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Barzio
Called the “Pearl of the Valsassina”, today it is able to offer tourists at any time of the year excellent opportunities for leisure activities. There is a wide range of proposals ranging from the possibility of practicing any type of sport, winter or otherwise, to taking walks, relaxing in the green of nature, to the opportunity to attend sporting, cultural or entertainment events, many of which a certain resonance, which are organized to make the stay in Barzio pleasant and attractive.
Always linked to the historical events of the Valley, it experienced a significant presence of Celtic settlements. Many and significant archaeological finds have been discovered, including a funeral kit for a Celtic warrior dating back to the 4th century. B.C. In more recent times Barzio has seen the rise of the ancient and noble Manzoni family who moved to Barzio from the neighboring Bergamo area during the 16th century. Today it is possible to admire some of the manor houses built over the centuries by the various branches of the family including “Palazzo Manzoni”, a late seventeenth-century palace now municipal seat and of the Library, where the Manzoni lived from whom the great writer Alessandro descended.
Economical progress
The economic development of the town came about thanks to its particular position being located at the point of convergence of most of the Valtorta and Valtaleggio cheese production. In the course of the centuries in Barzio herds of herds also assumed importance, thanks to the numerous and rich pastures that framed the town and the grassy slopes, which still characterize the Piani di Bobbio. The small peasant village at the beginning of the 1900s then experienced a social-economic evolution mainly based on tourism.
Barzio is the main summer resort and winter sports resort of Valsassina. Its historic center still preserves villas and old houses alongside old restored farmhouses and from the main square you can enjoy an enchanting view of the Grigne group.
The Valsassina despite the many invasions suffered has managed to preserve an artistic heritage of immense value that is found in the many churches scattered throughout its territory. Almost all the works of art are well preserved, demonstrating how attentive these mountain people are to defend and maintain culture and traditions.
This land has given birth to writers, poets and storytellers and artists, recognized worldwide, who have been able to describe the life and beauty of this valley with great humanity.
Points of interest
Garibaldi Square: heart of the town, at its center you can see the monument dedicated to the fallen of the First World War, depicting an impressive lion. From the square there is a beautiful view of the Grigne massif;
L’antico oratorio di San Giovanni Battista era il luogo destinato all’somministrazione del S. Sacramento della Cresima prima che la Chiesa di S. Alessandro divenisse parrocchia. Già noto in documenti del ‘200 come canonica, alla fine del ‘500 entrò in declino. Ricostruito agli inizi del ‘600, divenne sede della locale confraternita del Santissimo Sacramento e più tardi nel 1930, una volta sconsacrato, fu venduto alla famiglia di Francesco Rosso, figlio del famoso scultore Medardo che vi ha raccolto la collezione privata delle opere dell’artista. In questo periodo l’edificio è stato accorciato nella parte frontale con una riduzione della navata, ma conservando il portale in pietra che chiude la facciata posticcia e che reca ancora la scritta “1605”.
Place of prayer and meditation dedicated to the Madonna of Lourdes, located near the Cemetery. It was built in 1935 near a natural cave in which is placed the statue of the Madonna, carved in marble, and dating back to 1959. At the foot of the CAve there is another statue representing the Holy Bernadette in prayer.
Church dedicated to St. George the Martyr was rebuilt around the seventeenth century on a previous Romanesque building of which the high bell tower is still preserved today. It was consecrated in 1746. It is characterized by a portico with arched arches, punctuated by pilasters against which pilasters with capitals of various shapes are placed; the church is accessed from a flight of steps and a side street, from which the architectural complex appears of a certain majesty.
The chapels inside it are rich in works of art including the chapel of San Giorgio on the right of those who enter who welcome the famous Bergognone polyptych. The work consists of six panels: in the lower center is the Madonna with Child with the S.S. Giovanni Battista, Caterina, Lucia and Pietro; above S. Giorgio and the dragon with S.S. Bernardino and Ambrogio; to the left and to the right S.S. Pietro and Antonio abbot. Externally, protected by a wall almost forming a single complex with the church, are the Via Crucis chapels dating back to the end of the 18th century.
The well-known and prestigious Manzoni Palace, a national monument since 1930, is now home to the Municipality and the Library. It is a late seventeenth-century palace that was owned by the Manzoni family branch from which descended the great writer and poet Alessandro. On the external façade there is a plaque with a bronze medallion dedicated to Tranquillo Baruffaldi, noble of Barzio, one of Garibaldi’s thousands volunteers and a descendant of the Baruffali family who became the owner of the building in the 1800s.
From the main wooden door, surrounded by a valuable eighteenth-century stone portal, you enter the main courtyard where you will find the family crest, a well with a classic-style tympanum and a cross portico on pillars. Of particular interest is also the Civic Hall, located to the left of the entrance with the vault decorated with frescoes in the late Baroque style and the emblem engraved in the marble path.
Medardo Rosso was a renowned expressionist sculptor, who loved to stay in Barzio. For this reason its museum is housed in the ancient oratory of San Giovanni Battista;
Church of Sant’Alessandro: home of the homonymous parish church, inside houses works by Luigi Reali, del Montalto, Mario Arbetella, as well as a wooden statue of the Madonna del Rosario of the early eighteenth century and the Mascioni organ.
The church dedicated to the patron saint Alessandro Martire stands in the center of the oldest part of the town. Some excavations inside have brought to light the remains of a primitive church dating back to the late medieval period. Around the fifteenth century the church underwent a profound and radical transformation so as to become one of the largest and most majestic in the valley, also due to the refinement of its decorations and vestments. This can be explained, perhaps, by the fact that in 1490 Barzio became an autonomous parish.
Around the thirties the building was again modernized with the entrance tilting and enlarged to take on today’s appearance. The works preserved in it are numerous and valuable. At the entrance you can admire a Bronze portal with recently made panels by Maestro Pietro Maggioni, depicting excerpts from the Promessi Sposi with the works of Providence. At the various side chapels and altars are displayed the valuable panel depicting “The Mysteries of the Rosary” painted by Luigi Reali dating back to 1634, a “Beheading of Saint John the Baptist” canvas by Montalto of 1656, the wooden statue of the Blessed Madonna of the Rosary in 1715, carried in procession every first Sunday of August, the altarpiece of San Carlo (1640), the altarpiece with the Marriage of the Virgin. The majesty of the organ built by the Mascioni Master Masters and inaugurated in 1978 cannot be overlooked, it is a unique work in terms of size and power.
The Mysteries of the Rosary
The Mysteries of the Rosary, left in the oratory of San Giovanni Battista, were brought to light and restored in 1989; blessed in 1991, they are located on the left side of the chapel dedicated to the Madonna del Suffragio. Luigi Reali worked in Valsassina between 1643 and 1660 (we find his works in various towns in the Valsassina area, in particular in Pasturo) by transferring grandiose and spectacular visions into his paintings, deliberately created to strike the imagination of the people. Unlike these frescoes, the Mysteries of the Rosary are characterized by small sketches, very simple and without artificiality, given that, originally, they had been commissioned to highlight above all the most important and venerated statue of the Virgin Mary.
The church of S. Anna in Balisio, near an old tavern, was built in 1760 and blessed on 25 July 1762. It is due to the shrewd enterprise of priest Bernardo noble Ruffinoni, a native of Barzio.
Some easy, also suitable for the little ones. Other more demanding, for trained legs. Riding to discover some cycle paths in the Lake Como area. More…
A modern cable car with multiple cabins connects Barzio to Piani di Bobbio. Here the landscape is characterized by the enchanting panoramas of the mountains, which in the summer season become destinations for many walks and more or less demanding excursions. For the more experienced mountaineers there is also the possibility of facing the via ferratas traced on the recently restored Campelli Group. In the winter months the town turns into a ski area with slopes of all levels of difficulty, a track for cross-country skiing with various rings and a well-equipped center for welcoming skiers. The tourist offer is completed by bars, restaurants and mountain refuges and sports shops. More…
Built between 1962 and 1965 at the behest of the parish priest of Barzio Pietro Tenca, it rises to 1662 m s.l.m. at the Piani di Bobbio ski resort. The first stone was laid by the Archbishop of Milan Giovanni Battista Montini, who shortly became Pope Paul VI, on September 5, 1962, the same day he inaugurated the cable car that connects Moggio to Piani di Artavaggio. Exactly three years later, the church was consecrated by Archbishop Giovanni Colombo, Montini’s successor.
The sanctuary was designed by architect Marco Selva in a modern style, but inside there is an ancient wooden statue depicting the Madonna. At the entrance it is still visible today, a plaque in Latin, the text of the Salve Regina, and a plaque in memory of Teresio Olivelli.
Small and characteristic hamlet, reachable on foot from the capital along a short mule track, has maintained the appearance of a village still peasant, well represented by the historic center where homes and old farmhouses, left largely intact, gather around the small church dedicated to Santa Maria Assunta.
Peculiarity of Concenedo is the presence on its territory of many testimonies of faith that define it as a true consecrated land.
Here we find the Monastery of Carmel, a place of prayer and retreat, the Paul VI House in the Cantello area, home of the Ambrosian clergy. At the aforementioned locality there was an ancient monastery hospital for the sick and pilgrims founded by Blessed Guarisca Arrigoni, originally from Barzio, the “Via Lucis”, a series of small votive chapels that accompany the traveler from the capital to Concenedo.
The landscape is characterized by the enchanting and suggestive view of the mountains, destinations for many walks and more or less demanding climbs.
In an enchanting position for the view and exposure to the sun, rises the “Paul VI” House, built in 1977 in the places where the ancient Cantello Monastery once stood. This building was founded in the early 1400s by the Blessed Guarisca Arrigoni and used as a hospital for the sick and shelter for the pilgrims. The hospice underwent numerous changes over the years; became a cloistered monastery by order of San Carlo Borromeo, was suppressed in 1784 and used as a hospital in 1817 following the outbreak of a petechial typhus epidemic. The current Casa del Clero dedicated to Pope Paul VI by the will of Montini himself is a place of prayer and rest for the Ambrosian clergy.
Built in the 18th century, it is a church with a simple barrel nave decorated with works including a painting depicting St. Charles in prayer, dating back to the seventeenth century. Also from this period is the wooden door, while the main altar is characterized by a marble altarpiece containing a statue of the Assumption Madonna of 1857. But the most valuable work is the grandiose wooden crucifix of the first ‘400 donated by Beta Heal Arrigoni at the Cantello Hospice. An eighteenth-century portrait is present of Beata herself. The porch was added in the twenty of the last century.
