The big one from Cannobio: three climbs up the sides of the Valle Cannobina in 29°C, past Falmenta, through the Scottish village of Gurro and up to Alpe Piazza at 951m, then 19km downhill to the lake. 51km and 1,392m. In my own words, a stunning set of small but steep climbs.
The Valle Cannobina is a narrow valley that runs up from Cannobio on Lake Maggiore, and its sides are covered in tiny stone villages on terraces, each reached by its own steep little road. On Monday 29 July 2019 I linked three of those roads into one loop: "A stunning set of small but steep climbs in the Cannobio Valley. Perfect weather and stunning views."
Gurro, Italy's Little Scotland
The highlight of the loop, for me, was Gurro, a village of stone houses high on the south side of the valley. Gurro has an extraordinary local tradition: that it was settled by Scottish soldiers. The story goes that Scottish soldiers fleeing the Battle of Pavia in 1525 were stranded here by blizzards, and stayed. Historians aren't convinced, but the village has made it its own. Local surnames such as Donaldi and Pattriti are said to come from MacDonald and Fitzpatrick, a University of Zürich study identified 800 words in the local dialect of Gaelic origin, and there's a museum telling the story of the valley. As you leave, a sign with the Scottish saltire says Arrivederci, Goodbye. For someone who now lives in Scotland, that was quite a thing to find at the top of an Italian climb.
The RideThree Climbs From CannobioMonday 29 July 2019
How The Day Went
6.8km206m → 451m+245m
1.4km
9km362m → 765m+403m4.5% average
5 min
4.9km−337m
8.4km429m → 930m+502m5.9% average
20 min
18.7km−745m
I set off from Cannobio just before two in the afternoon. The first climb is a warm-up up the north side to Socraggio, and then a second, longer one past Falmenta, 403m at 4.5%, with a quick stop at a café terrace near the top at 15:48.
Then down to the bottom of the valley at Dèscelo, and the big one: 8.4km and 502m up the south side at nearly 6%, through Gurro and on to Alpe Piazza at 951m, the top of the day, at 17:04. Twenty minutes at the top, and then 18.7km and 745m of descent back down past Gurro, Lunecco and Traffiume to the lake.
Near the bottom, at Traffiume, the Cannobino runs through a deep gorge under an old stone bridge, the Orrido di Sant'Anna, and then opens out into green pools with little beaches. I was back in Cannobio at 18:18: 51.1km and 1,392m.