31 chapters
17 hour read
Selected Chapters
31 chapters
ITALIAN ALPS
ITALIAN ALPS
LONDON: PRINTED BY SPOTTISWOODE AND CO., NEW-STREET SQUARE AND PARLIAMENT STREET F. F. Tuckett delt. THE CIMA TOSA, From Val di Brenta ITALIAN ALPS SKETCHES IN THE MOUNTAINS OF TICINO, LOMBARDY, THE TRENTINO, AND VENETIA BY DOUGLAS W. FRESHFIELD AUTHOR OF 'TRAVELS IN THE CAUCASUS AND BASHAN' AND EDITOR OF 'THE ALPINE JOURNAL' Over the great windy waters, and over the clear-crested summits Unto the sun and the sky, and unto the perfecter earth Clough THE PUNTA TRUBINESCA AND CIMA DI TSCHINGEL, FR
39 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
NOTE.
NOTE.
The First Chapter is reprinted with corrections and additions from 'Fraser's Magazine.' The Thirteenth and fragments of one or two others have previously appeared in the 'Alpine Journal,' from which three of the illustrations have also been borrowed. The remaining seven have been engraved for this work under the care of Mr. G. Pearson . The heights throughout the book and in all the maps are given in English feet....
20 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
PREFACE.
PREFACE.
I owe a double apology for the publication of this volume; in the first place to the public, secondly to my friends. 'Mountaineering' has been by this time fully described by very competent writers. No new book is likely to have any chance of rivalling the popularity of the first series of 'Peaks, Passes, and Glaciers,' or of the dramatic story of the Matterhorn, as told and illustrated by Mr. E. Whymper. There is no longer the least novelty in the small feats of gymnastics annually performed, o
10 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER I. VAL MAGGIA.
CHAPTER I. VAL MAGGIA.
Huge mountains of immeasurable height Encompass'd all the level valley round With mighty slabs of rock that sloped upright, An insurmountable enormous bound;— That vale was so sequester'd and secluded, All search for ages past it had eluded. Hookham Frere. VAL MAGGIA—BIGNASCO—VAL LAVIZZARA—THE BASODINE—VAL BAVONA—PIZ CAMPO TENCCA—VAL DI PRATO. The typical Alpine Clubman has been somewhere described by Mr. Anthony Trollope as cherishing in his bosom, through the ten months of each year in which t
2 hour read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER II. VAL VERZASCA AND VAL CANOBBINA.
CHAPTER II. VAL VERZASCA AND VAL CANOBBINA.
On our other side is the straight-up rock, And a path is kept 'twixt the gorge and it By boulderstones, where lichens mock The marks on a moth, and small ferns fit Their teeth to the polished block. R. Browning. PASSO DI REDORTA—VAL VERZASCA—A BROKEN ROAD—LOCARNO—VAL CANOBBINA—VAL VIGEZZO. Val Maggia is not the only unknown valley which opens on the famous lake. Close beside it, and hemmed in between its mountains and those on the west of Val Leventina, lies a still narrower and more obscure rec
32 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER III. WEST OF THE BERNINA. THE PEAKS AND PASSES OF VAL MASINO.[12]
CHAPTER III. WEST OF THE BERNINA. THE PEAKS AND PASSES OF VAL MASINO.[12]
Il montera, descendra, traversera, remontera, redescendra, retraversera, etcetera. — French Play. And when I most go here and there, I then do most go right. Shakespeare. THE MOUNTAINS OF VAL MASINO—THE AVERSTHAL—MADRISER PASS—VAL BREGAGLIA—ZOCCA PASS—PROMONTOGNO—VAL BONDASCA—PASSO DI FERRO—BAGNI DEL MASINO—PASSO DI MONTE SISSONE—THE FORNO GLACIER. To the crowd, which having sat down in a draught on the roof of Europe spends its time mostly in bemoaning the cold, to the water-drinkers of St. Mor
2 hour read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER IV. THE PEAKS AND PASSES OF VAL MASINO (continued).
CHAPTER IV. THE PEAKS AND PASSES OF VAL MASINO (continued).
Hee's a foole who basely dallies Where each peasant mates with him; Shall I haunt the thronged vallies Whilst ther's noble hils to climbe? George Withers. CHIAREGGIO—PASSO DI MELLO—PASSO DI BONDO—CIMA DEL LARGO—VAL MASINO—PUNTA TRUBINESCA—MONTE DELLA DISGRAZIA—THE APPROACH TO SONDRIO—A REPLY. The following year found me in company with Mr. Tuckett, at the head of the western branch of Val Malenco, the valley on the south of the central mass of the Bernina. Our original companions in a campaign,
2 hour read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER V. EAST OF THE BERNINA. TARASP AND THE LIVIGNO DISTRICT.
CHAPTER V. EAST OF THE BERNINA. TARASP AND THE LIVIGNO DISTRICT.
—— Comest thou To see strange forests and new snows And tread uplifted land? Emerson. THE PRÄTIGAU—VERSTANKLA THOR—TARASP—PIZ PISOC—PASSO DEL DIAVEL—LIVIGNO—MONTE ZEMBRASCA—PASSO DI DOSDÈ—VAL GROSINA. In the last two chapters I have sketched a route from the highway of traffic and tourists—the Rhine valley—to the Italian Alps, passing to the west of the crowded roads which lead to the Upper Engadine. My design now is to point out a similar track lying to the east both of the Julier and the Albul
2 hour read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER VI. THE BERGAMASQUE MOUNTAINS.
CHAPTER VI. THE BERGAMASQUE MOUNTAINS.
Up, where the lofty citadel O'erlooks the surging landscape's swell; Let not unto the stones the day Her land and sea, her lily and rose display. Emerson. VAL D'ESINO—THE GRIGNA—INTROBBIO—FORCELLA DI CEDRINO—VAL TORTA—AN OLD TRAVELLER—VAL BREMBANA—BRANZI—PASSO DI GORNIGO—GROMO—VAL SERIANA—BONDIONE—MONTE GLENO—VAL BELVISO. The sharpest form of pain has in all ages been imagined under the figure of a man with the object of his most eager desire ever dangling before his eyes but out of reach. If—ma
2 hour read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER VII. VAL CAMONICA AND THE GIUDICARIA.
CHAPTER VII. VAL CAMONICA AND THE GIUDICARIA.
Vineyards and maize, that's pleasant for sore eyes.— Clough. THE APRICA PASS—EDOLO—VAL CAMONICA—CEDEGOLO—VAL SAVIORE—LAGO D'ARNO—MONTE CASTELLO—VAL DI FUM—VAL DAONE—LAGO DI LEDRO—RIVA—THE GORGES OF THE SARCA—VAL RENDENA—THE PRA FIORI—VAL D'ALGONE—STENICO—THE HIGH ROAD TO TRENT. Our acquaintances might, I sometimes fancy, be roughly divided into two classes. There are some who find sympathy in inanimate nature by itself; there are many to whom the universe speaks only through the person of their
2 hour read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER VIII. THE PRESANELLA AND VAL DI GENOVA.
CHAPTER VIII. THE PRESANELLA AND VAL DI GENOVA.
All the peaks soar, but one the rest excels; Clouds overcome it.— R. Browning. ENGLISH AND GERMAN MOUNTAINEERS—THE LOMBARD ALPS FROM MONTE ROSA—NOMENCLATURE—GAVIA PASS—PONTE DI LEGNO—TONALE PASS—VERMIGLIO—VAL PRESANELLA—THE PRESANELLA—PASSO DI CERCEN—VAL DI GENOVA. The races of English and German mountaineers, after making due allowance for the exceptions which there are to every rule, will be found respectively to embody many of the characteristics of the two nations. Our Alpine Clubman affords
2 hour read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER IX. THE ADAMELLO AND CARÈ ALTO.
CHAPTER IX. THE ADAMELLO AND CARÈ ALTO.
Close to the sun in lonely lands Ring'd with the azure world he stands.— Tennyson. A TYROLESE PORTER—THE BEDOLE ALP—THE ADAMELLO—VAL MILLER—VAL DI MALGA—VAL DI BORZAGO—THE CARÈ ALTO—A HIGH-LEVEL ROUTE—PASSO DI MANDRON—VAL D'AVIO. A year after the ascent of the Presanella I again found myself at the head of Val di Genova, one of a formidable party of seven, including two Swiss guides and a Tyrolese porter. Gutmann was something of a character. A native of Berchtesgaden, in the Bavarian Tyrol, he
52 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER X. PINZOLO AND CAMPIGLIO.
CHAPTER X. PINZOLO AND CAMPIGLIO.
For August be your dwelling thirty towers Within an Alpine valley mountainous, Where never the sea wind may vex your house, But clear life, separate, like a star, be yours. So alway drawing homeward ye shall tread, Your valley parted by a rivulet, Which day and night shall flow sedate and smooth, There all through noon ye may possess the shade. Folgore da san Gemignano, A.D. 1260 ; PINZOLO—THE CHURCHES OF VAL RENDENA—HISTORY AND LEGENDS—VAL NAMBINO—THE BRENTA GROUP—LA MADONNA DI CAMPIGLIO—HOSPIC
45 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER XI. THE BRENTA GROUP.[58]
CHAPTER XI. THE BRENTA GROUP.[58]
The mighty pyramids of stone Which wedgelike cleave the desert airs, When nearer seen and better known Are but gigantic flights of stairs.— Longfellow. VAL DI BRENTA—BOCCA DEI CAMOZZI—VAL AGOLA—PASSO D'AMBIES—VAL DI SOLE—GINEVRIE PASS—CIMA DI BRENTA—PASSO DI GROSTÈ—VAL TERESENGA—MOLVENO—CIMA TOSA—BOCCA DI BRENTA. It was from Pinzolo that we first started for the Bocca di Brenta. On the evening of our ascent of the Presanella we sent François to enquire about the pass, our only knowledge of which
2 hour read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER XII. THE PASSES OF PRIMIERO.
CHAPTER XII. THE PASSES OF PRIMIERO.
Past those jagged spires, where yet Foot of man was never set; Past a castle yawning wide, With a great breach in its side, To a nest-like valley.— J. Ingelow. The rede is ryfe that oftentime Great clymbers fall unsoft.— Spenser. THE LOWER PASSES—PANEVEGGIO—SAN MARTINO DI CASTROZZA—THE PATHS TO AGORDO—VAL DI SAN LUCANO—PASSO DI CANALE—PASSO DELLE CORNELLE—PASSO DI TRAVIGNOLO—CIMA DI VEZZANA. Some time since a nineteenth-century Arthur, an enemy of shams moral or mountainous and a President of th
2 hour read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER XIII. THE PELMO AND VAL DI ZOLDO.
CHAPTER XIII. THE PELMO AND VAL DI ZOLDO.
Lacs de moire, coteaux bleus, Ciel où le nuage passe, Large espace, Monts aux rochers anguleux.— Théophile Gautier. THE VENETIAN TYROL—VAL DI ZOLDO—PASSO D'ALLEGHE—SAN NICOLÒ—CAMPO DI RUTORTO—ON THE PELMO—A LADY'S ASCENT—THE PEOPLE OF VAL DI ZOLDO. Even in the Venetian Tyrol the tendency of tourists to choose the colder pine-clad north in place of the more tender and varied grace of the south has become observable. Cortina, Caprile, and the Val Fassa are even now on the, in everything but prices
50 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER XIV. MEN AND MOUNTAINS.
CHAPTER XIV. MEN AND MOUNTAINS.
What, I pray you, is more pleasant, more delectable and more acceptable unto a man than to behold the height of hills as if they were the very Atlantes themselves of heaven? Art thou in nature, and yet hast not known nature? Hermann Kirchner , circa A.D. 1600. MEN AND MOUNTAINS—MOUNTAIN-HATERS—A LITERARY EXAMPLE—POETS AND PAINTERS—THE PLACE OF ART—ALPINE SCENERY AND ART—THE VARIETY OF THE ALPS—THE SNOW WORLD—MONS. LOPPÉ'S PICTURES—CONCLUSION. Switzerland, from a distance practically beyond that
46 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
APPENDICES.
APPENDICES.
The following notes have been framed for use with the 'Alpine Guide,' and make no pretence to be complete in themselves. Besides the necessary references to Mr. Ball's book, they consist of such corrections and additions as I should have supplied had a new edition been in immediate prospect. The edition referred to is that in 10 small sections (2 s. 6 d. each), Longmans & Co., 1873. The sections which include the country here dealt with are three—'The St. Gothard and Italian Lakes,' 'Eas
42 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTERS I., II. VAL MAGGIA—VAL VERZASCA—VAL CANOBBINA.
CHAPTERS I., II. VAL MAGGIA—VAL VERZASCA—VAL CANOBBINA.
From central Switzerland by the St. Gothard road or Gries (mule-pass); from the west by the Simplon road and Val Formazza; from the south by Lago Maggiore. There is an omnibus twice daily up Val Maggia between Locarno and Bignasco, and once daily between Bignasco and Fusio, to which the carriage-road now extends. The carriage-road in Val Verzasca extends to Sonogno, but there is no public conveyance beyond Lavertezzo. The carriage-road up Val Onsernone is open as far as Comologno. The road from
1 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTERS III., IV. THE PEAKS AND PASSES OF VAL MASINO.
CHAPTERS III., IV. THE PEAKS AND PASSES OF VAL MASINO.
The villages of Val Bregaglia are half-a-day's drive from Pontresina or St. Moritz, or, coming the opposite way, two or three hours from Chiavenna. The baths of Masino are a short day's drive from Colico, or about five hours from Sondrio. The road to the Baths is the only one inside the district practicable for carriages. Bregaglia. See 'Alpine Guide,' p. 386. Val Masino. Val Malenco. Val Codera. No good glacier guides are to be found in Val Masino or Val Bregaglia. At Chiesa in Val Malenco ther
2 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER V. TARASP AND THE LIVIGNO DISTRICT.
CHAPTER V. TARASP AND THE LIVIGNO DISTRICT.
From the Rheinthal by the Prätigau and Fluela roads. From the Tyrolese Innthal by the new road from the Finstermünz through the Lower Engadine. From the Etschthal (Vintschgau), by the Münsterthal and Ofen road (now practicable for carriages, and crossed by a diligence), or by the Stelvio road to the Baths of Bormio. The high-roads of the Val Tellina and Bernina Pass skirt the district on the S. and W. Klosters. Lower Engadine. Fluela Pass, carriage-road. Vereina Pass, Klosters—Süs; rough walk. V
1 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER VI. BERGAMASQUE VALLEYS.
CHAPTER VI. BERGAMASQUE VALLEYS.
The Milan-Lecco and Milan-Bergamo railroads, the Val Tellina; the high-roads from Bergamo, Brescia, and the Val Camonica to Clusone; Varenna and Bellano on the Lago di Como, are also good starting-points. There are carriage-roads up all the main valleys, but none between them, except in the case of Val Seriana and Val di Scalve. Esino. Food for the Grigna can be procured at the first house in the upper village (1874). Introbbio. The Albergo delle Miniere is closed, and there is only a very indif
1 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTERS VII., VIII., IX., X., XI. ADAMELLO AND BRENTA GROUPS.
CHAPTERS VII., VIII., IX., X., XI. ADAMELLO AND BRENTA GROUPS.
From the Engadine by the Bernina and Aprica Passes, 2 days' drive from Pontresina to Edolo. From Lago di Como by the Val Tellina and Aprica Pass, a day and a half's drive from Colico to Edolo. From Bergamo or Brescia by Lago d'Iseo and Val Camonica, a day and a half's drive to Edolo. From Brescia by Lago d'Idro and Tione to Pinzolo, 2 days' drive. From Riva by Lago di Ledro and Tione, a day and a half's drive, or by Alle Sarche, a day's drive, to Campiglio. From Trent by Vezzano and Alle Sarche
56 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
Passes.
Passes.
Passo delle Malghette. Passo di Cercen. Passo di Presena. Bocchetta di Marocaro , &c. See 'Alpine Guide,' p. 476. Passo del Mandron. Passo d'Avio. Passo d'Adamello. Passo d'Adame. Passo di Fum. Passo di San Valentino. See 'Alpine Guide,' p. 480. Passo di Breguzzo. High-level route from Val di Borzago to Val d'Avio . Presanella , 11,688 ft.—3 routes. Adamello , 11,637 ft.—5 routes. A good day's walk for an active mountaineer, from the Bedole Alp, over the Adamello, to Ponte di Legno, Edol
2 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER XII. THE PRIMIERO DISTRICT.
CHAPTER XII. THE PRIMIERO DISTRICT.
From the West. From the South. From the East. From the North. Paneveggio. San Martino di Castrozza. Agordo. Passo di Gosaldo. { Passo di Cereda. { Passo di Costonzella. Passo di Valles. Passo di Travignolo. Passo delle Cornelle. Passo ? Passo di Val Pravitale. Passo di Canale. The passes between the Primiero valley and Val di Mel await exploration. The route over Monte Pavione is described in the 'Alpine Guide,' p. 456. Cima Fuocobono. Unascended. Cima di Vezzana. Easy from Gares by the route of
1 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHAPTER XIII. VAL DI ZOLDO.
CHAPTER XIII. VAL DI ZOLDO.
See 'Alpine Guide,' p. 524. A good new Inn, Hotel Antelao, has lately been opened at San Vito, on the Ampezzo road. Val di Zoldo is enclosed on three sides between the carriage-road of the Val d'Agordo and the Ampezzo, 'strada regia,' and on the fourth by the mule-pass from S. Vito to Caprile. It is only accessible by horse-paths, and the best starting-points are Longarone, Tai di Cadore, San Vito, Caprile, and Agordo. Pelmo , 10,377 ft. See p. 314 and 'Alpine Guide,' p. 525; 1st column, 13 line
1 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
APPENDIX B. PICTURES AND ANTIQUITIES OF THE BERGAMASQUE VALLEYS.
APPENDIX B. PICTURES AND ANTIQUITIES OF THE BERGAMASQUE VALLEYS.
Alzano Maggiore (5 kilomètres N. of Bergamo). In the parish church, fine picture of Lorenzo Lotto representing St. Peter Martyr (see Crowe and Cavalcaselle, 'History of Painting in North Italy,' vol. ii. p 545), and another worth notice by Appiani. The pulpit in marble, with Caryatids and bass-reliefs by Andrea Fantoni. In the sacristy, a set of most beautiful carvings and inlaid works by Fantoni and Caniana, of the seventeenth century. Olera (5 kilomètres N. of Alzano). Altarpiece with carvings
5 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
APPENDIX C. ROUTES FROM SANTA CATARINA TO VAL DI SOLE.
APPENDIX C. ROUTES FROM SANTA CATARINA TO VAL DI SOLE.
The following notes of two routes from Santa Catarina to Val di Sole may be useful to good walkers who wish to avoid the long circuit by the Gavia and Tonale or the dull Passo dei Tre Signori. I. Santa Catarina to Pejo, by the Pizzo della Mare (Punta di San Matteo of Payer). The ascent of this peak from the Gavia Glacier is an easy but interesting walk, and the view on a clear day unsurpassed in extent in the Alps, reaching from Monte Viso to the Ankogel above Gastein. The summit is at times a g
3 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
APPENDIX D. THE CHURCHES OF VAL RENDENA.
APPENDIX D. THE CHURCHES OF VAL RENDENA.
By the kindness of Signori Marchetti and Meneguzzi, the President and Secretary of the Trentine Alpine Society, I am able to furnish the following copy of the inscription in San Stefano. They warn me that the transcription is probably not altogether accurate. Having received it only at the last moment before publication, I have been unable to consider it as carefully as I should have wished:— ' Hæc est copia privilegi Sancti Stephani de Randena. Carulus Magnus de Francia [79] constituit conscili
28 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
APPENDIX E. THE NOMENCLATURE OF THE BRENTA GROUP.
APPENDIX E. THE NOMENCLATURE OF THE BRENTA GROUP.
There has been much confusion of late years as to the names to be given to the two highest summits of this range, which stand respectively N. and S.W. of the Bocca di Brenta. The old and very incorrect Government Map of Tyrol gives the name of Cima Tosa to the N. peak, and none to the S. and highest. Mr. Ball, the first mountaineer who explored this country, adhered, on his first visit, to the name given by the Survey to the N. peak, and to the S. gave the name of Cima di Brenta or Brenta Alta.
6 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
APPENDIX F. TYROL v. TIROL.
APPENDIX F. TYROL v. TIROL.
I ought perhaps briefly to notice this lately raised question of orthography, and to explain the grounds on which I decline to follow the example set by two authoresses, who seem anxious to introduce into our literature the confusion which already prevails in Germany as to the correct spelling of the name of this province. If it could be proved that 'Tirol' was the invariable local and German spelling, as Miss Busk seems to fancy it is, there would at least be a good argument for changing our pr
1 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter