Campello Monti, from Forno

Access

Reach Gravellona Toce by the A26 motorway; at the junction, head for Omegna and, in the centre of the town, look for the signs for 'Valle Strona' on the right. After passing the industrial area, the road begins to climb into the narrow valley: it is a very narrow, dark and often icy path. You can proceed as far as the centre of Forno, where you will find parking with some difficulty. Further on, the road is closed in the winter season.

Introduction

Beautiful purely winter excursion, which takes advantage of the seasonal abandonment of these places for an evocative "exploration". The environment is always shady and icy, with quantities of snow disproportionate to the modest altitude. Along the way, we pass through small hamlets with jarringly discordant building characteristics: only inhabited or abandoned huts and normal renovated houses where the population is of 'Italian' origin; two- or three-storey buildings with attention to ornamentation and aesthetics in Walser territory. All this is more evident in Campello, now only inhabited in summer for the holiday period, but a permanent home - with church, schools, hotel, villas - until the early 1970s: the emigrants, at the beginning of the 20th century, gave life with their earnings to a brief period of 'valley luxuries', culminating with the construction of the carriage road in 1937. However, the existence of this road induced the inhabitants to forget the classic pedestrian access route to and from Valsesia; but, in the end, the obvious avalanche hazard of the new route (but also new non-emigrant lifestyle needs) led to the abandonment of the locality..

Description

From the centre of Forno, look for the start of the strà vegia path in front of the building that groups the museum, ANA headquarters and Alpine Rescue. Quickly leave the village on a flat track and, parallel to the above (but invisible) carriageway, climb up the narrow valley. You cross small clusters of huts alternating with clearings among birch and beech woods. After a gentle stretch, you come to the Piana del Forno, a cluster of renovated houses with a beautiful little church, sunny in the middle of the day. The trail continues through a dense beech forest, in places very steep and jutting out into the gorge of the Strona stream below, and reaches the abandoned hamlet of Pian Pennino in Walser territory; cross the stream and climb up the slope to the hamlet of Valdo (Wald). A little higher up the slope you cross the last stretch of forest and, after a bend, you come in sight of your destination: cross the stream again (solid snow cover or bridge) and you arrive in Campello - Kàmpelj. Cross the centre of the village along snow-clogged streets to reach the churchyard of the two churches in a dominant position. For the return journey, to complete the tour, it is advisable to follow the regular carriageway: take care that the uphill slopes have already emptied and move circumspectly on the abundant (in number and volume) icy avalanches that you will encounter.

General Information

Path:from Forno
Signposts: -
Type of route:circular
Recommended period: December, January, February
Objective Hazard:avalanches
Sun exposure: north
Exposed sections:short icy stretches above the stream