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Importing Wikidata short description: "Valley in Northern Italy" (Shortdesc helper) |
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{{Short description|Valley in Northern Italy}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{for multi|the ''comune'' in Valmalenco valley|Chiesa in Valmalenco|the footballer|Marco Valtulina|Val'''p'''elline|Valpelline, Aosta Valley}}
[[File:Valtellina mappa.png|thumb|Map of the Province of Sondrio, where Valtellina is located]]
[[File:Flag of
[[File:Monte Disgrazia.JPG|thumb|[[Monte Disgrazia]] (3,678m) in the north of the Valtellina]]
[[File:Dicembre 2012 Valtellina.jpg|thumb|A view of the Valtellina from Castel Grumello]]
[[File:Sanmarco0.jpg|thumb|The [[San Marco Pass]] in the south of the Valtellina]]
'''Valtellina''' or the '''Valtelline''' (occasionally spelled as two words in English: '''Val Telline'''; {{lang-rm|Vuclina}} <small>({{Audio|Roh-putèr-Vuclina.ogg|listen|help=no}})</small>; {{lang-lmo|Valtelina}} or {{lang|lmo|Valtulina}}; {{lang-de|link=no|Veltlin}}; {{lang-it|Valtellina}}) is a valley in the [[Lombardy]] region of northern
==Geography==
The most important [[comune]] of the valley is [[Sondrio]]; the others major
==History==
===Antiquity and the middle ages===
The region was conquered in 16 BC by the [[Roman Empire|Romans]].
===Early modern period===
{{see also|Valtellina War|Spanish Road}}
[[File:La-Repubblica-delleTre-Legh-es.svg|thumb|left|Map of the [[Three Leagues]] with the grey area of [[Valchiavenna]], [[Tre Pievi]], Valtellina and [[Bormio]] ruled by it from 1512
During the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, the Valtellina belonged to the [[Three Leagues]] (the "Grey Leagues"), which was then a mutual-
During the [[Thirty Years' War]], the Valtellina was a
In February 1623
===18th and 19th centuries===
In 1797 the growing power of the [[First French Republic]] created the [[Cisalpine
After the [[Congress of Vienna]] in 1815, the Valtellina became part of the [[Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia]], which was a constituent land of the Austrian Empire. In 1859 it came, together with Lombardy, to the [[Kingdom of Sardinia]], and finally in 1861 it became part of the [[Kingdom of Italy]].
At the end of the 19th century, there was substantial migration out of the Valtellina for reasons of the prevailing economically depressed conditions of the region and for young men to avoid [[conscription]].<ref name=Genoni>Paull, John (2014) [http://jorganics.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/1170.pdf "Ernesto Genoni: Australia’s pioneer of biodynamic agriculture"], Journal of Organics, 1(1):
Industrially, the area is famous as the home of the world's first mainline [[Railway electrification system|electrified railway]]. The electrification of the [[Ferrovia della Valtellina]] took place in 1902, using [[three-phase]] power at 3,600 V, with a maximum speed of 70 km/h. The system was designed by the brilliant Hungarian engineer [[Kálmán Kandó]] who was employed by the main contractors the [[Budapest]]-based [[Ganz]] company.
===Mussolini and the Valtellina Redoubt===
{{main|Valtellina Redoubt}}
During the last months of [[World War II]], the Italian dictator [[Benito Mussolini]] and other diehard [[fascist]] leaders of the [[Italian Social Republic]] (RSI) proposed making a "last stand" against the advancing Allied armies in the Valtellina. The Fascist Party secretary [[Alessandro Pavolini]] was the main proponent of the idea, which he first raised with Mussolini in September 1944.<ref>Ray Moseley, ''The Last Days of Mussolini'', 176</ref>
==Culture and language==
The
[[File:Valtellina-Panorama.jpg|600px|center|thumb|Panorama of the Valtellina from Alpe Piazzola in the [[comune]] of [[Castello dell'Acqua]].]]
== Folklore ==
=== ''L'è foeu el sginer'' and ''l'è foeu l'ors de la tana'' ===
On 31 January there was the tradition of ''l'è foeu el sginer'' ("January's out"), a custom very similar to that celebrated on 2 February known as ''l'è foeu l'ors de la tana'' ("the bear is out from its den"). Both celebrated the end of winter and the imminent arrival of spring. The two customs involved walking around the town and inviting people to leave their houses under any pretext, like throwing a large piece of wood or a pot down the stairs. When people ran outside to check what had happened, they were greeted with the shout ''l'è foeu el sginer!'' or ''l'è foeu l'ors de la tana!''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Calendario di Valtellina e Valchiavenna – 2 febbraio |url=http://www.paesidivaltellina.it/calendario/0202.htm |website=Paesi di Valtellina e Valchiavenna}}</ref>
=== ''Intraverser l’ann'' ===
''Intraverser l'èn'' or ''intraverser l'ann'' (literally "to put the year across") also celebrated New Year's Eve: during the night young people used to build [[barricade]]s of gates, [[door]]s, benches, agricultural tools, logs, stairs, sledges, and carts in the main [[Town square|square]] or in front of the church, to prevent the old year from leaving. The next morning, the owners of the stolen objects had to go and recover them, dismantling the barricade and metaphorically opening up the way to the new year.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Calendario di Valtellina e Valchiavenna – 31 dicembre |url=http://www.paesidivaltellina.it/calendario/3112.htm |website=Paesi di Valtellina e Valchiavenna}}</ref>
=== The ''gabinat'' ===
On 6 January, the custom of the ''gabinat'' is still celebrated today, especially in [[Tirano]], in the Upper Valley, and in the nearby [[Val Poschiavo|Poschiavo Valley]] (Switzerland). Traditionally, children would suddenly enter other people's homes shouting ''gabinat!'' and in exchange, they would receive a handful of cooked chestnuts, some sweets or dried fruit. The adults competed to precede the other in exclaiming ''gabinat'' when they met. Whoever lost had to pay a pledge; often, the prize at stake was established in advance and the gabinat thus became the object of bets. To win, various strategies were adopted: stalking, disguises, fake illnesses ... Nowadays, it is only the children who do the ''gabinat'', and they usually show up to relatives, friends, and local shopkeepers.
The custom of the ''gabinat'' most likely comes from [[Bavaria]], Germany, where Christmas, New Year's Eve and [[Epiphany (holiday)|Epiphany]] were indicated with the name Geb-nacht (''Gaben'' means "gifts" and ''Nacht'' means "night", therefore "night of gifts"): on the eve of these holidays, the poor young people sang in front of the doors of the wealthiest in the hope to receive a gift.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last1=Antonioli |first1=Gabriele |title=Dizionario etimologico grosino |last2=Bracchi |first2=Remo |publisher=Ramponi Arti Grafiche |year=1995 |location=Sondrio}}</ref>
=== ''Andà a ciamà l'erba'' (Let's go call the grass) ===
On the first of March, throughout Valtellina and [[Valchiavenna]], people used to go to ''ciamà l'erba'' ("call the grass"). The children walked in the meadows making noise with [[cowbell]]s to call the grass and awaken it from its winter slumber.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Calendario di Valtellina e Valchiavenna – 1 marzo |url=http://www.paesidivaltellina.it/calendario/0103.htm |website=Paesi di Valtellina e Valchiavenna}}</ref> This custom also served to propitiate a bountiful harvest.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Associazione Amatia |title=Mazzo tra storia, tradizione e leggenda |publisher=Tipografia Bettini |year=2013 |location=Sondrio}}</ref>
=== The ''Carneval vegg'' (Old Carnival) ===
In the village of [[Grosio]], the [[Carnival]] is celebrated, unlike the rest of Valtellina, on the first Sunday of [[Lent]], according to the [[Julian calendar|Ambrosian calendar]] in force before the [[Gregorian Reform]]. For this reason, it is called ''Carneval vegg'' ("Old Carnival").
In the past, it was customary for people to gather all together to dance, sing, eat and drink. Being an agricultural ritual that represents the death of winter and the beginning of summer, Carnival officially began on January 17 with the parade of the blessed cattle adorned with coloured ribbons. It included numerous [[bonfire]]s, with which the paths were cleared to facilitate the passage of farmers, their agricultural vehicles and their livestock. A straw puppet with horns on his head representing the Carnival was also burnt.<ref name=":0" />
Nowadays, the districts of the towns challenge each other to the sound of allegorical floats, and the parade is attended by traditional masks, eight characters representing traditions, past events, and moments of everyday life: the Old Carnival, a bearded and joyful man dressed as a mountaineer, and Lean Lent, a thin woman dressed in a humble way, with a dark handkerchief on her head and an empty basket on her arm, represent the transition from the glories of Carnival to Lenten fasts. They are accompanied by the Paralytic, the Bear Handler, a funny shepherd who dances and rolls on the ground named Toni, an old man with a butt covered with Nutella, a hunchbacked mountaineer whose hump is filled with chestnut urchins, and Bernarda, a man disguised as a baby put in a pannier supported by a fake old woman, and accompanied by another man dressed as a farmer).<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Antonioli |first1=Gabriele |title=Grosio. Cinquemila anni di storia |last2=Ghilotti |first2=Paolo |last3=Mambretti |first3=Ivan |last4=Rinaldi |first4=Giacomo |publisher=Tipografia Poletti |year=2018 |location=Villa di Tirano}}</ref>
During the Carnival period, ''manzòli'' or ''manzòla'', white flour and [[buckwheat]] [[pancake]]s mixed with slices of cheese and cut into the shape of a [[Calf (animal)|calf]] were eaten to propitiate the abundance of livestock parts.<ref name=":0" />
=== The ''Carneval di Mat'' (Carnival of the fools) ===
In [[Bormio]], during the day of the Carnival of the Fools, the Mayor hands over his power to the ''Podestà di Mat'' ([[Podestà]] of the Fools) to [[Harlequin]], and to the ''Compagnia di Mat'' ("the Company of the Fools") who give a public reading of the gossip and complaints that citizens have deposited in a box placed in the square of the Kuerc. The festival also includes a parade along the streets of the historic centre led by the Harlequins of the Company of Mat, with children escorting the Podestà.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Carnevàl di Mat |url=https://www.valtellina.it/it/eventi/bormio/carneval-di-mat |website=Valtellina.it}}</ref>
[[File:W_il_1930.jpg|thumb|250x250px|"Cheers to the year 1930" written on one of the doors of [[Mazzo di Valtellina]]]]
=== ''La'' ''coscrizione'' (the conscription) ===
The [[conscription]] was originally a celebration on the occasion of the call to the draft: the tradition seems to have originated in the second half of the nineteenth century with the [[unification of Italy]] when young men were forced to serve a period in the Army. The feast of the conscripts of eighteen-year-olds was therefore a kind of [[rite of passage]] to adulthood. Today is simply the celebration of the [[coming of age]].
The duration of the celebration varied from town to town: in Grosio the conscription could last up to ten days, during which the boys and girls met in bars, taverns, or in places specially set up for the purpose. The conscripts had the task of embroidering on the [[Tricolour (flag)|tricolour flag]] the symbol and possibly the motto that the group had chosen. On the walls of the villages, it was customary to write ''W LA CLASSE...'' ("cheers to the year...") followed by the year of birth: nowadays, conscripts hang a tricolour banner with the same wording and the names (or nicknames) of the members of the group.<ref>{{Cite web |title=I Coscritti |url=https://www.grosio.info/i-coscritti/ |website=Grosio.info}}{{dead link|date=September 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Cosa sai della festa dei coscritti? |url=https://www.calendariovaltellinese.com/blog/cosa-sai-della-festa-dei-coscritti |website=Calendario Valtellinese}}</ref>
The feast of the conscripts is particularly felt in Alta Valtellina: in Grosio, for a week, the conscripts meet in a club to celebrate and travel through the streets of the town in a car from which the flag decorated with the symbol of the group waves. On New Year's Eve, amid [[fireworks]] and the noise of whistles, [[cowbell]]s, motorcycles, and [[tractor]]s, they entrust the flag to conscripts one year younger, after having it blessed in church.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Celebrato l'anno dei coscritti del 2001 |url=https://primalavaltellina.it/cronaca/celebrato-lanno-dei-coscritti-del-2001/ |website=Prima la Valtellina.it|date=6 January 2020 }}</ref> Each group chooses different coloured sweatshirts and decorates the tricolour with a [[symbol]] that represents the group's motto or identity.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Coscritti sì, ma responsabili. Dopo la festa fanno pulizia |url=https://www.laprovinciadisondrio.it/stories/Cronaca/coscritti-si-ma-responsabili-dopo-la-festa-fanno-pulizia_1099604_11/ |website=La Provincia di Sondrio.it|date=15 January 2015 }}</ref>
[[File:Pasquali_Bormio.jpg|thumb|241x241px|One of the religious floats carried on the shoulders by the "Pasquali" of [[Bormio]] traditionally dressed.]]
=== ''I Pasquali'' ===
The ''Pasquali'' are allegorical floats with a religious theme, prepared during the winter by the various districts of Bormio (Buglio, Combo, Dossiglio, Dossorovina and Maggiore) for Easter (Pasqua meaning Easter in Italian). On Easter day, the Pasquali are carried on the shoulders of the boys and are accompanied by a band, folk groups, women, seniors, and children who embellish the parade with flowers and other small crafts. Everyone wears the traditional red, black and white costume. After having followed the entire Via Roma and upon arrival at the Piazza del Kuerc (the main square of the town) the ancient bell called Bajona starts tolling and a jury draws up a ranking of the best Pasquali. At the end of the parade, the floats are exhibited in Piazza del Kuerc where they stay until Easter Monday.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Pasqua a Bormio? In compagnia dei Pasquali! |url=https://www.bormio.eu/it/i-pasquali |website=Bormio.eu|date=10 May 2021 }}</ref>
=== ''Il Palio delle Contrade'' ===
Started in 1963, the ''Palio delle Contrade'' sees the inhabitants of the five districts of Bormio compete against each other, divided according to age, in downhill, cross-country, combined, and relay races. The cross-country race takes place through the streets of the town, covered with snow for the purpose.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Palio delle contrade |url=https://www.bormio.info/scoprire_bormio/palio-delle-contrade-di-bormio/ |website=Bormio.info |access-date=2022-06-06 |archive-date=2010-03-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100330143316/http://www.bormio.info/scoprire_bormio/palio-delle-contrade-di-bormio |url-status=dead }}</ref>
==Wines==
{{See also|Lombardia (wine)}}
[[File:Valtellina, Italy vineyard.jpg|thumb|Vineyards in Valtellina]]
In Valtellina, wines are produced mainly from ''Chiavennasca'' (the local name of [[Nebbiolo]] [[grape variety]]) with other minor varieties such as [[Rossola nera]] permitted up to 20% for the ''[[Denominazione di origine controllata]]'' (DOC) and 10% for the ''[[Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita]]'' (DOCG). Grapes are limited to a [[harvest (wine)|harvest]] [[yield (wine)|yield]] of 12
The best-known villages for red wines are: [[Grumello (wine)|Grumello]], [[Sassella]], [[Inferno di Valtellina|Inferno]], [[Valgella]], and [[Maroggia]]. The village names are normally indicated on the label. Additionally, there is an [[Amarone]] style DOCG wine called [[Sforzato di Valtellina|Sforzato]] (Sfursat).
In the lower part of the [[Val Poschiavo]], the valley in the Graubünden canton of
== Tourism ==
One of the most notable tourist attractions of the area is the [[Bernina railway|Bernina Line]] (
The Rupe Magna, a unique large rock with more than 5,000 engraved figures dating from between the 4th and 1st millennia BCE, can be found at the [[Rock Engraving Park-Grosio|Rock Engraving Park]] in [[Grosio]]. <gallery>
Line 61 ⟶ 105:
File:Parco Grosio Rupe Magna 5.jpg|Rock Engraving Park-Grosio; Rupe Magna
</gallery>
▲In the lower part of the [[Val Poschiavo]], the valley in the Graubünden canton of [[Switzerland]] that descends into the Valtellina at [[Tirano]], similar wines are produced - but under different regulations such as [[appellation]] and the allowance of [[sugar]] addition, or [[chaptalization]].
== Notable people ==
Born in Valtellina:
* [[Achille Compagnoni]] (Mountaineer)
* [[Deborah Compagnoni]] (Alpine skier)
* [[Arianna Fontana]] (Short track speed skater)▼
* [[:it:Marco De Gasperi|Marco De Gasperi]] (Athlete, Skyrunner)
▲* [[Arianna Fontana]] (Short track speed skater)
* [[Fabio Meraldi]] (Ski mountaineer)
* [[Giuseppe Piazzi]] (Priest, mathematician and astronomer)
* [[Giulio Tremonti]] (Politician)▼
* [[Luigi Torelli]] (Patriot)
▲* [[Giulio Tremonti]] (Politician)
==See also==
* [[Valtellina disaster]]
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