Macugnaga
Encyclopedia
Macugnaga is a mountain village at 1327 m altitude, in the province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola
, in the north of Piedmont
region (Italy
).
It is placed at the base of Dufourspitze
4638 m, the second tallest peak in Europe, in the Monte Rosa Massif, along Anzasca valley, one of the seven valleys around the mount.
The little town, is placed in a breath-taking position, surrounded by high and wild peaks like P.Gnifetti 4559m (14952 ft), P.Zumstein 4563m (14965 ft), P.Dufour 4638m (15211 ft), P.Nordend 4612m (15126 ft), Jagerhorn 3970m (13020 ft), Cima Jazzi 3804m (12476 ft), Neue Weisstor 3642m (11945 ft), Cima di Roffel 3636m (11925 ft). In particular the town is famous for being in front of the mighty East Face of Monte Rosa Massif the tallest wall in the Alps. This wall, 2600 m high and 4 km wide, is a true monument in the history of mountaineering and it is nicknamed "The Himalayan Face of the Alps". Many famous climbers like Alessandro Gogna, Kurt Diemberger
, Hermann Buhl
, Patrick Gabarrou
, traced important itineraries along the very dangerous and steep cliffs of the wall. Many others died trying to reach the four summits at the top of the wall: Damiano Marinelli and his three companions were swept away by a huge avalanche in 1881. Casimiro Bich, Cristiano Sommaruga, Ettore Zapparoli, Gildo Burgener and others famous and skillful climbers loose their life all killed by huge avalanches. Ettore Zapparoli in particular, a musician, poet, writer, died alone in 1951, trying to win the most dangerous part of the wall, the sector under the P.Zumstein. His body was found in 2008 and buried in the mountaineering cemetery. This place, very close to the Chiesa Vecchia (the "Old Church", built in XIII century) is a moving place, where a section remember all the climbers dead on the wall.
Many monuments are present in the town: the Chiesa Vecchia and its linden of the same century (XIII sec.), the Chiesa Nuova built in 1707, the Casa Pala XVII century.
In the town there is a museum of mountaineering and in the hamlet of Borca the Walser Museum, devoted to the local German population who colonised the valley during the middle age.
The population of the area in fact was originated from the Walser
, Germanic people coming from the Swiss canton Wallis
.
The area gives many opportunities for skiing in winter (a cableway brings from the central square of the town to the 3000 m (9800 ft) of the Passo del Monte Moro on the border with Swiss, and hiking and mountaineering in summer. There are a swimming-pool, a tennis centre, a football field for sport activities.
Despite its proximity to the international Milan Malpensa Airport (100 km 62 miles), this town remains very quiet, wild and impressive for its spectacular landscape.
The village is also known for its mine (Miniera della Guia).
Between 2010 and January 2011, the italian film-maker Cristina Comencini choose Macugnaga for making her new movie called "Quando la notte" about a woman from a big city who falls in love with a local climber. She choose the place for its impressive position in her words perfect for a movie. Some years ago even the Italian soap "Cento Vetrine" recorded some episodes in Macugnaga.
Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola
Verbano-Cusio-Ossola is the northernmost province in the Italian region of Piedmont. It was created in 1996 through the fusion of three distinct regions which had previously been part of the Province of Novara...
, in the north of Piedmont
Piedmont
Piedmont is one of the 20 regions of Italy. It has an area of 25,402 square kilometres and a population of about 4.4 million. The capital of Piedmont is Turin. The main local language is Piedmontese. Occitan is also spoken by a minority in the Occitan Valleys situated in the Provinces of...
region (Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
).
It is placed at the base of Dufourspitze
Dufourspitze
Monte Rosa is the highest mountain of Switzerland, the second highest both of the Alps and western Europe. Distinguished by the name Dufourspitze, its summit is the culminating point of the Pennine Alps...
4638 m, the second tallest peak in Europe, in the Monte Rosa Massif, along Anzasca valley, one of the seven valleys around the mount.
The little town, is placed in a breath-taking position, surrounded by high and wild peaks like P.Gnifetti 4559m (14952 ft), P.Zumstein 4563m (14965 ft), P.Dufour 4638m (15211 ft), P.Nordend 4612m (15126 ft), Jagerhorn 3970m (13020 ft), Cima Jazzi 3804m (12476 ft), Neue Weisstor 3642m (11945 ft), Cima di Roffel 3636m (11925 ft). In particular the town is famous for being in front of the mighty East Face of Monte Rosa Massif the tallest wall in the Alps. This wall, 2600 m high and 4 km wide, is a true monument in the history of mountaineering and it is nicknamed "The Himalayan Face of the Alps". Many famous climbers like Alessandro Gogna, Kurt Diemberger
Kurt Diemberger
Kurt Diemberger is an accomplished Austrian mountaineer and author of several books.-Career:As of 2008, Kurt Diemberger is the only remaining person alive that made the first ascents on two mountains over 8,000 metres. In 1957, he made the first ascent of Broad Peak and in 1960, the first ascent...
, Hermann Buhl
Hermann Buhl
Hermann Buhl is considered one of the best climbers of all time. He was particularly innovative in applying alpine style to Himalayan climbing...
, Patrick Gabarrou
Patrick Gabarrou
Patrick Gabarrou is a French mountaineer and mountain guide who is credited with more than 250 first ascents, most of them in the Mont Blanc massif....
, traced important itineraries along the very dangerous and steep cliffs of the wall. Many others died trying to reach the four summits at the top of the wall: Damiano Marinelli and his three companions were swept away by a huge avalanche in 1881. Casimiro Bich, Cristiano Sommaruga, Ettore Zapparoli, Gildo Burgener and others famous and skillful climbers loose their life all killed by huge avalanches. Ettore Zapparoli in particular, a musician, poet, writer, died alone in 1951, trying to win the most dangerous part of the wall, the sector under the P.Zumstein. His body was found in 2008 and buried in the mountaineering cemetery. This place, very close to the Chiesa Vecchia (the "Old Church", built in XIII century) is a moving place, where a section remember all the climbers dead on the wall.
Many monuments are present in the town: the Chiesa Vecchia and its linden of the same century (XIII sec.), the Chiesa Nuova built in 1707, the Casa Pala XVII century.
In the town there is a museum of mountaineering and in the hamlet of Borca the Walser Museum, devoted to the local German population who colonised the valley during the middle age.
The population of the area in fact was originated from the Walser
Walser
The Walser are German-speaking people who live in the Alps of Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein and Austria. The Walser people are named after the Wallis , the uppermost Rhône River valley...
, Germanic people coming from the Swiss canton Wallis
Valais
The Valais is one of the 26 cantons of Switzerland in the southwestern part of the country, around the valley of the Rhône from its headwaters to Lake Geneva, separating the Pennine Alps from the Bernese Alps. The canton is one of the drier parts of Switzerland in its central Rhône valley...
.
The area gives many opportunities for skiing in winter (a cableway brings from the central square of the town to the 3000 m (9800 ft) of the Passo del Monte Moro on the border with Swiss, and hiking and mountaineering in summer. There are a swimming-pool, a tennis centre, a football field for sport activities.
Despite its proximity to the international Milan Malpensa Airport (100 km 62 miles), this town remains very quiet, wild and impressive for its spectacular landscape.
The village is also known for its mine (Miniera della Guia).
Between 2010 and January 2011, the italian film-maker Cristina Comencini choose Macugnaga for making her new movie called "Quando la notte" about a woman from a big city who falls in love with a local climber. She choose the place for its impressive position in her words perfect for a movie. Some years ago even the Italian soap "Cento Vetrine" recorded some episodes in Macugnaga.