Savogno, Italy –

Here in Chiavenna, we are quite lucky that the trailhead to one of the area’s most panoramic hikes is our garden gate.  When we are feeling up for something a little bit ambitious, our destination of choice is the mountain village of Savogno.  It lies about 1,800 ft. or 1,400 stone steps above Chiavenna and our pup Poldo scampers up every one of them with glee.  We follow him faithfully.

The path begins here on the valley floor with a lovely view of the Aquafragia Waterfall.  It is a pleasant indicator of what lies ahead as the trail rises steeply along side the falls and then continues up the mountain far above it. The trail is a work of art in its own right, engineered centuries ago to as a type of hewn stone highway straight up to the high alpine meadows where the cows roam in summer and our local cheeses are produced.

Savogno once had a population of a few hundred hearty souls but when folks started to appreciate the mobility that the automobile offered, they migrated down into the valley.  Today, Savogno has a full time population of five.  And an important five they are because they operate the mountain “refugio” or hut, that offers meals and lodging to hikers such as ourselves.  Last week, we started off a delightful lunch with this plate of local meats and cheeses.  We followed that up with a fresh tagliolini and porcini mushrooms.  We dearly love our wanderings to Savagno.  The rewards are great!