29 July 2018 In the Geopark – Tales from the past in the Mastallone Valley

On Sunday 29 July 2018, a walk organised by the Sesia Val Grande Geopark Association, in collaboration with Fobello Town Council, will take participants up to Alpe di Baranca above Fobello, accompanied by historian Alessandro Orsi. This is a route of approximately 10 km, of moderate difficulty, offering geological, natural and historical interest, to be undertaken on foot starting from Fobello.

The meeting point is at 8.30 am in Fobello, in the car park behind the church, from where everyone will set off together by car to reach – via the hamlets of Boco, Catognetto, La Piana and S. Maria – Alpe La Gazza at 1,175 metres above sea level, where the walk begins. Along the Mastallone stream, you’ll pass the Catolino and Lungostretto mountain pastures; after crossing to the other bank of the stream, the route climbs through beech and laburnum trees and then across pastures to Alpe Baranca, a stop on the Alta Via trail, where there is a small chapel built by the Fobello Alpine Group inside a large boulder. Following the mule track, you pass the waterfall formed by the waters flowing out of Lake Baranca, wade across the Mastallone stream – which rises from this lake – and reach Colle di Baranca (1,818 metres above sea level), the Selle mountain pasture and, a few minutes later, Villa Aprilia. The pass has always been a strategic location and a key thoroughfare: in the 19th century, the princes of Savoy passed through here, followed by units of the Piedmontese army on their way to join forces with the French to fight the Austrians in the Second War of Independence. In Fobello, the family of Vincenzo Lancia built stately homes at Montà and Villa Lanza, whilst the architect Costantino Gilodi of Borgosesia designed Villa Musy at Boco Inferiore in Fobello and, for himself, a small villa in Selle di Baranca, which later became the property of the Lancia family, who named it Villa Aprilia. Today, only the ruins remain following its destruction by Fascist bombs in April 1944. Here we will stop for a packed lunch, and historian Alessandro Orsi will recount the events that took place in these surroundings – a strategic and much-travelled crossroads between Valsesia, Ossola and Switzerland, and the scene of fighting between partisans and Fascists. We are due to return at around 4.30 pm.
In Fobello, a village considered one of the ‘most elegant and stately’ in Valsesia, ancient traditions have been preserved, including the traditional costume, colourful and exquisite thanks to the ‘puncetto’, a millennia-old lace technique said to have reached Valsesia with the Saracen invasion of the 10th century and which is currently being put forward for inclusion on UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list. In the village centre, housed in a period building, are the Permanent Museum of Puncetto and the Lancia Museum. In the village, you can visit, amongst others, the workshop of ‘Biscutin dal Strii’, which produces handmade sweets, and that of ‘Ca’ di Mori’, which makes organic jams and preserves.

The route is very sunny, so we recommend walking boots, a waterproof jacket, a hat, sunglasses and sun cream. The programme may be subject to change depending on weather conditions.
Cost for the day: €12 (€10 for members), €8 for children aged 8 to 14, free for children under 8.

Information and compulsory booking (by 6.00 pm the day before) at: 347 447 4021 /info@supervulcano.it/ www.supervulcano.it via the Sesia Val Grande Geopark Geotourism Association.