
Alagna Valsesia (
Walser German: ''Im Land'',
Piedmontese
Piedmontese ( ; autonym: or ; ) is a language spoken by some 2,000,000 people mostly in Piedmont, a region of Northwest Italy. Although considered by most linguists a separate language, in Italy it is often mistakenly regarded as an Italian ...
: ''Alagna'', Valsesiano: ''Lagna'') is a ''
comune
A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the City status in Italy, titl ...
'' and small village high in the
Valsesia
Valsesia (; Walser German: ''Tseschrutol'') is a group of valleys in the north-east of Piedmont in the Province of Vercelli, Italy; the principal valley is that of the river Sesia.
The major towns located here are Varallo Sesia, Borgosesia ...
alpine valley in the
province of Vercelli,
Piedmont
Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...
, northern
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
, a
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
World heritage site since 2013. It is a tourist place for
mountaineering
Mountaineering, mountain climbing, or alpinism is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas that have become mounta ...
and
winter sports, and it is internationally renowned for the freeride
off-piste skiing
Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow for basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and the International S ...
. It is also the traditional starting point for the
Margherita Hut
The Margherita Hut (, ) is a mountain hut belonging to the Italian Alpine Club, located on the summit of () of Monte Rosa, a mountain massif of the Alps lying near the border between Italy and Switzerland. At above sea level, it is the highest ...
climb, at above sea level, the highest building in
Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
. It was originally settled by
Walser at the beginning of the 12th century. It is located at an elevation of just south of the
Monte Rosa
Monte Rosa (; ; ; or ; ) is a mountain massif in the eastern part of the Pennine Alps, on the border between Italy (Piedmont and Aosta Valley) and Switzerland (Valais). The highest peak of the massif, amongst several peaks of over , is the D ...
, elevation (the second tallest peak in the Alps); It is very close to
Milan
Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...
() and to the international
Milan–Malpensa Airport ().
Since December 2005 a cable car connects Alagna with
Gressoney (
AO) through the
Passo dei Salati.
History
Founded in the 13th century by a German population ("
Walser") descending from the north into the Italian valleys around
Monte Rosa
Monte Rosa (; ; ; or ; ) is a mountain massif in the eastern part of the Pennine Alps, on the border between Italy (Piedmont and Aosta Valley) and Switzerland (Valais). The highest peak of the massif, amongst several peaks of over , is the D ...
, it has preserved today its atmosphere with several buildings built around 1500–1600 in a pure "Walser Style", still in perfect condition, built using local wood and stones (called 'Piode'). This spontaneous architecture has been totally preserved: the wooden cage around the building was in fact invented for putting the hay to dry out.
Main sights
The Church of Saint John the Baptist was built in 1511 and it has preserved many sculptures by
Giovanni d'Enrico a famous Italian artist (1559–1644).
At the entrance of the town, there is the native house of
Tanzio da Varallo
Antonio d'Enrico, called Tanzio da Varallo, or simply il Tanzio (c. 1575/1580 – c. 1632/1633) was an Italian painter of the late-Mannerism, Mannerist or early Baroque painting, Baroque period.
Biography
He was born in Giacomolo hamlet, in Ala ...
(1575–1633), brother of Giovanni d'Enrico and one of the most famous Italian artists. His works are in the most prestigious art gallery in the world.
Mountaineering

Alagna is one of the Alpine towns which have played a crucial role in the history of mountaineering. The Guides Association was founded in 1872 and it is the oldest in Italy second only to that of
Courmayeur
Courmayeur (; ; Valdôtain: ) is a town and ''comune'' in northern Italy, in the autonomous region of Aosta Valley.
History
The toponym ''Courmayeur'' has been mentioned as ''Curia majori'' (1233–1381), ''Corte Maggiore'' (1620), ''Cormoyeu'' (1 ...
(1868). From the town started all the first expeditions on the close
Monte Rosa
Monte Rosa (; ; ; or ; ) is a mountain massif in the eastern part of the Pennine Alps, on the border between Italy (Piedmont and Aosta Valley) and Switzerland (Valais). The highest peak of the massif, amongst several peaks of over , is the D ...
; the first one was on 23 July 1801 when Pietro Giordani, a native of Alagna, reached the summit of the peak which now is called by his name (Giordani peak, ). In 1819 Zumstein reached the third-highest Monte Rosa peak (Zumstein peak, ). Finally between August the 8th and the 9th, the Alagna parish priest, reached, after three attempts, the fourth tallest peak of Monte Rosa and the highest in the Alagna Valley, the today called Gnifetti Peak ().
The mountaineering tradition is still alive:
Silvio Mondinelli, the second Italian climber to reach all the 14 peaks of the world, has done several climbs on the Alagna side of
Monte Rosa
Monte Rosa (; ; ; or ; ) is a mountain massif in the eastern part of the Pennine Alps, on the border between Italy (Piedmont and Aosta Valley) and Switzerland (Valais). The highest peak of the massif, amongst several peaks of over , is the D ...
. In September 2011,
Hervè Barmasse and his father opened a new route on the south-east face of the Gnifetti peak , which is at the moment the most difficult route on this side of the massif and one of the most challenging in the entire group (, VI, ED). Finally, Alagna is the starting point for reaching the
Margherita hut
The Margherita Hut (, ) is a mountain hut belonging to the Italian Alpine Club, located on the summit of () of Monte Rosa, a mountain massif of the Alps lying near the border between Italy and Switzerland. At above sea level, it is the highest ...
, the highest hut in Europe, on the Gnifetti Peak top ().
Freeride world capital

Alagna is internationally known for being the freeride capital of the Alps. The reason for this great quantity of routes is in the particular morphological shape of the main valley, steep but at the same time with several lateral smaller valleys "Comb shape" which permit huge exploitation of the territory. Plus, thanks to the difference in height from the top of the ridges (Monte Rosa is ) to the bottom of the valley (Alagna itself is only at ), most routes cover a huge slope. The landscape is wild, severe and very impressive. The majority of the itineraries are around the
Punta Giordani and the wild area of the Malfatta . Rides include that of Balma, which crosses the entire Bors Valley from Indren () to Pastore Hut , and the alternatives routes starting from Passo dei Salati (): Canale a Y, Canale Rettilineo, Canale Obliquo, Canale Longhez, all around the 45°. There are other itineraries in the Otro Valley (Passo Zube S3+, Passo della Coppa S3+, Canale Jschechette S4+), close to
Corno Bianco (). By Eliski itineraries include Il Cavallo (starting point around ), Rizzetti and Il Turlo. Extreme rides are Perazzi Couloir along
Punta Parrot (, 55°) and Sesia Couloir (60° and 65° close to the ridge) between
Punta Gnifetti
The Signalkuppe (in German language, German, pronounced seeg-nall-koo-pay) also known as Punta Gnifetti (in Italian language, Italian) (4,554 m) is a mountain, peak in the Pennine Alps on the border between Italy and Switzerland. It is a subpeak ...
() and
Punta Parrot.
Skiing in Alagna Valsesia: the Monterosa ski resort

Alagna Valsesia is part of the huge
Monterosa Ski area, a ski-resort at the feet of
Monte Rosa
Monte Rosa (; ; ; or ; ) is a mountain massif in the eastern part of the Pennine Alps, on the border between Italy (Piedmont and Aosta Valley) and Switzerland (Valais). The highest peak of the massif, amongst several peaks of over , is the D ...
which connects three different valleys in
Piedmont
Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...
and in
Aosta Valley
The Aosta Valley ( ; ; ; or ), officially the Autonomous Region of Aosta Valley, is a mountainous Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region in northwestern Italy. It is bordered by Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Fr ...
, with 180 km of runs. Through Passo dei Salati at an elevation of , Alagna is connected with
Gressoney-La-Trinité
Gressoney-La-Trinité (; Gressoney or ''Greschòney Oberteil''; ) is a town or ''comune, commune'' and renowned alpine resort at the foot of Monte Rosa in the Lys (Dora Baltea), Lys Valley, which is part of the Aosta Valley region of Northwest It ...
and
Champoluc. Since 2017, a new chair lift, brings from Cimalegna at an elevation of just above the Passo dei Salati permitting direct access to the freerides routes in the Vallone delle Pisse.
References
External links
Alagna ValsesiaFreeride ParadiseSaluti da AlagnaOfficial tourism information
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