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.

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.

Signage of the trails

Much of Grignone from 2005 is Regional Park of the Northern Grigna having managing body the Valsassina, Valvarrone, Val d'Esino and Riviera Mountain Community that marks the trails of the mountain, and those of the slope of Pasturo, trails traveled by hundreds of years.

The Mountain Comunity adopted a signage similar to Club Alpino Italiano with the unmistakable red and white colors and vertical signage with tables, and takes their place, Club that in the past had marked the trails of the Grigne. Moreover it traced at an altitude less than 1500 meters five cycling routes named Pedalando nel Parco (Pedalling in the Park).

Examining the tables of the verticale signage, mounted on metal poles, by Regional Park of the Northern Grigna and Mountain Community Valsassina, Valvarrone, Val d'Esino and Riviera, they are like those of the CAI of the present day with the absence of numbering:

• trails tables in the shape of arrow of size 55 x 15 cm.
• the tip of red with white logo Parco Regionale Grigna Settentrionale
• the tail red with in the middle on white the logo Comunità Montana Valsassina, Valvarrone, Val d'Esino e Riviera
• three lines with the destinations, if there is one in the middle, on the right the travel time
• the location table with its altitude, like at Alpe Cova

Similarly are the tables of Pedalling in the Park:

• top a red plate with a bike that goes up and logo Sistemi Parchi Regione Lombardia (Parks Systems Lombardy Region)
• location table with a white line on gray "Pedalando nel Parco" between two logos Comunità Montana Valsassina, Valvarrone, Val d'Esino e Riviera and Parco Regionale Grigna Settentrionale and below the altitude. I saw at Monteno, Cornisella, Brunino, Pialeral
• trails table with three lines, on each the destination followed by a hyphen (-) and the number of the route, on the right a colored circle

Coexist the old signs of CAI:

• trail table on yellow background, smaller than at present, and without the arrangement of lines, tail and numbering
• arrow engraved in red, white, yellow, white at center larger
• written C.A.I. vertically on the left or on the right of destination(s)

Scattered on trails and crossings arrow wooden signs indicating the destination, some metal, real arrow road signs like two browns at Pasturo in Via Cantellone and Via San Calimero indicating Grigna Settentrionale (Northern Grigna) and Pialeral.

For horizontal signing, the three colors trail markers red white red, or at two red and white, on rocks, walls, and visible points, you see only at high altitudes. Remain faded the old and rare CAI signs red white yellow, or yellow white red, with the number of the trail in the middle.

On Northern Grigna at low altitude there are mixed routes, roads, mule tracks, trails, which connect the locations by car, on foot, by bicycle, motorbike. Mountain Community Valsassina, Valvarrone, Val d'Esino and Riviera has traced for hikers the quickest path to Pialeral, and from there you go to altitude and to Rifugio Brioschi, that is from Colle di Balisio, leaving out others above all Sentiero Pasturo - Pialeral; the latter up to a thousand meters of altitude is not part of Park of the Northern Grigna. Bloom signs, usually of wood, or improvised tables that make up for this shortage, some of the refuges, other that divide the path type such at Acquafredda, vehicles on one side and on the other pedestrians. Here and there remains the old CAI's signals with its numbering.
The body that manages the mountain has favored the bike with five itineraries, creating an overlap with the trails, or a part of them, which were already known in another way, and confusion in those who go on foot (which are the majority) in having indicated in only one direction. Useful are its locations tables.

Signs with its stratification reflects the popularity of the Grigne, and for those who go often is nice to see again. It lacks a unified policy with trails marked by CAI on many mountains.