Route of the Alpine Pastures

The history of Roncobello's agro-sylvo-pastoral environment is rooted in more than a millennium of tradition. Its high-altitude pastures, rich in valuable herbaceous essences, have over the centuries fostered the creation of mountain pastures, huts and refuges, which arose to allow sustainable use of resources during the summer months.

These ancient highland settlements were not only places of work for shepherds and shepherdesses, but also valuable support points for wayfarers: many huts, even today, retain a room accessible to hikers to provide shelter from the weather. The fulcrum of the entire basin is the Malga di Mezzeno, the largest and best equipped, where mountain pasturing is still practiced and locally made dairy products can be purchased, according to tradition.

The mountain pasture huts of the Mezzeno basin.

Caprarizzo hut - Used in the summer by janitors of a flock of sheep and goats grazing on the high slopes of the area.
Branchino's hut - Support point for passing shepherds and shelter for hikers.
Foppo Hut - Located along the trail to the Twin Lakes, it is home in the summer to mountain pastoralists who produce authentic mountain cheese there.
Cross Cabin - Functions as a shelter in case of bad weather or emergency for those crossing the valley.
Monte Campo hut - Used from June to September by a sheep-goat herd; built between the 18th and 19th centuries, it has been renovated several times and includes a room that is always accessible to hikers.
Three Pizzi hut-The highest and probably the oldest and most dilapidated hut: it still represents an occasional shelter point for hut-keepers and walkers.

A trail among these huts allows visitors to immerse themselves in the culture of mountain pasture, amid open views, high-altitude silence and authentic evidence of mountain life in the Orobie Mountains.