Tucked inside the Parco delle
Orobie Valtellinese, the beautiful Val Madre exists as a piece of history,
having been a site of iron extraction until the early 1600s. The village at the
bottom called Fusine traces its name back to the fucine, meaning forge. The valley was also used for trading with
the Bergamo side of the Orobic Alps too.
A HIKE TO THE PASSO DI DORDONA
Val
Madre is home to several historically interesting and visually stunning walks,
but it’s hard to beat the experience of passing the well-preserved WWI
‘Northern Frontier’ trenches known as the Cadorna Line, which you’ll find after
walking from Valmadre to the top of the Passo di Dordona. A gravel track built
in 2004 takes you to the pass at 2,063 metres above sea level, before dropping
over onto a track above Foppolo in Val Brembana.
Other than the asphalted Passo
San Marco, this is the second alternative for authorised vehicles to cross the
Orobic Alps
Start:
Valmadre (buy a day-pass for the road in Fusine and drive up to
Valmadre);
Finish: Rifugio Casera di Dordona (1930 m)
Duration: 2h 40 min
Climb: 810 m
Difficulty: Hiking experience necessary
