From the Valtellina, to “wrap up” the mountain

The view is one that will leave you speechless; a magnificent place, with a stream, a narrow valley, and a mountain church. And a real mountain that is now being “wrapped up” with rockfall barriers and with mountainside reinforcement made possible thanks to funding of €140,000 from the Region.

We are in Cuveglio, in the area of Sant’Anna, where a little valley has been carved out by the San Gottardo river; steep slopes that, three years ago, forced the residents of a number of houses in the vicinity out of bed, when a large rock was in danger of crashing through everything. The boulder was harnessed with a helicopter and brought down; what was left was for the slope to be made safe. Mayor Giorgio Piccolo and the Councillor for Public Works, Giuseppe Lioi, accompanied us to the area to look at the work.

At the moment, the work of laying out the barriers is being completed; these will stop any rocks from becoming detached. The barriers are coils of metal netting that each weigh 250 kg, which are being laid from the very top downwards. The barriers are being secured and accompanied down by specialised operators, who work with a double rope and helmet, as they would on a sheer face.

They come from the Valtellina, and like the ibexes that live in those parts, they take care of the mountain. Here, in these parts, however, these powerful slopes are visited by mouflons, which can often be seen, and which jump from one rock to another and move material that can damage the valley.

“The work we are about to complete will allow us to make the whole rock face safe. But this is only one of the prestigious points in this place,” Giorgio Piccolo explained. “With the Stations of the Cross sorted out a few years ago, and the extremely direct road that starts right at the little church, and goes to Duno, we intend to relaunch the area, also in terms of tourism, enabling anyone that doesn’t know this place to enjoy it in complete safety.”

The “new” Stations of the Cross were restored by inmates from Bollate Prison (under the supervision of Professor Galbusera of the Academy of Brera), and opened in 2014.

“Then we plan to equip the area below the bridge over the San Gottardo, and thereby give residents also the chance to experience these places, to go on outings and have picnics,” Councillor Lioi explained.

As well as the three/four houses that were evacuated three years ago, there was a restaurant, which stands between the river and the slope that is currently being made safe. This business too will benefit from the work.