Duration: Full day (6-8 hours)
Level: Medium

Meeting point: Ponte di Legno bus station

Distance covered: 14 km 

Elevation change: 200 m 

Type of path: Mixed: paved and unpaved

Recommended clothing: Waterproof jacket - Hat

Recommended footwear: Comfortable walking shoes or lighweight boots

Recommended equipment:

Lunch: Bring a packed lunch

Price: € €15 + €1.60 return bus fare to starting point *Custom pricing available for groups

Minimum number of participants: 10

Type of event:
Description:

Our tour begins at Ponte di Legno in Upper Valcamonica which can be reached by train and bus or by private transport. We will walk along a recently paved road to Villa Dalegno, our first stop, where we will visit the pretty village and the parish church of Saint Martin. We will proceed along a mule track, held to be one of Upper Valcamonica’s ancient pathways. Along the path we will have excellent views of the mountains, among which the most important are found in the Adamello group.   We will come first to Lecanù, and the Church of the Holy Martyrs, above Temù and then continue along the mule track towards Vione and the Church of Saint Alexander (with a 13th century bell tower) – both of which are 16th century renovations of churches said to have been founded by Charlemagne. The same influence of the French Christian tradition can be seen in the beautiful parish church of Vione, which is dedicated to Saint Remigius, the bishop of Rheims who crowned Clovis as King of the Franks.

At Vione we will stop for lunch and a tour of the Alpine village which still contains many traditional barns known as “tabià”, buildings which have disappeared from much of Upper Valcamonica to be replaced by construction for the modern tourist trade.

After lunch we will follow a recently upgraded mule track (part of the Via Carolingia bike/walking path) which follows the legendary route of Charlemagne in Upper Valcamonica. Along this path we will encounter folk traditions (such as the “Cave of the Dolls”) and more wonderful views over the Adamello-Baltone mountain group.  We will then go to the church of Saint Clement above Vezza d’Oglio: while today’s church is 16th century, a Romanesque bell-tower reveals the site’s medieval origins. Tradition holds that there was a medieval xenodochio (hostel, typically for pilgrims and foreigners) for travellers along the important Upper Valcamonica route that our trip has followed. The xenodochio was the subject of recent archaeological investigation.

Arriving in Vezza d’Oglio we visit the historic centre (today surrounded by tourist industry structures) and the parish church of Saint Martin in Piazza IV luglio (4th of July), where the battle of Garibaldi’s Third War of Independence (Risorgimento) of 1866 is commemorated.

We return to Ponte di Legno using the public bus service.

BOOKING

Le prenotazioni sono chiuse per questo evento. / Bookings for this event are closed.

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