Cardinello Gorge
The Cardinello Gorge is a rocky gorge in the northern Italian Alps not far from the border with Switzerland .
The steep Cardinello Gorge is one of the most difficult sections of the Via Spluga long-distance hiking trail , which leads from Thusis ( Graubünden ) over the Splügen Pass to Chiavenna ( Italy ). The gorge extends from the dam of Lago di Montespluga (1,900 m) to the village of Isola (1,240 m) on the Lago di Isola reservoir and is part of the Val San Giacomo . In 1643 a non-navigable mule track was laid out, which was expanded with retaining walls, stairs and galleries from 1716. In recent years, the path has been painstakingly reconstructed in the course of the opening of the long-distance hiking trail.
The gorge path gained historical importance when on December 6, 1800 15,000 soldiers of the "Armée des Grisons" ("Army of Graubünden") of the Napoleonic Marshal Jacques MacDonald crossed the Splügen Pass and the Cardinello Gorge to spend the night in Isola. MacDonald may have lived in what was then the post office, now the Hotel Locanda Cardinello.
literature
- Martin Bundi: Cardinello Gorge. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
- Luca Merisio: Via Sett, Via Spluga. From Thusis to Chiavenna. Two ways, a thousand emotions , Lyasis Ed., Sondrio 2014, ISBN 978-88-97292-24-1 .
- Kurt Wanner: Via Spluga. Wandering through cultures , Verlag Terra Grischuna , Chur 2001, ISBN 3-7298-1139-8 .
Web links
Coordinates: 46 ° 27 '54.7 " N , 9 ° 20' 17.9" E