Excursions in the Ossolano Valleys – Valle Vigezzo
The Ossolan Valleys are seven Ossolan valleys that run from the Toche River (which flows into Lake Maggiore) towards the Pennine and Lepontine Alps: Valle Vigezzo, Valle Antigorio, Valle Formazza, Valle Diwedro, Valle Bonianco, Valle Antrona, Valle Anzasca.
Valle Vigezzo is located 60 kilometres from Stresa.
Because of its picturesque landscapes and the many artists who come from this valley, Valle Vigezzo is also known as the “Valley of Artists”.
Why Valle Vigezzo is the Valley of Artists:
In the 17th century, local artists learnt their basic skills in the town’s bottega workshops and then painted frescoes on facades, chapels, portraits and landscapes. The craft was passed on from father to son. Sotta, Rastellini, Peretti. The houses in the valley still have frescoes and it can be seen that over time, new ones appear. And the paintings of the artists are kept by the Scuola di Belle Arti “Rossetti Valentini” art school. It was opened in 1878 by the painter Giovanni Maria Rossetti Valentini in Santa Maria Maggiore. Over time it became the artistic and intellectual centre of the valley.
The town of Santa Maria Maggiore, the capital of the valley, impresses with its rich architecture of painted houses. Santa Maria Maggiore has 1301 inhabitants, three museums and 4 festivals every year. The facades of the houses in Santa Maria Maggiore are decorated with frescoes. For example, above the entrance to the Casa De Magistris the artist Lorenzo Peretti in 1810 recreated a copy of Raphael’s painting “Madonna in an armchair”.
The tour will take you to the historical centre of the town, the unique Museum of the Chimney Sweep and the ancient parish church, painted by local painters. The next point of the programme is the town of Re, where you will find the Sanctuary of the Madonna del Sangue (Madonna on Blood)
This striking temple combines two buildings: the first, ancient, of the XVI century and the modern, of the XX century. It houses a miraculous fresco of the Virgin Mary.
The tour ends in the town of Kravedja, famous for its long chimneys, which adorn the stone roofs of elegant houses – the height of the chimney was a symbol of wealth in the past. The town’s parish church houses the valley’s most important treasures – the funeral shroud of the Sun King Louis XIV and Queen Marie Antoinette’s wedding dress, as well as a collection of jewellery and textiles.
