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 on Blogger and I don't think I'll make any money from it, 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; it 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 joy of having walked in the mountains made me fall in love more with the nearby Grigne.

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).

By writing, I remember and learn, reasons that push me to return, which becomes my third activity, in addition to sport and photography. 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 Settentrionale 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: it is the path that leads to Rifugio Luigi Brioschi, the refuge owned by the CAI of Milan. 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.

Trail

Italiano

I have been walking in the mountains for a long time and I think I know what a trail is. I imagine that a path is narrow and walking trail, with dirt, earth and stones or pebbles. I wonder if it is maintained by man, is it flat or sloping, its degree of difficulty. I assumed it was in the mountains, but it could be in the hills, by the sea, in a city park, surrounded by meadows, woods or rocks.
I'm looking for a more precise definition and I find more than one:[^]

• Trail (or path or cattle track): road with a natural bottom formed by the passage of pedestrians and animals.
• Path that is formed naturally and gradually due to continuous and prolonged trampling by human or animal, in a free path of uncertainties and ambiguities, reported in the cadastral maps.
• A narrow way and barely drawn between meadows, woods, rocks, nature areas and anthropogenic landscapes, plains, hills or mountains.
• path, generically narrow that in rural places, mountain or similar was formed following the frequent passage of people and animals.
• A trail is usually a path, track or unpaved lane or road.[^]

Classification based on difficulty according to the Italian Alpine Club

In order to better define the different types of trail and suggest at the same time the degree of difficulty of the journey hiking, Central Commission of the Club Alpino Italiano has identified a classification of the routes:

• Tourist trail (path or itinerary) (T)
• Hiking trail (E)
• Trail for expert hikers or Alpine trail (EE)
• Trail for expert hikers with equipment (EEA), the classic via ferrata or equipped
• Path in a snowy environment (EAI), with the use of snowshoes

Particular paths of interest, the Historical path, which retraces ancient roads, and the Thematic path, an educational path for information purposes (naturalistic, glaciological, geological, historical, religious), are of difficulty level T or E.

References

1. "Definzione giuridica [Legal definition]". In Sentiero (in Italian) Wikipedia: L'enciclopedia libera. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
2. "Trail". Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
3. Sede centrale (20 November 2021). "Classificazione dei percorsi in base alla difficoltà in ambito escursionistico e cicloescursionistico [Classification of routes based on difficulty in the field of hiking and cycling]". [Word File]. (in Italian). Club Alpino Italiano. Retrieved 3 June 2022.

On Grignone again this summer

Italiano

It's mid-July, I'm returning to Valsassina in Barzio, in June I was only there a few days. Like previous years, I don't spend anything because my brother allows me to use his house for the holidays for free. My program is to walk on the Grignone from Pasturo as a healthy physical exercise in the open air, tread mule tracks, enjoy the cool mountain climate for a few hours in the heavy weather of the sun high on the horizon or in the hottest hours, protecting me with sun cream well spread on my skin, wearing a hat on my head and sunglasses, drinking. I will finally be in nature, free, light, in the fertile meadows, in the shade of the plants, listening to the cows, and I will take some meaningful photographs. Then, at the table, at work, on my new Lenovo laptop, reading the articles from the blog Grignone in the slope of Pasturo that I published last summer to review them. This commitment consoles me because I write about dear places and mountains and motivates me, prolonging the activity of going on trails. I discover that writing is a useful exercise in general, because it requires research, study, analysis; the outcome, remaining as a letter, has an indefinite future development. In me there is the sadness of the loss of my father, who on a morning at the end of July last year, just while I was at Pialeral, called me from the Manzoni Hospital in Lecco to request medical documentation for a final consultation on the tumor to the tonsil from which he suffered.

As in the last two seasons, since 2014, I begin my excursions with the same route, the first part can only be from Pasturo to Cornisella. From the church of the Alpini in Cornisella, the locality just over a thousand meters above sea level in a central position on the Grigna Settentrionale, I take the secondary path Sentiero Cornisella - Brunino, a common route for mountain bikes, marked with the new Pedalling in the Park trail signs. The recent signs prompted me to write a new post, signage of the trails, and add tags to my photos. On level ground and in a cooler climate I walk along the three houses of Spinarolo and in its scenic pasture. If it's lunch time, I stop to eat a first course at Agriturismo Brunino, the price is modest. From Barzio to Brunino, passing through Cornisella, it is a not too long and tiring excursion, round trip, it takes about two and a half hours with five hundred meters of altitude difference, I am not very fit, I would like to avoid having sore legs. Furthermore, I have not been well, the chronic pain in my back has been compounded by pain in my face and teeth, it is better to stay calm and covered. I return to Cornisella with the Sentiero Brunino - Cornisella.

Then, with a few kilometers in my legs, with the trail-running shoes and the faded red The North Face Animas 12 backpack on my shoulder, I'm ready for something more: again this summer I will climb to the thirteen hundred meters of Alpe Cova. Leaving the main mountain road, from Cornisella to Alpe Cova Valsassina opens up from above in its splendor with the Orobie mountains. On one of the benches in the Alp pond, lying in the shade of the trees, near the wooden crucifix, I will regain the strength lost from the climb and from my health, poorly cared for by the doctors and off-axis. Al fresco I will contemplate the Grigne. The non-competitive running and cycling race Pasturo - Alpe Coa is scheduled for Sunday 24 July, which I would like to attend, and participate in the mass, like four years ago.
For the subsequent walks and runs on Grignone, at zero cost to the environment because they start from home, my holiday plans to climb a little further, remaining within the paths and locations of the blog as if they were borders, to the Rifugio Antonietta and the basin of Pialeral. Until mid-September, more trained, I will have time to relax and repeat the routes between Pasturo and Pialeral numerous times.

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.