Grosio - Valtellina

Grosio (SO)

Valtellina - Lombardy (Italy)

Grosio is a town in the province of Sondrio, and is part of the Mountain Community of Tirano.
Ancient village nestled in the valley of the Adda and the new right-State 38, which runs through the Valtellina, is defined as the most valuable and important piece of the intricate mosaic of Valtellina.
There are art and history, tradition and folklore, agriculture and animal husbandry, crafts and trade, gastronomy and tourism, lakes, mountains and unspoiled landscapes.
The authenticity, conviviality and solidarity of its people are still well preserved features that hold each type of initiative.
Welcome Guests are offered a very attractive business card.
In fact, at the entrance of the village, on the heights overlooking the hydroelectric plant of the AEM, we are greeted by two castles, flanked by carved stone larger than all the Alps, but here, looking towards the town, the imposing baroque facade of the church, located next to the elegant Villa Visconti Venosta, surrounded by parkland.
Its location, almost halfway between the towns of Tirano and Bormio, which is central to the famous ski resorts in Livigno, Santa Caterina, Bormio Aprica, St. Moritz and also with respect to the steps of the Mortirolo, Verve, Bernina, Gavia and Stelvio offers the tourist endless and exciting opportunities.
Grosio is located at the entrance of Alta Valtellina, between Tirano (terminus of the red train of Bernina, Basilica di Tirano, and Palazzo Salis Cellars, Wine Triacca) and Bormio (Bormio Terme, Bagni Vecchi - New Baths, Winter sports), at the mouth and at the foot of Valgrosina Mortirolo.
is among the richest in the province of Sondrio in art, history and traditions of Grosio park petroglyphs, medieval castles, museum and park of Villa Visconti Venosta, costume Grosina, local products, trekking, mountaineering and mountain bikes and in Valgrosina on Mortirolo.

The first signs of human presence in this area date back to prehistoric times.
Some sites and archaeological finds and especially the many petroglyphs found on the backs of the Castle and Giroldo testify intense human activity that scholars date to the Bronze Age, and, given the close ties with neighbors Camuni, perhaps started in the first last phase of the Neolithic.
The name is mentioned Grause Superiore for the first time in a document of 1056, while in 1150 the bishop of Como reserves the Castrum de Grosio cum villis de Grossura.
The bishop's estate, linked to the parish of Mazzo, was first given in concession to the De Misenti and, since 1186, the family Venosta, who remains in the castle to live up to 500.
During the rule of the Visconti, the Venosta saw their power grow, so that was entrusted to them the custody of the new castle (Castrum Novum), built for defensive purposes in the second half of the fourteenth century.
The immigration of refugees from the territory of several families from Como and Milan, as a result of feuds between the Guelphs and Ghibellines, formed the social fabric of the country and promoted, in 1292 the establishment of the municipality and in 1395, the drafting of the first municipal statutes.
In the early decades of the 1300 population of Grosio no more than 250 souls, in 1426 there were 400 units in 1464 were about one thousand, while in 1589 the "fires" were 300 (approximately 1500 people) and reached 500 with the surroundings of the common.
The inhabitants drew large incomes from breeding to take advantage of the rich pastures of the valley Grosina, but practiced with very successful businesses, in particular with the territory of Venice.
From 1512, for nearly three centuries, the Valtellina from Grisons and is dominated, during the '600, Grosio also actively participates in the insurgency for political and religious independence.
Following the history of the country identifies with the local and national level, participating in the struggles for independence, for the unification of Italy and finally to the two world wars.
The territory of Grosio includes three parts: Vernuga, Tiolo and Ravoledo.
The village of Tiolo, located at the northern municipality, in the past was a focal point of the passage of traffic to neighboring Mortirolo and Valcamonica.
On the other side of the Adda river you can see the fraction of Vernuga, with the old wine press a lever of the eighteenth century and the church of San Giovanni Battista (1642).
While going along the road that leads Valgrosina, situated on a large sunny hill, meet Ravoledo, the most populous village.
We are the Church of St. Gregory (fifteenth century.), An ancient parish that has given way to a new building erected in 1933 and dedicated to Christ the King
Further on we find the church of St. James, built over an existing building Middle Ages.