The attentive eye of the photographer captures spectacular elements in the colorful expanses of crocuses that herald the arrival of spring.
I dedicate this series of shots to those who love the wide open spaces at altitude. To those who care less about reaching the destination than about savoring the beauty of the journey, intended for the attentive observer who loves and watches with wonder the changing of the seasons and appreciates the distinct character each one offers.

The images presented in these pages were taken in Valle Spluga, a place that grants the experienced hiker endless opportunities to fully experience the mountains and their natural beauty.

One of these opportunities can be found in the valley that opens above the hamlet of Starleggia. We are in the territory of Campodolcino, on the slopes of the Lepontine Alps. In this splendid basin, spring brings a great variety of wildflowers to the pastures and meadows, marked by fresh, luminous colors that lend a lively touch of naturalness to a landscape already grand in itself. In particular, during the spring thaw — typically in April and May at these altitudes — the crocuses (Crocus albiflorus) burst into bloom.

A symbol of passionate love and carefree youth, these flowers have been known since antiquity — so much so that Homer mentions them when describing the marriage bed of Jupiter and Juno. Crocuses are true sentinels of spring, heralding its arrival by tinting the meadows white and purple. If you’re lucky enough to catch the peak bloom, which lasts about fifteen to twenty days, it will feel like stepping into a special world, capable of delighting both the eyes and the soul. I have found myself standing still for long stretches of time, watching the meadow blanketed in a dense carpet of crocuses that stretches as far as the eye can see, up to the Alpe Cusone. A delicate mantle surrounded by patches of snow and a magnificent backdrop of snow-capped mountains dominated by the imposing pyramid of Pizzo Quadro. The vast amphitheater of the valley is rewarding at any time of year, but for me it is perhaps in spring that the landscape appears at its most spectacular — when the surrounding peaks are still covered in snow and ice, in stark contrast with the valley floor and its intense green of freshly sprouted grass, as if it had truly answered spring’s traditional call, announced by the sweeping carpet of crocuses. A flowering pillow, as it were, on which to lie down and linger in contemplation.

Valchiavenna is bordered to the west by the Lepontine Alps. A crown of magnificent peaks that runs northward, touching the towns of Samolaco, Gordona, Mese, and San Giacomo Filippo, separating them from Switzerland.

From Chiavenna to the Splügen Pass, pedaling along the hairpin bends hung on granite, designed by the genius of Carlo Donegani in the first half of the 1800s. The climb to the Splügen Pass is an experience every cyclist should have at least once in their life. I’ve been cycling since I was very young, and now, having reached the age of 30, I can say I’ve collected a wide range of alpine milestones. I’ve worn the jersey of the Italian national para-cycling team, which allowed me to ride countless kilometers across Europe. In short, I’ve seen and ridden plenty of road. And yet, every time I tackle the climb to Bette — the opening act of the gradients that follow along the road from Chiavenna into Valle Spluga — I always feel that slight rush of euphoria that I don’t feel anywhere else. Maybe it’s because I feel this route is particularly my own, with its unique variety of landscapes that unfold from the 333 m of Chiavenna all the way to the almost lunar scenery of Montespluga. The stretch from Campodolcino to Pianazzo is my favorite: riding along the embroidery of hairpin bends that trace the road perched high above the valley is something surreal.

And then there’s the barren stretch from Boffalora to the flat area running alongside Lake Montespluga, with the arrival in the village: pure poetry. That’s what makes the road to the Splügen Pass unique — the journey itself, which is never the same twice, changing and transforming through the many stories that have unfolded along it. Further on, I’ve included a summary of the technical aspects of this ride, with elevation profiles, distances, and things to see. A tip for anyone thinking of planning this outing: schedule your departure from Chiavenna early in the morning. Not only will you avoid the heat (particularly intense in summer), but you’ll also get to enjoy some truly striking panoramic views, enhanced by the best light, along with the occasional sighting of roe deer and red deer along the road. Happy Pass to all.

Route

This is a destination to be worn with pride, one to mention alongside the most celebrated climbs in alpine cycling. The Splügen Pass, at 2,117 m above sea level, is one of the most important passes in the Alps, known since antiquity as a vital link between Italy and Central Europe. For bike lovers, it’s also an extraordinary landmark, having featured in more than one stage of the Giro d’Italia. Starting point: Chiavenna, at an altitude of 333 m. Those arriving by car in Chiavenna are advised to park in the large free parking area on Via Moro, just steps from the athletics track. The route is very demanding and offers very few flat stretches, with gradients touching 9%. If broken into stages, this outing can be managed in seven segments.

Unmissable sights

There are many views that make the climb to the Splügen Pass by bike truly unique. First among them: the stretch connecting Campodolcino to Pianazzo. The Splügen road was inaugurated in 1818, designed by engineer Carlo Donegani. For at least a century it played a key role in the economic and commercial development of northern Italy. Along this stretch, the road is a succession of very tight hairpin bends, carved into the sheer granite wall — a feat of engineering of the highest order. During the climb, it’s well worth stopping more than once, not only to take in the view from this vertical vantage point, but also to appreciate the extraordinary ingenuity that made this one-of-a-kind road possible.

Splügen Pass, a sublime place

On these pages, we’ve often told, through words and images, the story of the beauty found in the final stretch of the route we’re presenting here, from Montespluga to the Pass. Today the area is popular with cyclists of every kind and with trekking enthusiasts, the latter mostly immersed along the historic route of the Via Spluga. It’s quite something to ride along the final stretch of State Road 36 and think that, right here, people have passed through for centuries, starting from pre-Roman times. Illustrious figures have traveled this way, from Octavian Augustus (16–15 BC) to Flavius Stilicho between 395 and 402. There is confirmed evidence of the passage of Frederick Barbarossa, Napoleon III, and Queen Victoria. From the 16th century onward, the Splügen road held great fascination for many writers, poets, painters, philosophers, musicians, and scientists — figures such as Erasmus of Rotterdam, Ugo Foscolo, George Gordon Byron, Johannes Brahms, Friedrich Nietzsche, Giosuè Carducci, Italo Calvino, Arthur Conan Doyle, and Albert Einstein. Each of them devoted a thought to this place. Many of these are collected in the book “Spluga. Passo sublime” by Kurt Wanner, a read we highly recommend.

The Pass by bike

Today countless people take on the challenge of conquering the Splügen Pass, riding road bikes, mountain bikes, gravel bikes, or e-bikes. The technical evolution of two-wheeled vehicles has made accessible to everyone a route once reserved solely for well-trained athletes with a real passion for tough climbs. Anyone wanting to try this striking experience can also take advantage of “electric” bike rentals — Valchiavenna offers several outlets providing e-bikes of every kind. What’s more, on many summer weekends, State Road 36 is closed to car traffic along some of its most scenic stretches, giving cyclists the chance to ride toward the Pass in complete safety, free from the crowding and noise of cars.

*Stefano Tam, 30, was an athlete on the Italian National Para-cycling Team. Born in Villa di Chiavenna, he has practiced MTB and cycling all his life. Today he runs Rock Bike on Via A. Volta, 34, in Chiavenna, specializing in bike sales and servicing.*

Having the pleasure of visiting the splendid residence in the municipality of Piuro under the guidance of Ralph Oliver Gschwind Guanella offers the opportunity to appreciate details and secrets known to few.

To call Ralph Oliver Gschwind Guanella the “custodian” of Palazzo Vertemate Franchi is certainly an understatement. The fact that he has lived for years with his family within the grounds of this noble sixteenth-century residence rightfully makes him the foremost expert on the entire building. Ralph trained as a luthier at the school in Cremona, the city of Antonio Stradivari — a background that has made him a sharp and knowledgeable observer of the magnificent wooden decorations adorning the palazzo’s furnishings and splendid ceilings.

It was partly for this reason that in 2016 he was awarded the honor of Cavaliere dell’Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana (Knight of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic). This is why having the good fortune to visit the building with him — the last surviving testimony of the ancient county of Piuro, destroyed in 1618 — is a precious and unique experience, full of anecdotes and curiosities about the events and people who have passed through the palazzo over time. Palazzo Vertemate, with its vineyard, vegetable gardens, and sumptuous Italian-style gardens, represents the finest example of Renaissance architecture in the Alps. Built as a hunting residence for the brothers Luigi and Guglielmo Vertemate, the building was constructed in the early 1500s at immense financial cost. The frescoes, the refined wood carvings, and the elegant halls stand as precious testimony to the role Piuro played over the centuries — before being buried in a single night under an enormous mass of earth that erased its existence and riches forever.

The paintings on the buildings of Chiavenna’s historic center tell the story of the taste and style of an elegant town, whose nobility also expressed itself through the splendid frescoes that have resurfaced in recent years.

That Chiavenna’s historic center is the best preserved in the province of Sondrio is not a matter of opinion. Partly burned by the neighboring Grisons in 1486 during one of their probing raids, the young State would go on to conquer the town and its valley in 1512 and would promote its Renaissance reconstruction. Typical and numerous are the soapstone portals with round arches or lintels, characterized by apotropaic masks (monstrous figures meant to ward off evil spirits) and by coats of arms, often defaced at the end of the 1700s in the name of “égalité” by the Cisalpine forces who succeeded the Grisons. But what truly sets them apart are the carved inscriptions of religious or moral themes, in Latin or Italian, complete with dates: from 1517, the earliest, up to the second decade of the 1600s, with a few later examples in the following century. This was also a custom found in nearby Bregaglia, today part of Switzerland. Religious figures were also once painted on the facades, almost all of which have since vanished — but in recent decades, thanks to municipal regulations requiring preliminary test patches before restoring walls, the original sixteenth-century decoration, which had been completely whitewashed over, was recovered in two cases.

Via Dolzino no. 57
The first case, along Via Dolzino at numbers 55–57, dates back to 1999–2000 and involves a facade decorated in full except for the ground floor: monochrome paintings depicting Kings Henry III and Henry IV of France, commissioned in 1591 — as noted beneath the figure of the first king — since both rulers were known for protecting the Huguenots, as the French Calvinists were called. This choice was motivated by the fact that the commissioner was a Protestant owner from the Stampa family, to whom the house on the right also belonged, marked with the date 1588 and the family coat of arms, alongside that of his wife, a Camogli from Piuro. Below a band of bucolic scenes, two symmetrical panels depict biblical episodes in which two women saved their Jewish people: Judith, who neutralized the Assyrian siege by deceitfully killing General Holofernes — whose head appears in the sack held by the handmaid on the right — and Esther, who through prayer dissuaded her husband Ahasuerus (King Xerxes) from exterminating the Jews. The soapstone portal on the ground floor bears the name of Andrea Cortino Gaudenzetti, who became the owner of the house in 1664. The sun carved at the center refers to this family’s coat of arms.

Piazza Pestalozzi nos. 1 and 2
The second, more recent discovery concerns a facade at “il Cantón” (Piazza Pestalozzi, numbers 1 and 2). On the three floors above ground level, a series of frescoes came to light in 2022. Between two floors decorated with monochrome motifs — diamond-shaped prisms alternating with circular patterns featuring four smaller circles at the corners — three scenes inspired by the Annunciation have emerged. On the left, the angel Gabriel, holding the customary lily, stands on a black-and-white checkered floor in a vaulted room, announcing the birth of Jesus to the Madonna, who kneels at the other end, hands crossed over her chest, before a lectern, within a portico with red brick walls and Corinthian-capitaled columns. At the center, the figure of God the Father has his right hand turned toward the Madonna, within a cloud from which rays radiate down toward the world below, represented by a landscape of houses and a three-tiered meadow, through which a stream flows. Everything points to a dating of the paintings to the 1500s. The soapstone portal giving access from the side street, Via Suor Maria Laura Mainetti, also bears the date 1598 carved at the center of the arch. These two house walls in the heart of Chiavenna are the only surviving examples of sixteenth-century frescoes in the historic center, of considerable artistic and visual value, to which others may yet be added — as already suggested by test patches carried out on the Lumaga houses (nos. 87 and 89) and the Stampa houses (nos. 60 and 62) on the same “Paart de mèz.” Together with the “Protestant” wall mentioned earlier, this constitutes the second known example of sixteenth-century frescoes in the historic center, of significant historical, artistic, and visual value. These extraordinary decorations, reflecting the taste and sensibility of the city’s wealthiest families during an important period in Chiavenna’s history, are well worth close observation.

Valchiavenna is bordered to the west by the Lepontine Alps. A crown of magnificent peaks that runs northward, touching the towns of Samolaco, Gordona, Mese, and San Giacomo Filippo, separating them from Switzerland.

In this vast geographical area, a number of already existing trails linking mountain pastures and small hamlets have been connected, giving rise to a route known as the “Mezza costa delle Lepontine” (Lepontine Midslope Trail). A spectacular journey, a unique experience to complete in a single day, crossing places and views of rare beauty. In the version presented here, the route is suited to experienced walkers willing to commit 5-6 hours. Also, given its layout, it’s advisable to arrange the return trip with a second car or by public transport (scheduled bus).

San Pietro – Sorboggia
This itinerary begins at San Pietro, in the municipality of Samolaco. It starts from the hamlet of Ronscione (293 meters) and climbs gradually northward, until crossing the ridge that opens the route into Val Bodengo. You reach Sorboggia, set at 880 meters of altitude. The spot offers splendid views, such as the Ponte del Vallone, a wonderful stone arch bridge, absolutely worth photographing from its finest angles.

Orlo – Cermine
The trail continues over a series of ups and downs toward the opposite side of Val Bodengo. The destination is the Orlo alpine pasture, at 1,165 meters. The valley is rugged, but there’s no shortage of views opening onto Valchiavenna and the surrounding peaks. Enchanting. From Orlo, the trail climbs further toward Cermine, 1,346 meters, reaching a splendid natural terrace in a strategic position offering an unmatched view.

Cigolino – Sommarovina
After crossing the Cermine ridge, you enter the Menarola valley. Through varying gradients, you reach the Cigolino rise (1,165 meters). From here, the route begins to descend — albeit only briefly — below 1,000 meters, heading toward the small village of Sommarovina (956 meters). Besides offering a chance to rest and recharge, the hamlet is well worth a short visit. Among the not-to-be-missed sights is the fresco of the Last Judgment in the cemetery chapel: a striking and unique depiction in its simplicity.

Olmo – San Bernardo – San Rocco
By this point, the route has reached Valle Spluga. Three more hours of walking are needed to complete the Mezza costa delle Lepontine itinerary, ending at Gallivaggio. From Olmo to San Bernardo, you walk along the municipal road. The descent toward the valley floor begins here, passing through a succession of hanging groves.