The Walser village at the foot of Monte Rosa
At the head of the Valsesia, at about 1,200 metres, at the foot of the southern face of Monte Rosa, Alagna Valsesia is one of the most beautiful mountain villages in Piedmont and one of the main centres of the Walser culture in Italy. The Walser were a population of German origin from the Swiss Valais who, in the thirteenth century, crossed the Alpine passes and settled in the high valleys around Monte Rosa, building villages at high altitude, cultivating the steep slopes and preserving for centuries their language, the Titsch, and their traditions.
The hamlets of Alagna preserve many typical Walser houses, with a stone base and an upper part in dark larch wood, with large balconies, the "loben", for drying hay and rye, and stone slab roofs; in the hamlet of Pedemonte, a house of 1628 houses the Walser Museum, which recreates the domestic life of the past. Today Alagna is a renowned resort for skiing and mountaineering: it is part of the Monterosa Ski area, which links it to the Gressoney and Ayas valleys, and is famous among lovers of freeride, off-piste skiing, for its steep, wild slopes. From Alagna, cable cars climb to Punta Indren, over 3,200 metres, the starting point for climbing the peaks of Monte Rosa and the Capanna Regina Margherita, at 4,554 metres on the Punta Gnifetti, the highest mountain hut in Europe.
Tip: in summer, the hike to the Otro valley, with its Walser hamlets and meadows, is easy and beautiful; check the cable car schedules, which vary by season.
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