Via Alessandro Manzoni

Italiano

Via Alessandro Manzoni is a street in the historic center of Barzio in Valsassina, where Palazzo Manzoni is located, a building once inhabited by the ancestors of the famous novelist of The Betrothed, from whom the street takes its name. Palazzo Manzoni houses the town hall and the municipal library. Via Alessandro Manzoni is narrow and short, only fifty meters long, and intersects with Piazza Garibaldi, the heart of the town;[^][^] traffic is one-way towards the square.[^] It should be noted that in Barzio there are five other Manzoni streets: Via Achille Manzoni, Via Ing. Angelo Manzoni, Via Ercole Manzoni, Via Francesca Manzoni and Via Ippolito Manzoni, all of which are unrelated to the famous Lombard writer.

Description

Via Alessandro Manzoni branches off north from the uphill side of Piazza Garibaldi on a slight slope. The road surface is paved with cobblestones. A vehicle can barely fit between the wall of the Marocco Sport building and the one uphill.[^] The sports shop has a door and windows on the ground floor and first floor that open onto Via Manzoni 1, on the white wall of which at the top is attached the street sign Via Alessandro Manzoni writer and poet 1785 - 1873.[^] At number 3, a door and on the wall a small panel of the Madonna and Child with the inscription Mater, which does not go unnoticed for its artistic quality.[^]

In the buildings above, beyond the door of number 2, you'll be surprised to find two shop windows with the post office. Poste Italiane moved its historic headquarters at Piazza Garibaldi 5 to the shop next door, from a square to a street, at Via Alessandro Manzoni 4, on July 1, 2013. The Poste Italiane office in Barzio - Via Alessandro Manzoni, as it is written on the sliding door,[^] is open every other day, Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, from 8:20 a.m. to 1:45 p.m.; on Saturdays, it closes at 12:45 p.m.; telephone number 0341 996313. Next to the post office, at Via Alessandro Manzoni 6, a recess with two more shop windows houses the Dimore di Barbara Locatelli real estate agency; telephone number 347 9121986.[^] After a courtyard, with some parked cars, in the three-story yellow house in Via Alessandro Manzoni 10 there is the glass door of the Bakery, as it is written on a vertical sign,[^] run since 2012 by the Aldeni family, originally from Ponte San Pietro. The bakery, which produces its own bread, is located at number 8. The owner is Angelo, and his wife, Anna, a down-to-earth and generous woman, serves. The pane all'acqua, water bread, sold in two sizes, small and large, is delicious and sells out early in the morning, many people reserve it by calling 0341 996256, the raisin bread is also excellent. The counter features pasticciotti, numerous pizzas, mini pizzas, and focaccias, while tartlets, strudels, and cabiadini are available on the side.

At the corner, finally, about thirty meters away from the square, here is Palazzo Manzoni, externally it is only one floor high, the wall is painted pink. Here, the road flattens out, while to the right, Via Paolo Scandella rises. The entrance is through a wooden door framed by a fine portal and two steps, which narrow the road to vehicles, which is only 3.5 meters at its widest point. On either side of the door are three plaques, one summarizing its past history: Palazzo of Pasino Manzoni. The first of the Manzoni residences, it was inhabited in the late 16th century by its founder Giacomo Manzoni ..., and two for the current one, Town Hall and Municipal Library. Indeed, on the first floor is the town hall of Comune di Barzio,[^] the library is on the second floor. On the facade, but higher up on a gray background, to the left of the main entrance, hangs a medallion with the face of a man with a plaque to the right: To Tranquillo Baruffaldi, champion of Valsassina virtue among the Thousand, the mentors of the valley here in the house where he was born, XX September MCMVIII. The Baruffaldi family lived in the building from the 19th century until 1972. In front of the entrance to Palazzo Manzoni, there is a white-striped parking lot for four cars with a maximum stay of 30 minutes, bordered by the passage at number 7 of an old wooden door and that of number 9; the buildings are ground-floor only.[^]

Walking along Palazzo Manzoni, hindered by the passage of vehicles that are allowed into the square, I note the four large windows of the valuable Civic Hall of the palace that once belonged to the Manzoni family, a venue for cultural and institutional meetings. Opposite, after the parking lot, a staircase leads down to Via Giovenale Sacchi, at whose intersection is Bar Zio. On the pink wall of Palazzo Manzoni, however, is the plaque Via T. Baruffaldi; from Piazza Garibaldi, I walked only fifty meters.

History

The narrow street, named in 1886 after the author of The Betrothed and other works of great literary, religious, moral and historical significance, was for centuries the town's main artery to Introbio, the valley floor and Lecco, a natural continuation of the road to Cremeno through Piazza Comunale. Today's Via Alessandro Manzoni and Via Tranquillo Baruffaldi once formed the 115.80-meter-long Contrada della Piazza. It's no coincidence that this street is home to two of the town's most iconic buildings: Palazzo Manzoni, dating from the late 16th century, and the church of San Giovanni Battista, rebuilt in the 17th century, but no longer a place of religious worship for about a hundred years.[^] Over time, the village expanded, and other roads were built to cross it or lead down into the valley. The street remained the natural connection from the square to the village cemetery at Robiasca, and from the 1960s to the departure station of the Barzio-Piani di Bobbio cable car. In the first decade of the new cableway, before the opening of Via Todeschini, the main road was precisely the inadequate space of Via Manzoni, with alternating traffic regulated by traffic lights, one of which was at the intersection of Piazza Garibaldi, a memory of which remains alive among the Barzio residents and vacationers of no longer young age. Today, the street is the shortest walking route from the square to the cable car.

Alessandro Manzoni

Alessandro Manzoni was an Italian writer, poet, playwright, and philosopher, born in Milan on March 7, 1785, and died in Milan on May 22, 1873. He is considered one of the greatest novelists of all time for his famous novel The Betrothed and author of other morally and civilly committed works typical of the Enlightenment and of a Catholic believer.

The Betrothed

The protagonists of The Betrothed are two young people from the people, Renzo and Lucia from Lecco, in that branch of the Lake of Como. The lord who governs, the overbearing Don Rodrigo, bets on making the girl his own, a game started by the provocation of his cousin, Count Attilio; through the Bravi, men-at-arms, he threatens the curate Don Abbondio, who must marry them, that this marriage will not take place, not tomorrow, not ever. The realism of the characters, The realism of the characters, the depth of the themes, in which the unfathomable divine grace operates in a Christian manner in human history through Providence, or God's benevolence, and the language, which marks a fundamental shift towards a more modern Italian, are some of the elements that make it appreciated by readers of all ages. The Betrothed is the first example of a historical novel, that is, based on rigorous historical research. It is set between 1628 and 1630, when a plague epidemic broke out in Lombardy during the Spanish government; the novel shows the political illusory nature of foreign domination, the corruption and inefficiency of the judicial system; just when the Austrians were ruling Milan at the time Manzoni wrote it.[^]

In chapter XXIX of the novel, the lansquenets, called by the Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II of Habsburg to fight in the War of Succession of Mantua, descend from Colico and Bellano passing through Valsassina: They are coming; there are thirty, there are forty, there are fifty thousand; they are devils, they are Arians, they are antichrists; they have sacked Cortenuova; they have set fire to Primaluna: they are devastating Introbbio, Pasturo, Barsio; they have reached Balabbio; Barsio is the ancient toponym of Barzio. Agnese, Lucia's mother, is from Pasturo, where she takes refuge to escape the plague; Renzo reaches her toward the end of the novel to tell her that her daughter is alive at the Lazzaretto in Milan.

I eagerly reread The Betrothed in the summer of 2023, marking the 150th anniversary of the writer's death. I was captivated by the beautiful story, set in my region, and it seems to me that it was the wisdom of the Gospel that inspired it in the profound thinker. It would have been unfortunate if it had remained unknown, as Manzoni wrote in the introduction, pretending to transcribe it into more understandable Italian from a seventeenth-century manuscript.

Life

Alessandro was the son of Pietro Manzoni and Giulia Beccaria. Manzoni was a noble family who lived in Caleotto di Lecco, originally from Barzio in Valsassina, while Giulia was the daughter of Cesare Beccaria, an illustrious jurist, author of the treatise Dei delitti e delle pene (On Crimes and Punishments), which Manzoni used in his Storia della Colonna Infame (History of the Column of Infamy). There was a twenty-six-year age difference between the Manzonis; the marriage failed, and they separated a few years later. Alessandro's real father was most likely Giovanni Verri, with whom Giulia had been having an affair even before they married, but who broke it off after the birth of their child. Giovanni was the brother of Pietro Verri, one of the leading figures of the Italian Enlightenment and the author of Osservazioni sulla tortura (Observations on Torture), one of the sources on justice that shaped Alessandro's thinking.

Alessandro studied at Catholic institutions, for five years at the San Bartolomeo dei Somaschi college in Merate, then at the Sant'Antonio college in Lugano, and finally at the Longone college in Milan, run by the Barnabites. In 1805, Alessandro moved to Paris with his mother, Giulia, after she had widowed Carlo Imbonati, who she had married as a second husband.
In 1807, in Blevio, he met Enrichetta Blondel for the first time, captivated by the sweetness and grace of the young woman, the daughter of a Genevan banker who lived in Milan. In 1808, in the French capital, Alessandro married Enrichetta in a Calvinist rite, his wife's religion. Alessandro developed his Christian faith, which over time made him a fervent believer. Enrichetta converted to Catholicism. The following year, after a plea to Pope Pius VII, they were able to marry in a Catholic ceremony. Their firstborn, Giulia, was born in Paris. In 1810, Alessandro and his wife returned permanently to Milan, where in 1813 they bought the house at Via del Morone 1, where they would live the rest of their lives. In 1807, his father Pietro died, and the writer inherited the villa in Caleotto, where he spent his summer holidays as a student, which he sold in 1818.[^]

Family life was happy and fruitful, with the birth of nine more children: Luigia (1811), but she dies at birth, Pietro Luigi (1813), Cristina (1815), Sofia (1817), Enrico (1819), Clara (1821) who died at the age of two, Vittoria (1822), Filippo (1826), Matilde (1830), and coincides with his creative period. Manzoni led a secluded life, devoted to his studies and literary interests, to caring for his family and cultivating close friendships; in daily life he conversed mainly in the Milanese dialect. He lived in the house in the centre of Milan and in the summer in Villa Brusuglio in Cormano, with his large family and his mother Giulia, who had inherited the villa from Imbonati; here the novelist devoted himself to botany.
Upon Napoleon's death in 1821, he wrote the ode Il cinque maggio (The Fifth of May); in the same year, he began Fermo e Lucia, the novel that would make him famous under another name. The Betrothed was published between 1825 and 1827. Dissatisfied with his work, after a stay in Florence, he rewrote the novel in a more modern style; the new draft was published between 1840 and 1842.

The quiet world of family affection that had helped Manzoni's human, literary and religious inspiration was shattered on Christmas Day 1833 by the death of his beloved Enrichetta after an illness, which was followed the following year by the death of his dear first daughter Giulietta. Three years later, in 1836, Alessandro remarried the widow Teresa Borri di Brivio, who was introduced to him by Tommaso Grossi, the writer from Bellano, after he saw his friend falling into melancholy. Teresa had a son named Stefano, with whom Alessandro had a wonderful relationship. In 1845, Teresa gave birth to twins, who died on the same day, and she fell ill. His second wife was protective of her husband, but her strong character brought her into conflict with the writer's mother and her young children. Giulia left home, as did her older children, who married; the younger ones went to boarding school. The following years of Don Lisander, as Alessandro Manzoni was revered by the Milanese, were marked by a series of bereavements, with the deaths of Cristina and her mother Giulia (1841), Sofia (1845), Matilde (1856), and his wife Teresa (1861). From 1860, he was a senator of the Kingdom of Italy.

On the afternoon of May 22, 1873, Alessandro Manzoni died at the age of 88 in his home from a head injury sustained in a fall on the steps of the Church of San Fedele on January 6. A month before his death, he learned of the death of his eldest son, Pier Luigi. On May 29, the funeral took place in the Cathedral, with a never-ending crowd taking part in the funeral procession from Piazza del Duomo to the Monumental Cemetery. The remains of the greatest Italian man of letters were transferred to the Famedio in 1883, where they remain to this day.[^]

References

1. Mauro Vezzoli (2 June 2005- ). "Via Alessandro Manzoni". [Google Photos album]. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
2. Mauro Vezzoli. "Via Alessandro Manzoni". [Flickr album]. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
3. Mauro Vezzoli (6 September 2025). "Walking along Via Alessandro Manzoni in Barzio is no walk in the park, as cars are still driving along the narrow street in the direction of Piazza Garibaldi in 2025.". In Centro storico di Barzio, Estate, In giro per Barzio and Via Alessandro Manzoni. [Google Photos video]. Retrieved 6 September 2025.
4. Mauro Vezzoli (23 August 2025). "Via Alessandro Manzoni from the square with the street signs on the corner. No entry, turn left because the narrow street is one-way downhill.". In Centro storico di Barzio, Estate, In giro per Barzio, Piazza Garibaldi and Via Alessandro Manzoni. [Google Photos photo]. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
5. Mauro Vezzoli (6 September 2025). "A street sign for Via Alessandro Manzoni, Writer and Poet 1785-1873, is located on a high white wall near the intersection with Piazza Garibaldi. The street is home to the building that belonged to the ancestors of the famous author of The Betrothed.". In Centro storico di Barzio, Estate and Via Alessandro Manzoni. [Google Photos photo]. Retrieved 6 September 2025.
6. Mauro Vezzoli (25 August 2013). "Via Alessandro Manzoni 3 with the Mater tile.". In Centro storico di Barzio, Estate, In giro per Barzio and Via Alessandro Manzoni. [Google Photos photo]. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
7. Mauro Vezzoli (25 October 2025). "The two windows of Poste Italiane Barzio on Via Alessandro Manzoni with the new postamat.". In Centro storico di Barzio and Via Alessandro Manzoni. [Google Photos photo]. Retrieved 25 October 2025.
8. "Agenzia Immobiliare Dimore di Barbara Locatelli". dimorebarzio.it. (in Italian). Retrieved 23 August 2025.
9. Mauro Vezzoli (6 September 2025). "Bakery on Via Alessandro Manzoni in Barzio. The water bread I buy every morning from Anna at Panificio Aldeni is fragrant and delicious.". In Centro storico di Barzio, Estate and Via Alessandro Manzoni. [Google Photos photo]. Retrieved 6 September 2025.
10. "Comune di Barzio". www.comune.barzio.lc.it. (in Italian). Retrieved 23 August 2025.
11. Mauro Vezzoli (25 August 2013). "Free parking for four spaces, valid for thirty minutes, in front of the town hall.". In Centro storico di Barzio, Estate, In giro per Barzio and Via Alessandro Manzoni. [Google Photos photo]. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
12. Oriani, Federico (July 2015). "Via Alessandro Manzoni.". In 2 - Viabilità urbana barziese [2 - Urban roads of Barzio]. Le strade di Barzio, trasformazioni e denominazioni tra Sette e Novecento [The streets of Barzio, transformations and denominations between Eighteenth and Twentieth Century] [PDF File] (in Italian). Comune di Barzio. pp. 40-41. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
13. "The Betrothed". Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
14. "Alessandro Manzoni". Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
15. Redemagni, Paola (25 April 2023). "Funerali di Alessandro Manzoni [Funeral of Alessandro Manzoni]". Storie di cimiteri [Stories of cemeteries]. Retrieved 23 August 2025.

Palazzo Manzoni

Italiano

Palazzo Manzoni is a historic building in Barzio, for centuries the most prestigious in the Valsassina village. The late 17th-century palace was the first residence of the Manzoni, a noble family that arrived in the late 16th century from the neighboring Taleggio Valley, from which the famous writer Alessandro descended. Subsequently, in the 19th and 20th centuries, the palace belonged to the Baruffaldi family, originally from Cortenova. Since 1982, Palazzo Manzoni has been owned by the Municipality of Barzio, home to the town hall and the municipal library. According to a plaque at the entrance, Palazzo Manzoni has been a national monument since 1930.

The building is hidden in the historic center of Barzio in the narrow Via Alessandro Manzoni, at number 12, a few meters away from Piazza Garibaldi. The two-story building occupies a small square surface, about 20 meters per side, with a internal courtyard. The one-story high facade of the building is painted pale pink, and is entered through a wooden door after climbing two steps.[^] Historical evidence is a medallion of Tranquillo Baruffaldi, descendant of the family that owned the building, a volunteer among the Thousand in Piazza Garibaldi Giuseppe Garibaldi's famous expedition. Furthermore, Via Baruffaldi is the continuation of Via Manzoni which runs alongside the building.

History

The palace was inhabited at the end of the 16th century by the founder of the Manzoni family, Giacomo Maria, who married Elisabetta Caseri, with whom he had three sons: Giovanni Angelo, Pasino, and Pompeo. The estate passed to Pasino's eldest son, Giacomo Maria, born in Barzio on January 11, 1576, who moved to Caleotto di Lecco, as attested by a document from 1612.[^] The history of Palazzo Manzoni is intertwined with the more famous Villa Manzoni in Caleotto, built in 1621, where the family heirs also lived. Giacomo Maria's grandson was Pietro Antonio, grandfather of Pietro, the father of the author of The Betrothed. In 1798, Pietro Antonio definitively abandoned Palazzo Manzoni di Barzio,[^] which was sold to the Rossi family. Alessandro Manzoni, born in 1785, never lived in the palace, nor went to Barzio. In a short time, in the early nineteenth century, the Baruffaldi family from Cortenova took over, who maintained it for almost two centuries. The first owner was Alfonso Baruffaldi with his wife Caterina Mazzini.[^] At the time of the Unification of Italy, one of the rooms was rented to house the first municipal seat of Barzio. In 1973, the structure was sold to the parish, which established a library; the Municipality of Barzio took it over in 1982. After the restoration by the architect Bruno Bianchi, the first floor became the seat of the town hall.

Architecture

The main entrance is through a wooden door, surrounded by a valuable eighteenth-century stone portal,[^] on the narrow street there are two steps, in front there is a parking lot for four cars. On the façade, the medallion of Tranquillo Baruffaldi stands out against a grey background, with the plaque on the right: A Tranquillo Baruffaldi campione della virtù valsassinese tra i Mille I mentori convalligiani qui nella casa ov'egli nacque XX Settembre MCMVIII;[^] in English, To Tranquillo Baruffaldi, champion of Valsassina virtue among the Thousand The mentors of the valleys here in the house where he was born, XX September MCMVIII. To the right of the wooden door, under the plaque of the civic number 12, two golden plates have been installed Casa Comunale and Biblioteca Comunale,[^] that is Town Hall and Municipal Library. On the left, another one, in metallic grey: Palazzo di Pasino Manzoni. Prima fra le residenze dei Manzoni fu abitato negli ultimi anni del Cinquecento dal capostipite Giacomo e rimase alla discendenza del figlio Pasino (da cui discenderà Alessandro Manzoni) Dal 1930 l'edificio è Monumento Nazionale — Palazzo di Pasino Manzoni. The first of the Manzoni residences, it was inhabited in the late sixteenth century by the founder Giacomo and passed to the descendants of his son Pasino (from whom Alessandro Manzoni descended). Since 1930, the building has been a National Monument —, the municipal coat of arms and Comune di Barzio. Although every newspaper article about Palazzo Manzoni in Barzio reports this news, none mentions the royal decree; it is at least remarkable that Palazzo Manzoni in the mountain village became a national monument before the more prestigious Villa Manzoni in Lecco, which became a national monument in 1940.

The internal courtyard has a wall that separates the building from Via Scandella, where there is a secondary entrance. In front, the building has two floors; on the left, a cross-vaulted portico on pillars where there are rooms. Entering from the main entrance, immediately on the left is the most valuable room, some windows open onto the street. The Civic Hall was decorated in the nineteenth century on the orders of the Baruffaldi family, with a vaulted ceiling decorated with frescoes in late Baroque style, painted doors and the coat of arms engraved in the seventeenth-century marble fireplace. This room, which until the mid-twentieth century contained frescoes by Manzoni, is used by the Municipality for institutional events, such as the awarding of merits,[^] and cultural meetings of a certain importance. The other rooms on the ground floor, both under and outside the portico, host local associations. In the portico there is the Manzonian coat of arms and a well with a classical tympanum.[^]

Up a staircase, the Comune di Barzio[^] offices are located on the first floor, telephone 0341 996125, e-mail: info@comune.barzio.lc.it, with three elegantly painted ceilings from different periods. On the second floor, to the left, is the municipal library, while to the right is a large room with windows overlooking the courtyard. At the rear of this top floor is a large garden, considering the size of the building, which is used as a reading area. From the outside, its presence can be perceived above the stone wall of Via Scandella.

Library

The enterprising spirit of Don Alfredo Comi, the parish priest of the town when Palazzo Manzoni passed from the Baruffaldi family to the parish in 1973, quickly provided Barzio with a library, which opened in 1975 on the ground floor of the building. Don Alfredo collected books and documents by Alessandro Manzoni, of whom he was a passionate admirer. The collection includes rare first editions of The Betrothed, both the so-called twenty-seventh edition (from 1827) and the final draft, the forty-year edition, from 1840. The priest continued this activity for more than twenty years. In 2006, he donated everything to the Barzio library, which created a Manzonian collection; it consists of more than 1300 volumes.[^] Since 1994, the beautiful library has been located on the second and top floor of the building, composed of four rooms. More recently, the library has become an institution capable of enlivening culture, promoting and organizing regular events.

Cultural events

The seventeenth-century palace, which once belonged to the Manzoni family and which housed the municipal administration several times over the centuries, is today a suitable place for hosting cultural events and entertaining people. In summer, it is preferable to be outdoors, and so the natural venue is the courtyard; the speaker usually leads the evening in the portico with a crossroads on pillars, where there is the Manzoni coat of arms and the well. I remember the evening in the summer of 2023 "Dante's Stars. Astronomy in the Divine Comedy"[^] by the science popularizer and programming manager of the Lecco Planetarium, Loris Lazzati, who interpreted some of the numerous astronomical references present in the poem based on scientific knowledge of the position of the stars. There was a nice initiative, which was repeated every year on the first Saturday morning of September, the last day of the Barzio summer events, of bringing people together with a show of caviadini or cabiadini,[^] the famous biscuit of the valley. The practical demonstration of cutting the dough took place in the portico,[^] while the tastings of the varieties from the different local bakeries were on the top floor of the building, which opens onto a garden.

References

1. Mauro Vezzoli (29 January 2013- ). "Palazzo Manzoni". [Google Photos album]. Retrieved 19 July 2025.
2. "Giacomo Maria Manzoni". Wikipedia: L'enciclopedia libera. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. Retrieved 19 July 2025.
3. "Palazzo Manzoni (Barzio)". Wikipedia: L'enciclopedia libera. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. Retrieved 19 July 2025.
4. Oriani, Federico (July 2015). "Via Alessandro Manzoni.". In 2 - Viabilità urbana barziese [2 - Urban roads of Barzio]. Le strade di Barzio, trasformazioni e denominazioni tra Sette e Novecento [The streets of Barzio, transformations and denominations between Eighteenth and Twentieth Century] [PDF File] (in Italian). Comune di Barzio. pp. 40-41. Retrieved 19 July 2025.
5. "Manzoni's Palace in Barzio". Montagne Lago di Como. Retrieved 19 July 2025.
6. Mauro Vezzoli (6 September 2025). Medallion to Tranquillo Baruffaldi on the façade of Palazzo Manzoni. To Tranquillo Baruffaldi, champion of Valsassina virtue among the Thousand The mentors of the valleys here in the house where he was born, XX September MCMVIII. The Baruffaldi family owned the building in the 19th century until 1972, when it was sold to the parish of Barzio. I'm photographing because I just published Palazzo Manzoni on Blogger.". In Centro storico di Barzio, Estate, Palazzo Manzoni and Via Alessandro Manzoni. [Google Photos photo]. Retrieved 6 September 2025.
7. Mauro Vezzoli (27 August 2013). "The two golden plaques at Via Alessandro Manzoni 12, the Town Hall and the Municipal Library.". In In giro per Barzio and Via Alessandro Manzoni. [Flickr photo]. Retrieved 19 July 2025.
8. Redazione (6 January 2025). "Barzio. Consegnate le benemerenze a Paola Pozzoni e Gianfranco Polvara [Barzio. Honorary awards presented to Paola Pozzoni and Gianfranco Polvara.]". Valsassina News. (in Italian). Retrieved 19 July 2025.
9. Franchi, Rosalba (May 2023). "Manzoni, Lecco e la Valsassina". Vie storiche. (in Italian). Retrieved 19 July 2025.
10. "Comune di Barzio". www.comune.barzio.lc.it. (in Italian). Retrieved 19 July 2025.
11. (29 September 2024). "BARZIO – PALAZZO MANZONI". Rotary Meda. (in Italian). Retrieved 19 July 2025.
12. RedBar (6 August 2023). "Barzio, dieci giorni di eventi: si inizia domani con le “Stelle di Dante” [Barzio, ten days of events: starting tomorrow with the "Stars of Dante"]". Lecco Notizie. (in Italian). Retrieved 19 July 2025.
13. (29 August 2017). "Barzio e i caviadini, sabato la rassegna dei biscotti tradizionali. Dimostrazioni e assaggi [Barzio and the caviadini, a traditional biscuit festival on Saturday. Demonstrations and tastings]". Valsassina News. (in Italian). Retrieved 19 July 2025.
14. Mauro Vezzoli (1 September 2018). Marta Gianola of Primaluna and Antonio Passoni of the famous Barzio pastry shop teach how to make cabiadini in the Town Hall. Numerous vacationers and tourists listen and watch attentively, among them there is also my mother who is looking at me.". In Centro storico di Barzio, Estate, Palazzo Manzoni and Via Alessandro Manzoni. [Google Photos photo]. Retrieved 19 July 2025.

Pump track & Skill park

Italiano

In 2023, in the uncultivated meadow with at least three birches from Valle Fiumetta[^] strategically positioned between the Market Parking and the Parking at the tensile structure - with the expense of 135,000 euros, of which 85,000 financed by BIM (Bacino Imbrifero Montano)[^], an area equipped for having fun with bicycles and push vehicles, such as skates and scooters, was inaugurated.[^] There are two sections: the pump track and a space called the skill park. The two English names form the pair Pump track & Skill park,[^] track and park are written in lower or upper case.

What is a pump track?[^] A pump track[^] is a circuit made up of ups and downs (bumps) and parabolic curves (banked corners or turns) that allow you to do jumps and stunts, but also just experience the thrill of acceleration. The bottom can be of different materials, dirt, wood, concrete, asphalt, fiberglass. Here pump refers to momentum by up and down body movements, instead of pedaling or pushing. The Barzio pump track is a layer of asphalt, smooth as a sheet of paper.
What is a skill park?[^] It´s a space where it´s possible to approach the sport of mountain biking safely on closed circuit paths specially designed for beginners, along with lines and features for experienced riders, to practice and improve their skill. The aim is to become familiar with the two wheels by working on balance, in a flat area or with a slight slope. They contain several permanent or temporary technical obstacles, built with natural materials combined with artificial elements.

A two-sided billboard is mounted on the edge of the track in Italian only. In the one that reads in the direction of the pump track the title is Pumptrack & Skill park Comune di Barzio[^] in which Pump track merges into Pumptrack; on the opposite side information concerning both the pump track and the skill park.

Google has already updated its map with Pump track and skill park Barzio (address Via Provinciale 1, 23816 Barzio LC).[^]

Pumptrack & Skill park Municipality of Barzio sign

A track full of curves, humps and steep bends, the goal is to turn only by moving your body without pedalling! Drawing of a cyclist with two movements: Extension (unloaded), Bend (loaded). Means permitted: bicycles, in various types, roller skates, skateboards, scooters. Below, Enjoy and Rules.

In Enjoy (Divertiti) educational panel, in Arms (Braccia) Did you know that it is possible to complete a complete lap of the track with only the strength of the arms? A combined action of flexion and push movements will suffice; lighten the bike by bending your arms and elbows, then extend your arms and bring them forward to accelerate as soon as you start going downhill. Then, Legs, Coordinating arms and legs, Bike - body, each with an explanation.

Between Divertiti and Regolamento, the free use of the track and equipment by minors is placed under the supervision and exclusive responsibility of the people who have it in custody, just as their improper use declines the manager from any responsibility.

I only partially copy the Regulations (Regolamento), which can be read upon entering the area, the most salient information is in bold and underlined. It starts with a premise: The Pumptrack is intended for pure user enjoyment. Created with a succession of parabolic curves, humps and possible jumps. The goal to be achieved is to travel the track without pedaling, i.e. using the push (pump) of the body, created by a continuous bending and extension movement on the bicycle, skateboard or scooter.
Parents are responsible for their children. Use at your own risk.

• The use of a helmet and impact protection for the limbs is compulsory.
• Up to a maximum of 4 vehicles can run on the track at the same time, maintaining a suitable safety distance.
• Do not brake suddenly, in order not to spoil the route.
• ...
• Minors must be accompanied by an adult. It is not allowed to be used by children under 6 years of age.
• ...
• Dogs are not allowed.
• Do not use the track under the influence of drugs and alcohol
• Keep clean and place waste in the appropriate bins.
• ...

At the bottom of the billboard, the three sponsors of the track, Comune di Barzio (Municipality of Barzio), Dolomeet outdoor and tourism lab www.dolomeet.com, BIM Consorzio del Bacino Imbrifero Montano del Lago di Como e Fiumi Brembo e Serio.

Signboard facade with skill park

On the other side of the sign, which has a wooden frame, two logos, Municipality of Barzio and BIM, and four sections.

The characteristics of the Pump Track of Barzio, located between two of the main car parks of Barzio, along the Fiumetta stream, in front of the tensile structure of the town, are:[^]

• Height difference humps 50 cm
• Meters traveled 120 m
• Sliding bed Bituminous conglomerate
• Average width of the route 2 m

The artificial obstacles of the Skill park in Barzio, with a clay surface, right next to the three-storey white house in Località Cesura 1 (who knows how the holidaymakers who live there have welcomed the new initiative by the mayor Giovanni Arrigoni Battaia) are:

• bow
• ramp 300
• jump 300
• roof
• seesaw
• double bump
• step

It is mandatory:

• Use the helmet
• Wear elbow pads
• Wear knee pads

It is forbidden:

• Walk or stop on foot
• Use overboards
• Approach with free animals

Result

The 120-metre asphalt ring made up of a series of rollers (bumps) and docks (corners, curves), located between two car parks, near the tensile structure and playground of Parco della Fiumetta, which in 2023 erased the natural stretch of the valley of the stream most loved by the inhabitants of Barzio and vacationers, has met with immediate success among children and young people who frequent the town and Valsassina. They run enthusiastically on the Barzio pump track, experiencing the thrill of accelerating, jumping, practicing to complete the route only by pumping without pedaling[^] under the watchful and amused gaze of parents and grandparents who can watch from one of the three benches in the sun. The valley of the stream, a few meters deep, is protected by a wooden fence and a thin net. The unlit track has no time limits, next to it there is a three-story house. Everyone is unaware that the BIM Consortium that financed it has among its objectives not to forget the defense of the soil, the protection of nature, the safeguarding of the mountain environment.[^] At the sports center of Conca Rossa an oval track ideal for two wheels has been abandoned for decades. The skill park is almost deserted.

References

1. Mauro Vezzoli (27 June 2012). "Third photo of Valle Fiumetta in Barzio taken at four in the afternoon of 27 June 2012. The pedestrian street for Via Martiri Patrioti Barziesi from P3.". In Area Pedonale lungo la Valle Fiumetta, Estate and Torrente Fiumetta. [Google Photos photo]. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
2. "Consorzio del Bacino Imbrifero Montano del Lago di Como e Fiumi Brembo e Serio". bimbg.it. (in Italian). Retrieved 20 July 2023.
3. (4 luglio 2023). "Barzio, Inaugurata la prima pista di Pump Track [Barzio, Inaugurated the first Pump Track track]". (in Italian). Il Giorno. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
4. Mauro Vezzoli (7 July 2023- ). "Pump track & Skill park di Barzio". [Google Photos album]. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
5. "What is a pumptrack". Parkitect. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
6. "Pump track". Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
7. "Skill park". Bike Service Massa Marittima. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
8. Mauro Vezzoli (25 July 2023). "Pumptrack Sign Municipality of Barzio. Under the title a caption, the drawing of the two gestures to travel the track, extension (unloading) and bending (loading), Means allowed. In two columns, Enjoy and Rules. Below the sponsors, Municipality of Barzio, Dolomeet, BIM.". In Estate and Pump track & Skill park di Barzio. [Google Photos photo]. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
9. "Pump track e skill park Barzio". Google Maps. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
10. Mauro Vezzoli (18 July 2023). "The new area of the Municipality of Barzio for bicycles, roller skates and more inaugurated fifteen days ago in Valle Fiumetta obliges me to document it. Here, the sign in the direction of the free parking, with the tools of the skill park and the drawing of the pumptrack.". In Estate, P3 and Pump track & Skill park di Barzio. [Google Photos photo]. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
11. Mauro Vezzoli (20 July 2023). "The new pump track in Barzio is crowded with kids who ride and have fun on bikes and scooters.". In Estate, In giro per Barzio and Pump track & Skill park di Barzio. [Google Photos video]. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
12. "Chi siamo [Who we are]". bimbg.it. (in Italian). Retrieved 20 July 2023.

Around Barzio

Italiano

Going around Barzio photographing with my cheap pocket machine or with my first smartphone to get to know the country started as an extension to mountain hiking which I practiced for several years. There, paths, meadows, woods, mountain pastures, nature, cows and horses, refuges, votive chapels, hikers, panoramic views from above, rocks and peaks, running and sweating; here, as in any town, sidewalks, asphalt, roads, squares, cars and motorcycles, houses, shops, a church, people, views, parking lots and road signs, walks. Walking relieves my chronic back pain due to a fall on the butt that prevented me from working and fills the day. From the exploration of the streets of the town in the province of Lecco, a well-known summer and winter tourist resort of Valsassina, with about 1300 inhabitants at 769 meters high (Palazzo Manzoni, town hall), I brought home a dozen photographs, which quickly became a substantial number. Most of them were taken starting in 2011, during the three summer months spent in the company of my parents in the second floor apartment in Via Milano 30, which has a nice balcony overlooking the Grigne. The three-room belongs to my brother, who bought it in August 2010. With the same purpose I walked through the streets of Milan where I live, in the north-west outskirts of the city. I stopped to photograph only when I realized that a description was needed for the albums that grouped them, one for each street, square or place, and one with the most beautiful or significant of the country, it was 2015. I wrote some entries, in Italian and English, only text, no photographs, cited as sources at the bottom of the page in the notes. I started in alphabetical order, and so parking comes before square, and square before street, the main ones have a specific page. This is how this Blogger blog was born; Barzio's main square is not missing, Piazza Garibaldi, and its lion, that is the Barzio War Memorial; they have been summarized in this list and have a link pointing to the page on Blogger.

Since then, returning every summer to Barzio with my mother, away from the heat of Milan, in the living room a little dark of Riccardo I concentrate on my work on Barzio (and on Grignone), assigning a better place to my photos in the drive, deleting the ugly and useless ones, and renaming the file names, reading, correcting and rewriting comments to photos and album captions. In the most recent version, the comment on the photo describes the image, which sometimes triggers an autobiographical tale, also useful for clarifying the meaning and circumstances of the shot, in Italian and English. My discussion stops at the few entries already written because it is a demanding didactic work, without economic compensation, which forces me to spend many hours sitting in front of the computer.

Traditional Friday market

Italiano

The Traditional Friday market of Barzio is an outdoor market held weekly in Barzio, in Valsassina, on Friday. The marketplace is Parking 2, or P2, near the town center, under Via Roma.[^] For this reason, Parking 2 is also known as the Mercato Parking (Market Parking), or Piazza Mercato Parking (Square Market Parking), although it lacks a specific street sign. Probably already at 7.30 in the morning you can buy, and the market lasts until around one in the afternoon, when the sellers dismantle their stalls. Road signs indicate that it is forbidden to park with forced removal on the whole square on Friday from 6.00 to 15.00.
I copied the name mercato tradizionale del venerdì from two advertising banners that the Municipality of Barzio displays in the summer in a strategic place, along the road that crosses the Valsassina at the entrance to the road that goes up to Barzio. They are at Ponte Folla, in the municipality of Pasturo, at the crossroads of Provincial Road 62 of Valsassina and Provincial Road 64 Prealpina Orobica, ramification Ponte Folla - Barzio. In truth, I believe that hardly anyone adds the traditional adjective to this market or is aware of it.

The traditional Friday market of Barzio consists of a series of stalls which become more numerous in July and August. As in many other open-air markets that take place one day a week, the fruit and vegetable stalls attract the largest number of people, then there are others that sell food, cheeses, gastronomy, fish, but there are also many vendors of clothing, household items and more, in short, it is worth a visit. In fact, the market is very popular, especially in the summer, and also a reference point for the towns bordering the beautiful mountain tourist resort.[^][^]

The market stalls

The glance you have in the summer, coming down from Pasticceria Passoni in Via Roma towards the Friday market, is really pleasant, between two rows of stalls, so many people in the middle, up to the bottom of the parking lot.
Going down the ramp, someone immediately asks you to sign in favor of the fight against something, it will be drugs, perhaps then hazarding a request for money for charity. The first market stall you come across is a florist,[^] which, thanks to the greenery and the aromas of the plants and the colors of its flowers, lilies, chrysanthemums, daisies, puts those who visit the market in a good mood. Below, you will find sellers of shoes, clothing and underwear, and others of steel pots, mugs and more for the home.[^] In the middle of the entrance row, after the parking meter at a yellow tower, in July and August the market widens to the right. I remember a seller of wooden housewares, a leather seller and a fruit and vegetable stand run by people with a Bergamo accent;[^] then a candy seller and a toy seller.
Returning to the main row of the outdoor market,[^] in the bottom of the parking area, from the uneven surface and repaired by trees, with a view of Fiumetta Valley, its pedestrian area and Tensile structure, there is a fruit and vegetable stall. Right away, another of a woman from "La Fiorita" Berghem farm. Nives, sometimes helped by her young blond children, sells cheeses, such as Bergamo and goat formagella, salami and rolled bacon, produced on her own by about fifty cows in Dalmine and by goats in Artavaggio. At the end of the car park, the fish and fried fish van always has a queue of people because it offers good quality products, appetizing rings, anchovies, cod among others. [^] Friday is the right day to sell fish because Barzio follows the tradition of Christian origin that on this day of the week no meat is eaten in memory of the death of Jesus; fish can also be found in food stores in the country. Next, to the delight of the children, candies!

Doing wrong to other stalls that I do not know directly, I go up the Friday market of Barzio in the second main row, where on the corner there is a large fruit and vegetable stall.[^] Near the bar that divides P2 from P3, always on the right, two more fruit and vegetable stalls,[^] confirming that these are the main products of each market because they are consumed every day and spoil quickly, alternating with two vans, a deli with spit-roasted chickens and chips, and cheese.[^] Finally, other stalls of household items, a honey seller and one who with a microphone entertains those who pass by showing the validity of cleaning products.

There will be more than fifty market stalls in the summer. As a whole, the street market in Barzio offers good quality products. The traders come from the area, Valsassina and the province of Lecco, some are from the nearby province of Bergamo and Brianza.

The Friday market for Barzio and for me

The traditional Friday market in Barzio is an event that animates the town in all seasons. For the market many people come from neighboring countries, Cremeno, Maggio, Cassina, Moggio, and even from the whole valley, the economy, in particular bars, grocery stores and the pharmacy, benefits. The weekly outdoor market, as it happens everywhere, is a meeting place and a way to spend an hour of the morning, which goes beyond the need to buy. Sometimes, we are surprised to meet old acquaintances, and to exchange a few words.[^]

In the non-summer period, in which the village is empty on weekdays, the arrival of the market is the awakening to life, which anticipates the weekend, when Barzio, in good weather, will be frequented for the beauty of its mountains and for the skiing at Piani di Bobbio.

I too, like so many barziesi (inhabitants from Barzio), villagers, vacationers, tourists, do not miss a trip to the Barzio market on Friday, even postponing walks or trips to other days, or to the afternoon. I spend some time among people, I buy fruit, eggs, cheeses, salami and honey.

References

1. Mauro Vezzoli (21 July 2016). "Summer 2016 also begins with a photo of P2 and its no parking sign on Friday 6.00-15.00 on the whole market square!". In Estate and P2 (Piazza del Mercato). [Google Photos photo]. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
2. Mauro Vezzoli (5 August 2011- ). "Mercato tradizionale del venerdì di Barzio". [Google Photos album]. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
3. Mauro Vezzoli. "Mercato tradizionale del venerdì di Barzio". [Flickr album]. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
4. Mauro Vezzoli (26 June 2015). "The florist's stand at the start of the Friday market in Barzio.". In In giro per Barzio and Mercato tradizionale del venerdì di Barzio. [Flickr photo]. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
5. Mauro Vezzoli (3 July 2015). "Stalls on the right side at the beginning of the market, with household items such as pots and cups.". In Estate and Mercato tradizionale del venerdì di Barzio. [Google Photos photo]. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
6. Mauro Vezzoli (24 July 2015). "The fruit and vegetable stall along the small street of Località Cesura, at the Friday market. The managers are from Bergamo, it seems to me from Almenno. They come to Barzio only in the months of July and August. The fruit is often ripe, it must be eaten immediately, the prices are low. Smooth melons are very sweet.". In Estate, Mercato tradizionale del venerdì di Barzio and P2 (Piazza del Mercato). [Google Photos photo]. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
7. Mauro Vezzoli (24 July 2015). "A flood of people at the traditional Friday market. The beautiful and hot weather of this July has helped to bring tourists up to the mountains, many of which reside permanently in the summer in Valsassina, owners of a second home or rented one.". In In giro per Barzio. [Facebook photo]. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
8. Mauro Vezzoli (3 July 2015). "Always lots of people at Il Fritto - Il Fresco, the van that sells fish at the end of the Friday market. Mum likes fried cod, which is a bit expensive.". In In giro per Barzio. [Facebook photo]. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
9. Mauro Vezzoli (3 July 2015). "The fruit and vegetable counter at the corner of the Barzio's market, where I usually shop. The quality of the seasonal products, grapes, figs, cherries, peaches, plums, apricots, is good and the price is quite low. The exhibitors are from the valley, cool, and stock up in the area. Eggs are great.". In In giro per Barzio and Mercato tradizionale del venerdì di Barzio. [Flickr photo]. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
10. Mauro Vezzoli (5 August 2011). "View of the Barzio market, with a customer paying at the fruit and vegetable stall that precedes Renzo Formaggi.". In In giro per Barzio. [Facebook photo]. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
11. Mauro Vezzoli (5 August 2011). "'Il Formagiat' serves tourists from his van. The Friday market is the weekly appointment in Barzio which cannot be missed by villagers and vacationers.". In In giro per Barzio and Mercato tradizionale del venerdì di Barzio. [Flickr photo]. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
12. Mauro Vezzoli (3 July 2015). "Women talking at the Barzio market.". In Estate and Mercato tradizionale del venerdì di Barzio. [Google Photos photo]. Retrieved 23 August 2017.

Fiumetta stream

Italiano

The Fiumetta is a stream that runs down from the coast of Monte Orscellera in Valsassina to flow after very few kilometers into Pioverna Orientale (Eastern Pioverna) stream, flowing entirely in the Municipality of Barzio; its notoriety comes from crossing the town center.[^] The regime is irregular, the water flows during rains and is exhausted after a few days.

Along the course of the stream, in the riverbed or beside it, or on bridges that cross it, the Municipality of Barzio has placed a series of yellow signs authorizing discharge, as it does for other waterways in the country, most they can be read looking towards the valley. They are also useful for identifying the presence of a torrent in the covered sections. The format of the signs is Comune di BARZIO autorizzazione allo scarico n. 135 del 22.03.2006 scarico n. 2.X valle name (Municipality of BARZIO authorization to discharge n. 135 on 22.03.2006 discharge n. 2.X name Valley), where X is a number. For the Fiumetta, scarico n. 2.X valle Fiumetta (discharge n. 2.X Fiumetta Valley).

La Fiumetta in the country

The Fiumetta stream comes from the mountain descending steeply along the edge of some houses in Via Valtorta and passes under a bridge, where it feeds the municipal wash house. It continues steeply along Via Rena between two walls about two meters apart, discharge n. 2.8 and discharge n. 2.9. Near the rear of the building in Piazza Garibaldi 11 (Locanda di Mirò), the watercourse goes underground. An upstream branch of the stream crosses Via per Concenedo (discharge 2.1 Fiumetta valley) before a high condominium and descends channeled in the right side of Via Rena to join the main waterway under the square. In Piazza Garibaldi, at the corner of Via Francesca Manzoni, you will find the yellow sign Municipality of BARZIO authorization to discharge n. 135 on 22.03.2006 discharge n. 2.2 Fiumetta Valley. The Fiumetta crosses Piazza Garibaldi under the houses of street numbers 13-21, to exit a few meters later at the beginning of the pedestrian area along Valle Fiumetta.
Two documents on maintenance work carried out in the square in the first half of the nineteenth century, when it was still the Piazza Comunale, hand down to us how two technicians called the watercourse. In 1829, the expert Bartolomeo Combi in his report calls the stream la fiume (the river), with feminine gender and in lowercase. In 1842, for the engineer Paolo Scandella it was the Fiumicella.[^][^] The stream flowed uncovered in the square, and a bridge connected it to Via Francesca Manzoni, until the 1930s when it was buried.

La Fiumetta, as the watercourse is called by barziesi (inhabitants of Barzio), runs along the first section of the pedestrian area to the right, while to the left there are some houses. Its course is rather steep, observable from Via Roma, between Bar Gelateria Châlet (discharge 2.7) and Piccolo Bar.[^] The stream continues passing under Via Martiri Patrioti Barziesi, where towards the mountain it can clearly see between the end of the first houses of the street and the bus stop coming from Lecco.[^] In the direction of the valley (on the same pole, discharge 2.3 and 2.4[^]), the river goes down closed between two walls (discharge 2.5), going decidedly to the left where the Fiumetta Valley widens in plan for a hundred meters,[^] between P2 (Market Square) and Tensile structure (discharge 2.6, 2.10 with 2.11[^]). In 2023, the overgrown valley meadow[^] was cleared for an artificial bicycle amusement track, which has a couple of names in English pump track & skill park. At the end of the pedestrian area created along its route, the torrente Fiumetta flows between P3 and the playground at the tensile structure;[^] in Via Provinciale, at the entrance-exit of the parking lot, it is observable towards the mountain from a bridge with white railings.

The Fiumetta can be heard flowing in the town when there are heavy rains due to the speed with which it descends into the town.[^][^] As far as I know, the stream water has never created any problems or damage.

Last course of the stream

Beyond Via Provinciale, Fiumetta continues almost flat and hidden, it flows near Conca Rossa with a curved, free and wide bed. Here it collects the waters of the stream that comes from Cremeno, Torrente Berniga.[^] Then, it descends into a steep valley with little slope for about a hundred metres, Valle Inscea, skirting locality Coldognetta. After crossing the Provincial Road 64 Prealpina Orobica branch Barzio - Ponte Folla, the Fiumetta torrent flows into the Pioverna Orientale in the locality Mulino di Barzio.

References

1. Mauro Vezzoli (27 June 2012- ). "Torrente Fiumetta". [Google Photos album]. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
2. Oriani, Federico (July 2015). "Le strade di Barzio, trasformazioni e denominazioni tra Sette e Novecento [The streets of Barzio, transformations and denominations between Eighteenth and Twentieth Century]" [PDF File] (in Italian). Doc Player. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
3. Oriani, Federico (July 2015). "Piazza Giuseppe Garibaldi". In 2 - Viabilità urbana barziese [2 - Urban roads of Barzio]. Le strade di Barzio, trasformazioni e denominazioni tra Sette e Novecento [The streets of Barzio, transformations and denominations between Eighteenth and Twentieth Century] [PDF File] (in Italian). Comune di Barzio. pp. 36-39. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
4. Mauro Vezzoli (8 July 2014). "July 2014 is really very rainy. The Fiumetta swells of the waters coming from the Monte Orscellera and flows strongly downstream. The Torrente Fiumetta photo album is in Google Photos in my account. In Blogger a post describes the flow of the stream in Barzio, published on June 28, 2015, modified in September 2017 and in September 2019.". In In giro per Barzio. [Flickr photo]. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
5. Mauro Vezzoli (29 July 2014). "Continue July 2014 with heavy rains. After the full on 8 July, another on 29 July, even stronger. The Fiumetta stream flows downstream with great speed, taken from the bridge of Via Martiri Patrioti Barziesi.". In In giro per Barzio. [Facebook photo]. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
6. Mauro Vezzoli (22 August 2013). "The pedestrian area from Via Martiri Patrioti Barziesi with the concrete walkway, the stream, the road sign and the two yellow signs of the municipality of Barzio, discharge authorization n. 135 of 22.03.06 discharge n. 2.3 valle Fiumetta and under discharge 2.4.". In giro per Barzio. [Flickr photo]. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
7. Mauro Vezzoli (2 April 2013). "The Fiumetta stream at the beginning of April, it is cold and there is still snow. I return to Barzio for the last 'wintry' of my long season of ascents to Piani di Bobbio. The bare landscape allows to admire the valley of the stream on the slope below the Parking 2.". In Area pedonale lungo la Valle Fiumetta, In giro per Barzio, Primavera and Torrente Fiumetta. [Google Photos photo]. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
8. Mauro Vezzoli (1 September 2017). "The two signs of the discharge authorization of the Municipality of Barzio, 2.10 and 2.11 Valle Fiumetta, under Parking 2. The sign 2.11 is above 2.10. I take this photograph because I am rewriting the text of the photo albums I published on Blogger, Pedestrian area along the Valle Fiumetta and Torrente Fiumetta. Now a photographer only on rare occasions because I realized that it is almost impossible to be able to give the right place to the ones I have.". In Estate and Torrente Fiumetta. [Google Photos photo]. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
9. Mauro Vezzoli (27 June 2012). "Third photo of Valle Fiumetta in Barzio taken at four in the afternoon of 27 June 2012. The pedestrian street for Via Martiri Patrioti Barziesi from P3.". In Area Pedonale lungo la Valle Fiumetta, Estate and Torrente Fiumetta. [Google Photos photo]. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
10. Mauro Vezzoli (27 June 2012). "Torrente and Valle Fiumetta with the background of the Tensile structure tent. With dad and mom I spend my 2012 summer vacation in Barzio. It is the second year, after Riccardo bought a house in Via Milano 30 at the end of summer 2010. I get the idea of photographing the streets and places of Barzio to have a memory of the country and the days gone by, which will last several years. In the same way I concentrate on the Grignone, photographing paths, huts, mountain pastures, locality and other views. Last year my goal was to climb the most significant mountains of Valsassina.". In Estate and Torrente Fiumetta. [Google Photos photo]. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
11. Mauro Vezzoli (8 July 2014). "The course and the water of the Fiumetta along the pedestrian area after so much rain. The sound of water against the walls of its bed impresses, a stream that is generally calm or without water.". In In giro per Barzio. [Flickr photo]. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
12. Mauro Vezzoli (10 September 2017). " Even a video of the stream that runs through the center of Barzio. We have to wait until September 10th to see so much rain in a summer that is lacking in rainfall. You can hear the water flowing because of the great speed with which the Fiumetta falls and slams into its bed channeled into the cement and between the houses.". In giro per Barzio. [Facebook video]. Retrieved 10 September 2017.
13. Oriani, Federico (July 2015). "Odonimi-toponimi [Odonyms-toponyms]". In 6 – Dai toponimi agli odonimi [6 - From toponyms to odonyms]. Le strade di Barzio, trasformazioni e denominazioni tra Sette e Novecento [The streets of Barzio, transformations and denominations between Eighteenth and Twentieth Century] [PDF File] (in Italian). Comune di Barzio. p 170. Retrieved 1 September 2017.

Pedestrian area along Valle Fiumetta

Italiano

The pedestrian area along Valle Fiumetta at Barzio in Valsassina runs along Fiumetta stream for about four hundred meters, from Via Roma, few meters below Piazza Garibaldi, to Parking 3 (Tensile structure) or P3.[^] The pedestrian area does not have a proper name, so I can dedicate it to Luca, the dear cousin from Turin who died prematurely in September 2019. The pedestrian path along the Fiumetta was designed to shorten the distances for those who travel on foot, in the direction of the town center, Via Martiri Patrioti Barziesi, the parking lots and Via Milano. The first section, from Via Roma to Via Martiri Patrioti Barziesi, which is quite wide, has been around for many years; pedestrian crossing, where there is the main bus stop in Barzio for buses to Lecco and Taceno, connect it to the second. The pedestrian area is not particularly attractive; it is illuminated by poles, each pole has a vase of flowers, in summer they are geraniums.[^]

From Via Roma to Via Martiri Patrioti Barziesi

Next to Piccolo Bar in Via Roma, the pedestrian area goes down steeply with an S-curve, just where La Fiumetta emerges from the underground stretch of Piazza Garibaldi.[^] Above is the outline of Chalet Bar Gelateria, address Piazza Garibadi 1, surrounded by a green garden, which has a splendid exotic tree; a secondary gate to the garden warns with a plaque Beware of the dog.[^]
The street reserved for pedestrians is large, the floor is made up of large light-colored tiles. The distance of the curve is facilitated by steps, which occupy the widest part of its width.[^] The pedestrian street continues then almost straight with a slope that gradually decreases. Beside, on the right, it is a narrow bed with four benches,[^] on which no one sits, while on the left, next to houses, the stream flows protected by railings interspersed with concrete.[^] You will soon arrive at the intersection of Via Martiri Patrioti Barziesi and to the pedestrian crossing.

This part of the area is quite popular, a shortcut between the town center and Via Martiri Patrioti Barziesi, and vice versa.

From Via Martiri Patrioti Barziesi to Parking 3 (Tensile structure)

The pedestrian area along the Fiumetta beyond Via Martiri Patrioti Barziesi is much narrower, there is space for two people. You meet people on the market day. The bottom is in rough concrete, certainly not the best flooring for walking. In November 2020, at a cost of 35,000 euros, a new synthetic flooring in marble grit was installed, draining and anti-slip.[^][^]

At the intersection with Martiri Patrioti Barziesi, on a pole is a sign that indicating the pedestrian area and other two yellow signs. The first one is Comune di Barzio authorization to drain n. 135 of 22.03.2006 drain n. 2.3 valle Fiumetta, and the second one, with the same writing but drain 2.4.[^]
The pedestrian driveway along the Fiumetta follows the sinuous path of the little river, which descends gently to the right, imprisoned by two walls in an obscure depth of three metres. For protection there is a black metal railing with horizontal bars. On the left, there is an 80s-style apartment building and its garden, on the right, the garden of other houses. After about 100 meters, on the left, at an old stone lodge, a dirty path goes to P2 (Market Square), about ten meters long; in front, isolated, there is a three-storey house with balconies inhabited by vacationers, Località Cesura 1. After a few meters, Via Clemente Buzzoni intersects, joined by a bridge over the stream.[^][^] Via Buzzoni ends in Via Milano, at the end of the oratory straight, just beyond the Banca Popolare di Sondrio.

With a more open view and the Fiumetta returned to the left for those who walk downhill, you arrive at a small valley with a lawn* and a group of isolated plants[^] which descends from the lower part of Parking 2. Continue to the wooden kiosk with the bar of the Tensile structure, to finish, after a last crossing of the Fiumetta,[^] to P3.

* In 2023, those who walk on the pedestrian path along the Fiumetta stream no longer enjoy the natural environment of the stream because the valley has been leveled, but observe the new Pump track & Skill park of Barzio,[^] in a nutshell an artificial track with bumps and curves for bikes, roller skates, scooters.

References

1. "45.944913,9.4666936,336". Google Maps. Retrieved 9 August 2017.
2. Mauro Vezzoli (13 August 2007- ). "Area pedonale lungo la Valle Fiumetta". [Google Photos album]. Retrieved 9 August 2017.
3. Mauro Vezzoli (28 June 2015). From Via Roma, the beginning of the pedestrian area in steep descent with the steps. In September 2019 I dedicated this pedestrian path to Luca after his untimely death.". In Area pedonale lungo la Valle Fiumetta and Estate. [Google Photos photo]. Retrieved 9 August 2017.
4. Mauro Vezzoli (2 August 2014). "The elegant and characteristic building of Piazza Garibaldi 1 from the pedestrian street; on the first floor there is the Châlet Gelateria Cremeria, which is at ground level in Piazza Garibaldi. A plaque on the green gate of its well-kept garden warns Beware of the dog.". In Area pedonale lungo la Valle Fiumetta and Estate. [Google Photos photo]. Retrieved 9 August 2017.
5. Mauro Vezzoli (24 August 2013). "The hairpin bend of the pedestrian street before Via Roma; in the background the exotic tree, genus Araucaria, of the Chalet Bar's garden. The ascent is facilitated by spacious steps.". In In giro per Barzio. [Flickr photo]. Retrieved 9 August 2017.
6. Mauro Vezzoli (9 September 2014). "The four wooden benches along the pedestrian area between Via Martiri Patrioti Barziesi and Via Roma. Rarely someone sits.". In In giro per Barzio. [Flickr photo]. Retrieved 9 August 2017.
7. Mauro Vezzoli (8 July 2014). "July 2014 is really very rainy. The Fiumetta swells of the waters coming from the Monte Orscellera and flows strongly downstream. The Torrente Fiumetta photo album is in Google Photos in my account. In Blogger a post describes the flow of the stream in Barzio, published on June 28, 2015, modified in September 2017 and in September 2019.". In Area pedonale lungo la Valle Fiumetta, Estate, In giro per Barzio and Torrente Fiumetta. [Google Photos photo]. Retrieved 9 August 2017.
8. Editorial board (7 November 2020). "Barzio: interventi al cimitero e al vialetto pedonale della Fiumetta [Barzio: interventions on the cemetery and on the pedestrian path of the Fiumetta]". Valsassina News (In Italian). Retrieved 15 June 2021.
9. Mauro Vezzoli (26 August 2021). "How beautiful it is to walk in Barzio on the new synthetic marble grit flooring of the pedestrian walkway.". In Area pedonale lungo la Valle Fiumetta and Estate. [Google Photos Video]. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
10. Mauro Vezzoli (22 August 2013). "The pedestrian area from Via Martiri Patrioti Barziesi with the concrete walkway, the stream, the road sign and the two yellow signs of the municipality of Barzio, discharge authorization n. 135 of 22.03.06 discharge n. 2.3 valle Fiumetta and under discharge 2.4.". In In giro per Barzio. [Flickr photo]. Retrieved 9 August 2017.
11. Mauro Vezzoli (14 January 2013). "In mid-January 2013 I decide to spend a few days in the village in Valsassina that is dear to us, located about 800 meters above sea level. With my scarce but effective pocket machine Sony DSC-W510 I photograph the pedestrian area from the bridge over the Fiumetta torrent that joins it to Via Clemente Buzzoni. In winter the bare vegetation leaves the view to the landscape and to the distances.". In Area pedonale lungo la Valle Fiumetta and Inverno. [Google Photos photo]. Retrieved 9 August 2017.
12. Mauro Vezzoli (1 July 2015). "The pedestrian street along the Fiumetta Valley with the series of electricity poles and the green house on Via Buzzoni. Never that I take a picture with people!". In In giro per Barzio. [Flickr photo]. Retrieved 9 August 2017.
13. Mauro Vezzoli (2 April 2013). "The Fiumetta stream at the beginning of April, it is cold and there is still snow. I return to Barzio for the last 'winter' of my long season of ascents to Piani di Bobbio. The landscape is bare and allows to admire the valley of the stream on the slope below the Parking 2.". In In giro per Barzio. [Flickr photo]. Retrieved 9 August 2017.
14. Mauro Vezzoli (14 January 2013). "Beautiful picture with winter light bridge over the Fiumetta stream for parking 3 of Barzio". In In giro per Barzio. [Flickr photo]. Retrieved 9 August 2017.
15. Mauro Vezzoli (2 August 2023). "The bicycle track next to the parking lots is the new attraction of Barzio. Tourists walking along the pedestrian path of the creek stop to observe the many children and young people running around on the pump track. In the meadow of Valle Fiumetta demolished by bulldozers, where there was a small group of trees, a solitary birch remains, perhaps not cut down because it is on private land.". In Area pedonale lungo la Valle Fiumetta, Estate and Pump track & Skill park di Barzio. [Google Photos photo]. Retrieved 2 August 2023.