace Merlo, in the locality of Pratobuscante, which was in a state of abandon, made its way without too much fanfare. On 14 March 1988, the Comunità Montana bought the complex saving the area from building speculation, the president of the community was Claudio Baruffaldi, in office from 1986 to 1992. Today the headquarters of the institution stand on that land between Barzio and Pasturo and host the great events of the area.[^]

Projects

The Mountain Community of Valsassina, Valvarrone, Val d'Esino and Riviera, manager of the Northern Grigna Regional Park, participates in numerous projects and plans, including:

• Museo La Fornace,[^] inaugurated in September 2017 inside an old brick kiln from 1890, right next to the headquarters of the mountain community
• Outdoor Valsassina[^] project, a tool to make the area known and experienced
• the Valsassina Cultura portal,[^] in collaboration with the Fund for the development of the Lecco province activated by the member Municipalities of Lario reti Holding S.p.A. and Community Foundation of Lecchese Onlus
• INTERREG project (Italy-Switzerland) for the valorisation of the cultural landscape:[^] Historical Land Registries, Historical Archives, Alpinescapes, Wiki Valsassina
• GAL dei due Laghi,[^][^] the Local Action Group established in 2002 to enhance the natural and tourist resources of the lakes of Como and Porlezza

The present

The trails of the Comunità Montana Valsassina, Valvarrone, Val d'Esino and Riviera are traveled by hundreds of hikers in all seasons. They don't seem to interest the mountain community of Valsassina because they have been without interventions for years. The mountain community does not stop the progressive overbuilding of mule tracks, not realizing that for just one person who comfortably arrives at the hut with a car or motorbike, one hundred are forced to walk on a surface not suitable for mammals.. I have climbed so many times in Northern Grigna from Pasturo and obviously I have not met a voluntary ecological guard, nor elsewhere. The activity of the mountain community is known for educational panels along the main paths and the signs for Pedalling in the Park.

Almost fifty years have passed since its foundation, which was welcomed with enthusiasm, between the resident population, tourists and all those who live in the mountains and the organization there is no connection. The Mountain Community of Valsassina, and of the other three areas (Valvarrone, Val d'Esino and Riviera) has not acquired (or lost) an authority and concreteness of actions to avoid the chronic consumption of the splendid environment entrusted to it by law, voice too weak compared to politicians on duty who sit in the Lombardy Region, mayors of the valley, the first to want to rape the Lecco area to promote blind and unsustainable tourism, local characters with economic interests, outlaws who take advantage of poor controls for their own jobs on public land. Don't be deceived by the participation of the mountain community in numerous projects, facades, old if not dead. The reference websites are only in Italian, which is not the best way to attract foreign tourists. One way to re-establish contact with the population would be to promote cultural events, linked to the territory or for promotional purposes, hosted in its headquarters in Via Fornace Merlo. I imagine concerts, stories about the mountains, which deepen the knowledge of the Valsassina area, make memories and keep traditions alive, other. To gain credibility, an evening meeting with staff working in the mountain community would be useful, providing information on ongoing projects.

Even in 2023, and it seems impossible to have to write it, just as sad, new roads that destroy nature forever, without any advantage for the common good, are being built in the Lecco mountains within the border of the Valsassina, Valvarrone, Val d'Esino and Riviera Mountain Community, as like the road that goes up from Morterone towards Resegone.[^] For minor interventions, such as the concreting of the road to Piani di Bobbio in Nava di Barzio two years ago, no protest has been heard from the mountain community.[^]

In Italy, the debate on the real benefit of mountain communities for the territory and the people who live there is open. In many regions they have been abolished, such as Sicily, Sardinia, Molise, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Liguria, Piedmont; in Lombardy since 2009 they have dropped from 30 to 23.[^]

References

1. "Italian mountain community". Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
2. "Comunità montana". Wikipedia: L'enciclopedia libera. (in Italian). Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
3. "Comunità montana della Valsassina, Valvarrone, Val d'Esino e Riviera". Wikipedia: L'enciclopedia libera. (in Italian). Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
4. "Il Presidente [The President]". (in Italian). valsassina.it. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
5. "Comunità Montana Valsassina, Valvarrone, Val d'Esino e Riviera". valsassina.it (in Italian). Retrieved 1 September 2023.
6. "L'Ente [The Body]". (in Italian). valsassina.it. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
7. "I Comuni [The Municipality]". (in Italian). valsassina.it. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
8. "Guardie Ecologiche Volontarie [Volunteer Ecological Guards]". (in Italian). In L'Ente. Parco Grigna. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
9. "L.R. 29 dicembre 1980, n. 105.". (in Italian). Edizioni Europee. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
10. "Guardie ecologiche volontarie [Volunteer ecological guards]". Wikipedia: L'enciclopedia libera. (in Italian). Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
11. "Legge Regionale 4 agosto 2011, n. 12". (in Italian). In Banca dati delle leggi regionali. Regione Lombardia. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
12. "Articolo 189 - Ente di gestione del parco [Article 189 - Park management body]". (in Italian). In Normatìva. Legge Regionale Lombardia 16/7/2007 n. 16. Edil Tecnico. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
13. "Legge Regionale 2 marzo 2005, n. 11". (in Italian). Gazzetta Ufficiale. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
14. "Legge n. 1102 del 3 dicembre 1971 e s. m. ed i". (in Italian). Regione Abruzzo. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
15. "Pietro Pensa". Wikipedia: L'enciclopedia libera. (in Italian). Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
16. "Curriculum Vitae". (in Italian). Studio Tecnico AF. webspace. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
17. Canepari, Cesare (14 March 2023). "Esclusiva: ecco perché la comunità montana sta là. 35 anni fa fermata la speculazione alla fornace di Pratobuscante [Exclusive: that's why the mountain community is there. 35 years ago speculation stopped at the Pratobuscante furnace]". (in Italian). Valsassina News. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
18. "Museo La Fornace". (in Italian). valsassina.it.Retrieved 1 September 2023.
19. "Valsassina Outdoor". (in Italian). valsassinaoutdoor.it. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
20. "Valsassina Cultura". (in Italian). valsassinacultura.it. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
21. "Wiki.Valsassina.it". (in Italian). wiki.valsassina.it.Retrieved 1 September 2023.
22. "Il GAL dei due laghi". (in Italian). In Partecipazioni. In L'Ente. valsassina.it. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
23. "GAL dei due laghi". (in Italian). Rete Rurale Nazionale. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
24. Colombo, Marta (6 September 2023). "Strada Morterone «Più che tagliafuoco sembra a due corsie» [Morterone Road «More than a firebreak, it looks like two lanes»]". La Provincia di Lecco. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
25. RedBar (6 September 2023). "Barzio-Bobbio, venerdì apre la strada col nuovo bitume. Grazie ai volontari e all’aumento del pedaggio [Barzio-Bobbio opens the road on Friday with the new bitumen. Thanks to the volunteers and the toll increase]". Valsassina News. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
26. "Debate". In Italian mountain community. Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. Retrieved 1 September 2023.

Northern Grigna Regional Park

Italiano

The Northern Grigna Regional Park (in Italian, Parco regionale della Grigna Settentrionale) is a mountain regional park established with Regional Law 2 March 2005, n. 11 (Legge Regionale 2 marzo 2005, n. 11). The management of the park is entrusted to Valsassina, Valvarrone, Val d'Esino and Riviera Mountain Community body. Therefore, the seat of the park coincides with that of the mountain community, located in Via Fornace Merlo, 2 in Barzio (LC), CAP 23816, tel. 0341-910144. The director of the park is Giulia Verano. A service to protect the park is carried out by the Voluntary Ecological Guards (GEV) of the Mountain Community. The park's website is www.parcogrigna.it.[^]

In Lombardy, between Lario, Val d'Esino and Valsassina, a few steps from the western summits of Orobie, the Regional Park of Northern Grigna covers a territory of over 5,000 hectares (5541,46) around Grigne massif, one of the most famous mountain groups of the region, formed by the Southern Grigna or Grignetta, and Northern Grigna or Grignone. The wonderful calcareous rock with its particular formations forms the setting of a world that has remained unchanged over the centuries, the result of a balanced combination between natural resources and human presence, forests and pastures, imposing mountains and malghe, mountain huts, trails for hiking and trails for mountaineering.[^]
The protected area, classified as mountain, extends almost entirely above 500 meters above sea level, including the Municipality of Esino Lario and part of those of Cortenova, Parlasco, Pasturo, Perledo, Primaluna, Taceno and Varenna.[^][^] Above the village of Pasturo, the border of the Park runs at about 900 meters above sea level. At high altitude, the border is the ridge between Grignetta and Grignone, to continue towards Cima di Piancaforma, Monte Pilastro and Monte Croce.

2070 hectares of the Northern Grigna Park, equal to about 37% of its surface, are a protected area of the Natura 2000 network, in two Sites of Community Importance, Site of Community Importance IT2030001 "Northern Grigna" and Site of Community Importance IT2030002 "Grigna Meridionale", and one Special Protection Area, Special Protection Area IT2030601 "Grigne".[^][^]

Regional Law 2 March 2005, n. 11. Establishment of the Northern Grigna Regional Park

THE REGIONAL COUNCIL Has approved
THE PRESIDENT OF THE REGIONAL COUNCIL Promulgates the following regional law:
Art. 1 Establishment of the Northern Grigna Regional Park[^]

1. Pursuant to Art. 16-bis of the regional law 30 November 1983, n. 86 (general plan of protected regional areas. Rules for the establishment and management of reserves, parks and natural monuments as well as areas of particular natural and environmental significance)[^] and subsequent amendments and additions, is established the Northern Grigna Regional Park, hereinafter referred to as the park.
2. The park is classified, pursuant to Art. 16, paragraph 1 letter b, of the regional law n. 86/1983, as a mountain park.[^]

In parcogrigna.it, the Institution's Ente page begins: "PARCO REGIONALE GRIGNA SETTENTRIONALE was established with legge n. 11 del 2 marzo 2005".[^] Note the name in all capitals and the lack of the proposition della (of) respect to the text of the law cited. This is the name that also appears in the park logo.

Regional Law 16 July 2007, n. 16 and Regional Law 4 August 2011, n. 12

Following the promulgation of the Regional Law of 2 March 2005, n. 11, the Lombardy Region approves two laws:

1. Regional Law 16 July 2007, n. 16. Consolidated text of regional laws on the establishment of parks.
2. Regional Law 4 August 2011, n. 12. New organization of the managing bodies of the protected regional areas and modifications to the regional laws 30 November 1983, n. 86 (General plan of protected regional areas. Rules for the establishment and management of reserves, parks and natural monuments, as well as areas of particular natural and environmental significance) and 16 July 2007, n. 16 (Consolidated text of regional laws on the establishment of parks)

The Legge Regionale 4 agosto 2011, n. 12 is the one currently in force.[^]

Regional Law 16 July 2007, n. 16, Art. 1 (Subject): This consolidated text, drawn up in accordance with the regional law of 9 March 2006, n. 7 (Reorganization and simplification of regional legislation through consolidated texts), brings together the provisions of regional law on the subject of the establishment of regional and natural parks in Lombardy.[^]
Chapter XXII concerns the Northern Grigna Park. In section I Forecast and regulation of the Northern Grigna Park, there are 7 articles. In the database of the regional laws of the Lombardy Region, the articles are updated according to the amendments of the subsequent law:

• Article 186 (Classification of the Northern Grigna regional park)[^]
• Article 187 (Purpose of the park)[^]
• Article 188 (Park boundaries)[^]
• Article 189 (Park management body)[^]
• Article 190 (Planning tools)[^][^]
• Article 191 (Sites of Community Importance)[^]
• Article 192[^]

In the 2007 law, article 189, the management of the park is entrusted to a consortium between the Mountain Community Valsassina - Valvarrone - Val d'Esino and Riviera and the Municipalities of Cortenova, Esino Lario, Parlasco, Pasturo, Perledo, Primaluna, Taceno, Varenna.[^] The 2011 law rewrites article 189: 1. The management of the park is entrusted to the Valsassina - Valvarrone - Val d'Esino and Riviera mountain community. Article 192 (transitional provisions) is abolished.[^]

Park logo

The background of the park logo is made up of a green lawn at the bottom, where in white on three lines there is the writing in all capital letters Parco Regionale Grigna Settentrionale, Grigna is in the middle and bigger. Above the green color, the white-grey with which the Grignone is drawn, the top is only white. Above, the blue sky. From the meadow, purple flowers with five petals emerge, one of which is in the foreground, which have a single green stem, with four basal leaves in opposite directions, the ones in front and behind a lighter green than the other two. The flower represented is the Glaucescent Primrose (Primula glaucescens), also known as Lombardy Primula.[^] In the middle, where there is the background of the mountain, a large shell stands out because the Northern Grigna was below sea level 245 million years ago and numerous fossils have been found in the limestone rocks.[^]

Grignone as a regional mountain park

We simply say "go to Grigna" but Grigna is not a peak, Grigna is a world, said the great mountaineer Riccardo Cassin. Above Pasturo, there are no houses, buildings, only scattered mountain huts that do not form an urban agglomeration. There is no traffic, there are no cable cars and cableways, nor ski lifts. Cows graze on fertile grassy meadows, as do flocks of sheep, some working for livestock. You meet people walking, some go to the top, others reach the hut with their own vehicle. This world made of people, animals and architecture in precious nature has developed over the past centuries and preserved in the twentieth century. It is right to preserve it with a park. Almost 20 years after the establishment of the regional mountain park, dear Grignone is still like this. This is good.

Northern Grigna is one of the two mountains of the Grigne Group. The Northern Grigna Regional Park extends over an area that is only a part of the mountain, the western slope which is located in the municipality of Mandello del Lario, an area of high naturalistic value, is excluded. How many of the numerous people who frequent the Grignone are aware of being inside a park with this name? And how could they? Maybe they should understand it from the park logo that is on the signposts and the educational panels scattered along the paths? You enter and leave the Grigna Park established in 2005 without noticing it because article 188, Park boundaries, paragraph 2 is disregarded: The boundaries of the park are indicated, pursuant to article 32 of the regional law 86/12983, by the managing body referred to in article 189, by appropriate signs. The Openstreetmap site was able to outline the boundary of the Parco Regionale della Grigna Settentrionale on its digital map;[^] another website on the Openstreetmap map added the boundary of the three Rete Natura 2000 Sites.[^]

The state of the trails and signs of Grignone, and Grigne, have worsened with the establishment of the park. Until then it was in charge of the Club Alpino Italiano. The paths of the Parco della Grigna are as they can be after years without maintenance and care, that is, uneven ground. Or, the hiker walks on the Grignone on the Pasturo side for longer and longer on the concrete, because the old mule tracks were inconvenient for motorbikes and cars, so much so that he chose a running shoe rather than a trail-running one. The main road that climbs from Pasturo to Pialeral is a concrete strip built and fixed by the frontists with collections and who knows what authorizations from the Comunità Montana or the Municipality of Pasturo. It is not uncommon to see trial bikes wheeling at great speed on paths where it is forbidden to ride. The Territorial Coordination Plan (acronym PTC), the fundamental tool through which the objectives, guidelines and rules that are in force in the territory of a protected area are dictated, if it is ever drawn up, does not take into account the material that is suitable for the bottom of roads and paths.
The signage is poor and unidirectional, the Valsassina, Valvarrone, Val d'Esino and Riviera Mountain Community are known only for indications for bikes and educational panels. The latter have the advantage of informing about some characteristics of the mountain, but the rigid structure in recycled plastic with a wood effect is not very aesthetic. The protected area signs are increasingly rare, those of the two Sites of Community Interest are non-existent. I have no experience and expertise in flora and fauna, which I admire and intrigue me, geology and fossils. I enjoy a few hours in the open air going up and down the Grignone, which is in my heart, a unique and inimitable natural environment. So I would like hikers, mountaineers, cyclists who share my same passion and effort to be valued among the human values of a mountain park.

References

1. "Parco Grigna". parcogrigna.it. (in Italian). Retrieved 24 August 2023.
2. "Colors, Perfumes, and Tastes of a World Unchanged over the Centuries...". In Parco Regionale della Grigna Settentrionale. Parks.it. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
3. "Points of Interest". In Parco Regionale della Grigna Settentrionale. Parks.it. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
4. "Northern Grigna Regional Park". Lake Como tourism. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
5. "La Rete Natura 2000". (in Italian). In Rete Natura. Parco Grigna. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
6. "Parco Regionale della Grigna Settentrionale". Archivio Digitale Pietro Pensa e Centro di documentazione e informazione dell'Ecomuseo delle Grigne [Pietro Pensa Digital Archive and Documentation and Information Center of the Grigne Ecomuseum]. (in Italian). pietro.pensa.it. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
7. "Legge Regionale 2 marzo 2005, n. 11 [Regional Law 2 March 2005, n. 11]". (in Italian). Gazzetta Ufficiale. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
8. "LEGGE REGIONALE 30 novembre 1983 , N. 86 [REGIONAL LAW 30 November 1983, No. 86]". (in Italian). Banca dati delle leggi regionali. Regione Lombardia. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
9. "Art. 16. Classificazione dei parchi regionali [Art. 16. Classification of regional parks]". (in Italian). Banca dati delle leggi regionali. Regione Lombardia. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
10. "Istituzione [Institution]". (in Italian). In L'Ente. Parco Grigna. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
11. "Legge Regionale 4 agosto 2011 , n. 12 [Regional Law 4 August 2011, n. 12]". (in Italian). Banca dati delle leggi regionali. Regione Lombardia. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
12. "Legge Regionale 16 luglio 2007, n. 16 [Regional Law 16 July 2007, n. 16]". (in Italian). Banca dati delle leggi regionali. Regione Lombardia. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
13. "Art. 186 (Classificazione del parco regionale della Grigna Settentrionale) [Art. 186 (Classification of the Northern Grigna regional park)]". Banca dati delle leggi regionali. Regione Lombardia. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
14. "Art. 187 (Finalità del parco) [Article 187 (Purpose of the park)]". (in Italian). Banca dati delle leggi regionali. Regione Lombardia. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
15. "Art. 188 (Confini del parco) [Article 188 (Park boundaries)]". (in Italian). Banca dati delle leggi regionali. Regione Lombardia. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
16. "Art. 189 (Ente di gestione del parco) [Article 189 (Park management body)]". (in Italian). Banca dati delle leggi regionali. Regione Lombardia. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
17. "Art. 190 (Strumenti di pianificazione) [Article 190 (Planning tools)]". (in Italian). Banca dati delle leggi regionali. Regione Lombardia. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
18. "Piano Territoriale di coordinamento del Parco Regionale della Grigna Settentrionale". Parco Grigna. (in Italian). Retrieved 24 August 2023.
19. "Art. 191 (Siti di importanza comunitaria) [Article 191 (Sites of Community Importance)]". (in Italian). Banca dati delle leggi regionali. Regione Lombardia. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
20. "Art. 192 [Article 192]". (in Italian). Banca dati delle leggi regionali. Regione Lombardia. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
21. "Articolo 189 - Ente di gestione del parco [Article 189 - Park management body]". (in Italian). In Normatìva. Legge Regionale Lombardia 16/7/2007 n. 16. Edil Tecnico. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
22. "Articolo 192 - Norme transitorie [Article 192 - Transitional provisions]". (in Italian). In Normatìva. Legge Regionale Lombardia 16/7/2007 n. 16. Edil Tecnico. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
23. "La Flora [The Flora]". (in Italian). In La Vegetazione e la Flora. In Il Territorio. Parco Grigna. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
24. "I Fossili delle Grigne [The Fossils of the Grigne]". (in Italian). In La Geologia. In Il Territorio. Parco Grigna. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
25. "map=15/45.9506/9.4394". OpenStreetMap. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
26. " WebGis Parco regionale Grigna settentrionale". Studio Soster. Retrieved 24 August 2023.

Grignone

Italiano

Grignone is the highest mountain of the Grigne's Group, or Grigne, measuring 2409 meters above sea level and is located in the Prealps of Lecco, between Lake Como and Valsassina. «The Grignia is the highest mountain these towns have and it is bald», noted Leonardo dal Vinci in the Codex Atlanticus, these towns are in the western Lombardy plain. Grignone is the name with which, commonly, is called the Northern Grigna (in Italian Grigna Settentrionale).[^][^] A few meters below the summit, on which there is a cross, welcomes hikers the Rifugio Brioschi from every town and one can admire a fantastic panorama, from the Po Valley with Milan to the Alps.

The Grigne Group consists of two main mountains, Grignone and Grignetta, or Grigna Meridionale, 2184 meters high; each of the two has numerous peaks, in Grignetta there are real spiers, the top has a pointed shape. And before proceeding, I thank my language that allows to measure the two mountains with terms of endearment, accretive one (Grignone), diminutive the other (Grignetta).
The joy of having walked in the mountains made me fall in love more with the nearby Grigne, writing I remember and learn, reasons that prompt me to return, in a third role, in addition to sportsman and photographer. To indicate the mountain, I privilege, as in the title, the popular name, Grignone, to the formal one, Northern Grigna. I do not neglect the shortest, Grigna, which comes from omitting the cardinal point, Northern, and because Grignone is the largest of the Group. In the first way, i.e. without the main direction, Grigna Meridionale or Southern Grigna and Grigna Settentrionale have the same name, Grigna, or, wanting to specify the nature of the place, Monte Grigna. But it is also not uncommon to call the whole mountain group Grigna or Monte Grigna. Many cities and towns in Lombardy have celebrated the mountainous relief with a street, by means of the odonym via Grigna or in a rarer extended form via Monte Grigna.

For Grignetta, I mention its wild character, which comes from the rocks and the spiers reaching out to the sky. Wonderful and attractive place, Grigna Meridionale is one of the favorite destinations and training ground for many rock climbers and mountaineers. The main route to the summit, which from Piani dei Resinelli follows the Cresta Cermenati, can be covered by trained hikers without great difficulty, if not for the slope.

Slope of Pasturo, slope of Mandello and slope of Cainallo

The Grignone's slope of Pasturo, in Valsassina, is a large east-facing slope that rises from the country of Pasturo from an altitude of about 650 meters. From the name of the town, this side of the Northern Grigna is also called the mountain of Pasturo or Monti di Pasturo. It adapts perfectly to hiking and more generally to activity in the mountains, with long paths and considerable differences in height, whose difficulty increases in winter. The shape of the mountain is a massif that extends in width without particular variations in the height of the top. Up to a quota of about 1800 meters, for centuries its fertile and fat meadows are grazing livestock, with the presence of numerous mountain huts.

The opposite side of Pasturo, facing west with Lake Como and the town of Mandello del Lario in the background, has a completely different shape. There are impressive rocks, such as the famous Sasso Cavallo, which was drawn in a sheet by Leonardo da Vinci. In this part of the Grigna there are two shelters, Rifugio Bietti at 1719 meters, in the basin of Releccio, and the smallest Rifugio Elisa, at 1515 meters, in Val Meria.

To the north-west, there is the basin of Moncodeno, of glacial origin and closed by the vertical walls of Pizzo della Pieve, where at 1816 meters is Rifugio Bogani. Monte Coden was the name of Grigna or Monte Grigna Settentrionele in the past centuries. Here, there is Via Ganda, which starts from above the Cainallo, in the area of Esino Lario, and climbs up to the top of the Northern Grigna, between Cresta Piancaformia and Cima del Palone, which is a path with lower difference in level compared to the ascent from the side of Pasturo.

The mountain is protected by regional laws through the Northern Grigna Regional Park, established in 2005 with the aim of preserving the environment and the animal and plant species. Grigna is a mountain much studied by naturalists for the diversity that has, and probably, due to its proximity to the densely inhabited plain.

Main trails on the slope of Pasturo

Almost every mountain has a more important path, and it is usually the path that goes to the summit or to the shelter closest to the summit, and which can be traveled without too much difficulty.
For Grignone in the slope of Pasturo, the most popular trail is easy to spot and is the path that leads to Rifugio Luigi Brioschi. There are two main sections, in the middle of which there is the Pialeral locality at 1400 meters high, where there is also a shelter, Rifugio Antonietta al Pialeral. Pialeral can be reached from Pasturo and Colle di Balisio, the two paths join at Alpe Cova, just below Pialeral. The shortest path and with less difference in height (about 200 meters) is from Colle di Balisio, and therefore preferred by the majority of hikers, who leave the car a little further on, at the little church of the Sacred Heart; it follows the Valle dei Grassi Lunghi along Pioverna torrent. From Pialeral to Rifugio Brioschi there are two ways, summer and winter route. Colle di Balisio - Rifugio Brioschi requires at least three hours of walking, with a difference in height of more than 1500 meters.

Two other relevant trails are: Traversata Bassa, a long and comfortable walk through the woods, Piani dei Resinelli - Pialeral - Church of San Calimero, and Traversata Alta, equipped with chains, beautiful and panoramic, which joins the two peaks of the Grigne in about 2 hours and a half.

References

1. "Grigna settentrionale". Wikipedia: L'enciclopedia libera (in Italian). Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
2. "Grigna Settentrionale". lavalsassina.com. (in Italian). Retrieved 6 April 2018.