Saturday 21st May 2022
EXPERIENCE THE EMOTION OF THE LARIAN MOUNTAINS, DISCOVER THE OLTRE LARIO
OltreLario is traveling in sensations.
“OltreLario” leads the traveler to discover the slopes around Lake Como and what they have to tell: stories and anecdotes, which pass from the local community to the traveler through travel experiences, which intersect nature, culture and crafts. We will grind the wheat in a still working wheel mill, we will put our hands in the curd to produce Primosale, we will collect wild herbs, we will visit a laboratory for the extraction of medicinal plants of the Larian Triangle. We will walk among historical photographs, musical notes and typographic prints. We will do mountain teaching activities and picnics in the pastures.
The landscapes are designed by the testimonies of the local cultural tradition: terracing, chestnut groves, dry stone walls, mills, hammers, factories and spinning mills. Nature has also been committed to creating areas of exceptional beauty, such as the largest European forest of the Maggiociondoli in the Intelvi Valley or the Terra mushrooms in the Lariano Triangle and breathtaking views overlooking the Lario. Nature and its representations have been a source of inspiration for painters, such as Eugenio Spreafico and Giovanni Segantini, and for the Comacini Magistri in their stucco and scagliola decorations, which have adorned European churches and villas for centuries.
Every aspect of the territory is told, brought to light, in a constant journey on foot and by bicycle. Two means that allow slow time and, therefore, the possibility of savoring rural areas.
OltreLario is traveling in sensations. It is lake, mountain and valleys.
It is going through the woods in May and being pervaded by the sweet scent of elderberry, it is putting your feet in the undergrowth and being invaded by the aroma of bear’s garlic, it is riding among the Laburnum trees with fronds full of golden bunches in bloom.
It is to meet majestic and centuries-old trees that hide stories of the past, such as the “Foo di Parol” in Valle d’Intelvi, the perfect hiding place for messages from past smugglers near the Swiss border crossing. It is trying to embrace the circumference of almost 8 meters of the centuries-old chestnut tree, called “Castanun de Buncava”, in Barni.
It is to walk through history. The Lambro and its flow among the rocks, its source Menaresta – Mena (VA) and remains (FERMA), which becomes a river in Magreglio. Imagine forges, hammers. Men and women at work. See still mills in operation, in action with the natural driving force of water in Asso.
It is walking among the snows in the valley and seeing the cheesemakers place the aluminum cans full of freshly milked milk in these wells dug into the earth and filled with pressed snow and beech leaves.
It is to experience art passing from the Baroque-Rococo style in the Church of Santa Maria, in the Scaria hamlet of Alta Valle Intelvi to the Romanesque-Comacine style in the Church of Sant’Alessandro in Lasnigo.
It means getting to know the workers, the craftsmanship in the hard-working hands of scagliolists and plasterers in the Valley and those industrious in the construction of wooden rims for bicycles in Magreglio. It is building paths on hairpin bends, climbs, historical plateaus; is to intersect views of Lake Como; is to experience the emotion of rurality, day by day, in close contact with the territory and the local community.
Experience the emotion of the Larian mountains, discover the Oltre Lario
Today, Saturday 21 May, the launch event of the “OltreLario” project led by Lake Como GAL in collaboration with the Triangolo Lariano and Lario Intelvese Mountain Communities is held at the Madonna del Ghisallo Cycling Museum in Magreglio (CO). OltreLario aims to intercept the traveler who loves experiences, who wishes to spend one or more days in places full of charm around Lake Como. Places that offer breathtaking views, excursions into woods and villages, e-bike routes that meet multiple levels of passion: climbs, hairpin bends, technical trails and plateaus.
With “Experience the emotion of the Larian mountains, discover the Oltre Lario”, Lake Como GAL will present to the guests the project activities developed so far and the first results achieved.
“OltreLario” arises from the local action of the Leader cooperation project “Rural Horizons” (funded by the Lombardy Region as part of Operation 19.3 of the RDP), which sees Lake Como LAG in partnership with LAG Risorsa Lomellina, LAG Terre del Po, LAS Carso – LAS Kras, LAS Krasa in Brkinov and LAS Istre.
“OltreLario” expresses the need of local operators, consulted thanks to the bottom-up approach, inherent in the project, to make the space BEYOND the LARIO known. We want to broaden the horizons of travelers to everything around Lake Como.
Having identified the territorial criticalities, first and foremost the large gap between the renowned lake areas and the countries with fewer possibilities in the hinterland, both in terms of the quality of life of the residents and in the potential for relaunch and development, Lake Como GAL has the challenge of reactivating the villages, of rediscovering local culture and traditions, as well as of implementing networks, to strengthen the tourism sector.
Two small areas have been circumscribed on both territories and 10 ring routes have been identified for cyclists and hikers on already existing paths, suitable for both families and an expert target, interspersed with natural and cultural wonders to visit and travel experiences to try. More than 70 points of interest and about fifteen spectacular views of Lake Como have been mapped.
The construction of the slow tourist offer requires networking: local actors, operators, bicycle renters, guides, associations, local administrations must design the tourism product together. The constantly evolving network of “OltreLario” is made up of museums, craft businesses, farms, historical assets, mid-mountain guides and companions. With the network, which is also the recipient of training opportunities, more than 25 travel experiences have been identified for the sustainable and conscious visitor, who seeks authenticity.
The project also set itself the goal of creating a communication strategy starting from the digital representation of tourism through the SharryLand benefit platform to communicate what awaits tourists remotely.
OltreLario social networks are based on narration, which evokes feelings, creating affection for the territory even before reaching it. The traveler chooses what he perceives close to him. It is therefore essential to make him feel part of the story, to talk about him, about something that concerns him and interests him using precise, specific and authentic words. The contents are made up of an intertwining of tales about the local tangible and intangible heritage and the stories of the people who populate the Larian Triangle and the Intelvi Valley.
SharryLand, a benefit company, is the Map of Wonders, the all-Italian platform that gives voice to the immense Italian cultural heritage and brings together those who seek and those who offer quality experiences in the Wonders.
Another focal point of the “OltreLario” project is sustainable mobility, which becomes ideal, in these places, to increase existing connections in favor of the local community and visitors and to structure routes by networking the many attractive elements of the local heritage.
The European House Ambrosetti, a high-level strategic consultancy and research company in Italy and around the world commissioned by the LAG, illustrates the results and operational indications derived from the study “The development of slow mobility in the province of Como”, aimed at analyzing strategic scenarios and opportunities associated with the development of slow mobility as a growth factor in tourist attractiveness, to research the enabling factors and priority actions to develop cycle-hiking in the territories of the Lariano Triangle and Valle d’Intelvi.
Finally, the investment program aims to create, through tour operators, tourist packages that express a pact between the traveler and the local community for the correct use of resources.
At the end of the event, food and wine is the main actor and finds prominence in a buffet proposal with typical local products, such as cow’s, sheep’s and goat’s cheeses and cured meats from the farms of the Lariano Triangle and Valle d’Intelvi and with the grand finale del Tóc di Bellagio, included in 2021 among the new “Traditional Agri-food Products” recognized by the Lombardy Region. Let’s not forget the desserts: Pan Meino (sweet bread with elderflower), Nocciolini di Canzo (small and crumbly sweet biscuits made with hazelnuts, also recognized as PAT of Lombardy) and Miascia (bread and fruit cake).
Lake Como GAL is a limited liability consortium company that deals with the development of the rural territory of the Lariano Triangle, the Intelvi Valley and municipalities located in the Brianza belt. It acts through the implementation of the Local Development Plan and finances projects relating to agricultural, forestry, tourism and social issues with European funds. The LAG has the possibility to operate directly in the territories of competence with Leader cooperation projects, through which, in partnership with other Italian and European LAGs, it elaborates local development strategies to promote territorial peculiarities such as active tourism.
Daniela Gerosa, president of the LAG declares: “The 2014-2020 programming saw the use of the total resources assigned to this LAG with € 5,350,500 for the development of the territory. The transition funds allocated to us, approximately € 1,600,000, will be prepared for the reopening of measures to support the tourism and agricultural sectors, as well as in favor of youth entrepreneurship. In recent years we have been able to finance projects ranging from the recovery of traditional artifacts, to the requalification of paths, to the maintenance of social sectors and to the enhancement of agricultural and forestry companies.
An important amount of resources was used for cooperation projects of which “OltreLario” is a virtuous example for the results obtained so far. ”
References
Eleonora Gini – Lake Como Animator GAL
animatore@lagodicomogal.eu
333 184 9153
“OltreLario” is presented on SharryLand https://www.sharry.land/it/meraviglie/oltrelario
Instagram Oltrelario https://www.instagram.com/oltrelario/
Facebook OltreLario https://www.facebook.com/oltrelario
Download the “OltreLario” App to learn about all the routes of the Larian Triangle and the Intelvi Valley!
