Scenery and places of interest

During your stay at our hostel you can visit the heart of Valtellina and enjoy stunning natural scenery taking in agricultural land and ancient villages, and above all try our local cuisine.

The Strade dei Vini (wine routes) and the Via dei Terrazzamenti (route through terraced vineyards)

The five 'wine routes', where Valtellina wines are produced and which are linked to the 'Via dei Terrazzamenti' are:

• The Sassello route: On a completely terraced mountainside the Valtellina Superiore Sassella DOCG wine is produced. Visit the area and you can admire the fifteenth century sanctuary of our lady of Sassella and the eighteenth century churches of San Rocco and San Martino.
• The Grumello route: Where Valtellina superiore Grumello DOCG wine is produced. It takes its name from a fort built in the fourteenth century, Grumello castle, an old Ghibelline post, which later became the residence of the Bishop of Como.
• The Inferno route: Valtellina Superiore Inferno DOCG is produced to the east of the Grumello area and takes its name from the high temperatures recorded on the terraces. Here you can admire historic monuments like the Church of San Fedele from the 16th century, the church of Madonna del Carmine, the Santa Casa di Loreto shrine from the 17th century and the hilltop Oratorio del Calvario in Tresivio.
• The Valgella route: Home to the production of Valtellina Superiore Valgella DOCG. Characterised by rock carvings dating back to the bronze age in the Caven area.
• The Maroggia route: Valtellina Superiore Maroggia DOCG is produced at the foot of the Rhaetian Alps, a very beautiful area where you can visit historic villages that have conserved their characteristic rural architecture.

The orchards of Ponte in Valtellina

Besides wine production Valtellina is home to many apple orchards, and has been since Medieval times, located in the agricultural area at the alluvial fan of the Ron stream. This area is ideal for agriculture, thanks both to its sun exposure and the ease of cultivation.

Historic buildings in Valtellina

Valtellina also offers many sites of historic and cultural interest, as well as agricultural areas, some of which were mentioned in the wine routes outline.

In the ancient town of Teglio you can visit Palazzo Besta, dating back to the 16th century, with its Antiquarium Tellinum, the parish church of Sant’Eufemia from the 15th century and the Romanesque church of San Pietro. Teglio is most famous for its signature dish, Pizzoccheri, and the Accademia del Pizzocchero - holder of the original recipe for this traditional Valtellinese offering, made with locally produced buckwheat flour.

A must see in Tirano is the only Basilica in the province of Sondrio, the rennaisance Sanctuary of the Holy Virgin erected after the apparition of the Virgin Mary to the sainted Mario Omodei on 29th September 1504. Every year on this date Tirano celebrates this event, attracting tourists from all over Europe. 

Pope Pious XII proclamed the blessed virgin of Tirano the 'celestial patron saint of Valtellina'. Tirano offers other historic monuments like the church of Santa Perpetua from the 11th century and in the historic town centre the remains of the Sforza walls with the Bormina, Milanese and Poschiavina gates, as well as the castle of Santa Maria and a number of historic palazzos.

Skiing and ski touring

Valtellina is famous for its skiing. In Alta Valtellina there are resorts in Bormio, Livigno and Valdidentro. In total there are over 400km of ski slopes.

The most well known are in Aprica (50 km, from 1,100 to 2,350m), Bormio 3000 (80 km, from 1,200 to 3,000m) and Livigno (over 155 km from 1,800 to 3,000 m).

If you don't want to stay on the marked runs and instead want to explore the mountainside, Valtellina offers a number of ski touring itineraries between 600 and 2,000m.

Food and wine in Valtellina

The area is rich in flavour, you have already read about the best wines produced in Valtellina, but this mountainous region is also home to Braulio, an after dinner liqueur made from local herbs in Bormio, and Stelvio beer, also produced in Bormio, of which there are different varieties (lager, double malt red ale, wheat beer, organic and buckwheat).

Local produce and cuisine include pizzoccheri, bresaola della Valtellina IGP (cured beef), slinzega (similar to bresaola with a stronger flavour), violino di capra (cured goat meat using the thigh or shoulder that takes the shape of a violin), polenta taragna (made from a mixture of cornmeal and buckwheat flour, flavoured with cheese and butter), bitto (a mature cheese of celtic origins, produced with freshly milked cow's milk in the summer between 1st June and 30th September) and casera (a cheese made here since the 16th century made with semi skimmed cow's milk and matured for at least 70 days).