Mercatorum Archivi - Vie Storiche Valle Brembana

Serina

cmvb_admin — Mon, 03 Oct 2022 15:01:45 +0000

Continuing up along the valley floor, the Mercatorum Way then enters the municipality of Serina. The route avoids the provincial road, crossing river Serina just above Rosolo and climbing up the left bank on an old mule track immersed in woodland. After moving higher, the path leaves the woods in the outskirts of the hamlet of Bagnella, and then follows the asphalted municipal road until it enters the main town. At Serina, the low-altitude variant of the Mercatorum Way joins the high-altitude variant arriving from Trafficanti, before continuing towards the Crocetta Pass and Dossena.

L'articolo Serina proviene da Vie Storiche Valle Brembana.

San Giovanni Bianco

cmvb_admin — Mon, 03 Oct 2022 14:43:15 +0000

The variant of the Mercatorum Way that branches off at Dossena reaches the floor of the Brembo valley at San Giovanni Bianco, after having gone through San Gallo. The ancient route coincides partly with today’s roads. In the section along the Piazzo Valley, there is a lovely stretch of paved mule track, which ends at the recent housing developments in San Giovanni Bianco. The Ponte Vecchio bridge brings this section of the Mercatorum Way onto the same route of the Priula Way hiking itinerary. It is useful to remember that from San Giovanni Bianco to Cornello, the route of the Mercatorum Way follows the path of the Priula Way hiking path. In this case, we are referring to today’s current hiking routes and not the original historic route of the Priula Way, which follows the course of the state road 470.

L'articolo San Giovanni Bianco proviene da Vie Storiche Valle Brembana.

Santa Brigida

cmvb_admin — Mon, 03 Oct 2022 14:36:33 +0000

The Upper Val Mora valley, with the Piano dell’Acqua Nera (Acqua Nera Plateau) and the vast Alpe Cul (Alpe Cul mountain pasture) is divided between the municipality of Santa Brigida, where the peak of Monte Colombarolo (alt. 2,117 metres) is a distinctive landscape feature, along with the municipality of Averara. The artificial Val Mora lake, built in the 1950s, altered the valley’s landscape and also changed the course of the mule tracks. Basically, at the foot of the present dam, two routes branched off from the track arriving from the lower part of the valley: one went to the right towards Ca’ San Marco and the San Marco Pass; the other ran to the left towards the Verrobbio Pass, also known as the Morbegno Pass, and Val Gerola. The road for vehicles that now leads to the dam connects to the state road SS 470 at the San Marco 2000 mountain lodge, while at Ponte Superiore dell’Acqua on the same road, the CAI 110A path named “Alta Via Mercatorum” (high-altitude Mercatorum Way) branches off, leading to the aforementioned Verrobbio Pass (alt. 2,026 metres). The situation illustrated by the 1819 Austro-Hungarian survey reflects the road network at that time, when the branch for the Verrobbio Pass was not where the dam is today, but at Ca’ San Marco (today reached by CAI trails 101 – 161).

L'articolo Santa Brigida proviene da Vie Storiche Valle Brembana.

Olmo al Brembo

cmvb_admin — Mon, 03 Oct 2022 14:34:05 +0000

As many of three of the historic trails run through Olmo al Brembo. The Priula Way, the Iron Way and the Mercatorum Way all reach the main town. The latter, according to the choice of routes suggested by the current situation, uses path 129A from Piazza Brembana, which from the high slopes of Corna Rossa descends into the town. Therefore, in the absence of any precise historical tracks that could be reinstated, the CAI path 105B was chosen, relatively easy to walk after having improved the safety of some short intermediate stretches located after the rock arch. In order to avoid having to walk along the road, albeit for just a short stretch, hikers can go right to the end of Via Portici, reaching the bridge over the river Acqua Nera, and, without crossing it, proceeding directly on the path leading to the roadway.

L'articolo Olmo al Brembo proviene da Vie Storiche Valle Brembana.

Dossena

cmvb_admin — Mon, 03 Oct 2022 13:33:26 +0000

In its transversal direction, the Mercatorum Way crosses the Val Serina valley, moving towards the Val Brembana valley on the raised plateau of Dossena, on the north side of Monte Castello. The end of the route is on the Crocetta Pass, a historic point of passage not only for the Mercatorum Way but also for many other transhumance routes heading for Oltre il Colle. The village of Dossena, benefiting from slopes well positioned in relation to the sun, has dispersed over the years to form a series of small and attractive groups of buildings, now part of a modern but still low-density urbanised area. The ancient road, unlike the “high-altitude” route that exists today, ran past the San Giovanni Battista (Saint John the Baptist) parish church buildings, and then continued, as it does today, towards Villa – the oldest inhabited settlement – and on to Pignolino and Bosco in Fuori. Some branches leaving the path, even though included in the current project for promoting the Mercatorum Way, reached the Brembano valley floor via San Gallo. It is worth noting that for much of the route, hikers are walking at above 1,000 metres altitude.

L'articolo Dossena proviene da Vie Storiche Valle Brembana.

Costa Serina

cmvb_admin — Mon, 03 Oct 2022 13:18:14 +0000

The path, arriving from Aviatico, enters the municipal territory of Costa Serina at the church of San Rocco. “From the plain,” states the Costa Serina municipality’s website, “it wasn’t possible to ascend directly along the river Brembo; there were natural obstructions that were impossible to overcome at that time, especially at Sedrina, where the river had carved its course deep into the rocks and left no space for any passage. Similarly, to ascend the Val Serina from below, one immediately encountered the rock barrier at Ambria, which was tunnelled only in modern times. To reach the mines of Dossena, the route followed the Val Seriana valley road as far as Nembro, then ascended to Selvino, crossed the basin following the itinerary running through Rigosa, Sambusita, Bracca, Frerola and Serina, and finally approached Dossena. Many centuries later, this route would be shortened, by creating a connection between Serina and Cornalba, so that the track could continue halfway up the mountainside towards Trafficanti, Aviatico and Selvino.”
The Mercatorum Way principally follows the slope below the Monte Suchello ridge, descending from an altitude of 1,021 metres at San Rocco to 780 metres after Tagliata on the border with Cornalba. Its distinctive feature is the fact that it runs through several ancient settlements, whose urban layout corresponds precisely to the ancient road system, as in the case of Tagliata, whose name, which can be translated as “cut,” is a reference to the road’s route.
It should be noted that a large proportion of the route follows asphalted provincial or municipal roads, as it would currently be difficult to identify alternative footpaths.
For some time, the municipality of Costa Serina has been pursuing a policy of recovering local historical paths. One of these is now called the “Sentiero del sole e dei sensi” (Path of the sun and the senses) and this also includes part of the Mercatorum Way. In addition, the publication of a Map of Paths, also available online, proposes four other circular routes in the municipal territory. Lastly, the municipality of Costa Serina also suggests a “high-altitude” variant of the Mercatorum Way, from Sant’Erasmo to the Forcella shrine. This route is shown as being the main axis of the Mercatorum Way shown on the 1:28,800-scale map of Lombardy-Veneto, from the 1819 survey.

L'articolo Costa Serina proviene da Vie Storiche Valle Brembana.

Averara

cmvb_admin — Mon, 03 Oct 2022 10:37:22 +0000

Before the construction of the Priula Way in the Mezzoldo Valley, there is reason to believe that much of the traffic of goods and people transiting the Orobic slopes passed through the Averara Valley. This traffic is recalled by the “trade” portico in the old centre of Averara, a significant relic, and likewise the customs house and sections of the original paving. While for the section above the main town it was possible to identify and follow the historically documented route relatively easily, at least up to the foot of the Val Mora dam, this was not the case for the section from Olmo al Brembo to Averara for which a CAI path signed as number 105 B was chosen and made accessible, on condition that some short, exposed (marked in the respective Table 8) and unsafe sections were remedied. It should be noted that the route in Val Mora is shared with the municipality of Santa Brigida: the section from the Caprile bridge to the Ponte dell’Acqua bridge on the right bank of the river Mora is in this municipality; the sections, on roads suitable for wheeled traffic from the main town of Averara to the Caprile bridge, and on footpaths, from the Ponte dell’Acqua bridge to the Val Mora dam, are in the territory of Averara. The description below follows this subdivision. The Val Mora path is signed as CAI 110.

L'articolo Averara proviene da Vie Storiche Valle Brembana.

Algua

cmvb_admin — Mon, 03 Oct 2022 09:59:04 +0000

The municipal territory of Algua with the main village extends along the right bank of river Serina. The route of the Mercatorum Way, arriving from the Ambriola Valley, therefore runs along this slope, connecting a number of hamlets halfway up the hillside, such as Pagliaro and Frerola, then descending again to the bottom of the valley and entering the municipality of Serina at the bridge over the Valle Scura valley. The route alternates between asphalted, but low-traffic sections of road (except for the final stretch on the SP 27 provincial road), and stretches of ancient pedestrian paths.

L'articolo Algua proviene da Vie Storiche Valle Brembana.

Cornalba

cmvb_admin — Mon, 03 Oct 2022 09:55:28 +0000

Over the centuries, the Mercatorum Way has helped to shape the settlement of Cornalba, a municipality located on the western slopes of Monte Alben. In fact, the old centre follows the historic route, also connecting the districts of Gardati, Passoni, Ola and Pagliarolo, on an area of flat ground with heights varying from 750 to 800 metres. Cornalba, and above all the location Gardati, was one of the most important locations for recreation and trade along the Mercatorum Way in the Middle Ages. Some authentic remains of the track can still be seen in the hamlet of Passoni (it is thought that this name was derived from the Tasso family). The village of Cornalba also saw tragic events linked to the Resistance struggle in the Bergamo area. In 1944, Fascist gangs tortured and killed several partisans. The ancient coat of arms of Cornalba, which can be found in Camozzi’s 1888 index of emblems, consists of a mountain between two fir trees and a basket or cavagna, on which a dove, symbol of peace, is standing. This indicates that the noble Cavanis or Cavagnis families originated from the municipality of Cornalba. The proposed route, in order to follow the historically documented track, must necessarily follow the ordinary road network for long stretches, with just a few sections running along paths. For this reason, there have been suggestions to promote an alternative route running a little higher and parallel to the road, accessible from the cemetery of Cornalba, and known as the “Cornalba-Serina Track.”

L'articolo Cornalba proviene da Vie Storiche Valle Brembana.

Piazza Brembana

cmvb_admin — Mon, 26 Sep 2022 08:27:19 +0000

The presence of the main town in the upper valley affects the route of the Priula Way, which follows the historical path closely up to the church of San Carlo and on through the subsequent districts of Pissamora, Vacchera and Mostacina. Then, in order to avoid the provincial road towards Olmo, the route diverts to the right bank of the river Brembo di Mezzoldo, by means of a metal footbridge, intersecting the CAI n° 127A path. In the forest, the track climbs and peaks at an altitude of about 680 metres, near the municipal boundary, and then descends towards Cugno di Sotto.

L'articolo Piazza Brembana proviene da Vie Storiche Valle Brembana.