Ponte in Valtellina

History and culture just a stone’s throw from Sondrio

 

Every corner of the busting town of Ponte in Valtellina, on the northern slopes of the valley a few kilometres east of Sondrio, is bursting with history and culture. The first building you encounter when you enter the township is the Church of the Madonna di Campagna. Continue along Via Roma and down Via Enrico Guicciardi to the 18th-century Chiesetta del Buon Consiglio, before entering the town centre and Piazza Bernardino Luini. There you’ll find an octagonal stone fountain, a covered wash house, and a monument to Giuseppe Piazzi, the internationally-renowned astronomer from Ponte who discovered the Cerere asteroid. 

The "Giuseppe Piazzi” Astronomical Observatory in the San Bernardo quarter and the Associazione Astrofili, which regularly organizes events, were both founded in his honour. 

Painted by Bernardino Luini, the frescoed lunette on the facade of the Parish Church of Saint Maurizio, the patron saint of Ponte, is a must-see. On the northern side of the square, the parish house and communal theatre house the parish museum. Take Via Ginnasio to the Church of Sant’Ignazio, which is part of the Jesuit College complex and also houses the library and ethnographic museum. The steep road paved with risc – round river stones – which winds up between the stone edifices and massive wooden portals is also named after Saint Ignazio. 

The culturally rich neighbourhood blossoms each spring with “Ponte in Fiore” a programme of events launched in 1978 to celebrate the budding of the apple blossoms and which has since become a key date on the province’s cultural calendar.