Vigezzo Valley

The Vigezzo Valley opens up between the Alps in the north of Piedmont, amidst gentle natural sceneries, luxuriant vegetation and a strong cultural tradition. The valley offers enchanting atmospheres in every season, with particular colors, smells and sounds.

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Malesco is one of the seven municipalities of the Valley; they keep the memory of the past intact, presenting rural environments and elegant buildings with refined architecture; in the churches you can see canvases and frescoes, but also precious artifacts.

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The Vigezzo Valley was a land of large migratory flows , which led its inhabitants to move to the great Italian and transalpine cities: they were mainly chimney sweeps, smokers and painters, i.e. workers released from the subsistence economy of the Alpine world.

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The Valley is crossed by the historic Vigezzina railway , which connects Domodossola to Locarno, winding between Italy and Switzerland with a suggestive route of 55 km.

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It is known as the Valley of the Painters after being the birthplace of many artists and inspiration for landscape and portrait painters (including the Sotta brothers in Malesco), whose works are kept in the School of Fine Arts of Santa Maria Maggiore, an alpine school of one-of-a-kind painting.

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There are numerous examples of devotional painting, which enrich the churches and votive chapels of the whole valley, up to the grandeur of the Sanctuary of Re , dedicated to the Madonna del Sangue and the miracle of 1494.

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The handicraft offers a production of rustic canvases, carpets and fabrics, but also artifacts in stone, wood and wrought iron.

The food and wine tradition is very rich, offering a wide choice of cold cuts, including the renowned Crudo di Vigezzo, first and second courses, honeys, jams, desserts, digestives and grappa.

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More info: www.vallevigezzo.eu

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Photo © Christian Guerra