Via del Mercato
The so-called Marktweg ( Via del Mercato in Italian ) connects Locarno with Domodossola and runs through the Centovalli and Vigezzo Valley . The route follows the paths and mule tracks that were once used by Italian and Swiss traders to transport their goods on foot or on mules. At the beginning of the 20th century, the Centovalli Railway , which has now become a tourist attraction, was opened with the initial intention of promoting this trade.
Today, the walkers who cover the 62 km long route will discover the places and beauties of the Vigezzo plateau, the route can be divided into four stages, or you can use the railway connection, which is a short distance from the footpath.
This route is part of the Coeur hiking route - In the heart of Europe's paths .
The history
The Marktweg was to the 19th century, the street traders, loggers, cattle keepers and emigrants who, for reasons of trade and job search from the Middle Ages Canton Ticino in the Ossola came. This connection has been used since ancient times because it is easy to cross the mountains, because here runs the Periadriatic Seam , a tectonic fault that touches the Vigezzo Valley, Locarno, Bellinzona and the Valtellina . This opening through the Alpine valleys, running in an east-west direction, has favored a strong development of connecting routes such as the one over the San Jorio pass.
The great importance that this frontier area had for centuries has declined recently, but there remains ample evidence of the role this crossroads of peoples, arts and cultures played in the past. The works of famous artists can still be seen in the Vigezzo Valley, and in the last century there were seven painting schools in the valley. The tradition of chimney sweeps should also be remembered.
The old road is now largely overlaid by the current state road, but the former path can be found again using the paths that connect the villages and follow the smuggling trails near the Swiss border.
Interesting places
There are numerous places of historical and anthropological interest on Via del Mercato .
The Sanctuary of the Madonna del Sangue in Re
The Sanctuary of the Madonna del Sangue de Re was built in neo-Byzantine style as a result of a miracle in 1494, soon became the religious center of the area and remains a constant reference point for popular belief and piety.
The Farewell Chapel of Gagnone
The “Farewell Chapel” is on the state road just before Gagnone. In front of the chapel, the families greeted the emigrants who were on their way and who were accompanied to the border of the valley.
Sant'Abbondio in Masera
The church of S. Abbondio in Masera is located on the right side of the Melezzo stream in the Vigezzo valley and was the actual beginning of the old road from Vigezzo. The church was abandoned for centuries but has recently been cleaned and restored so that the Romanesque structure can once again be admired in all its beauty.
Santa Maria Maggiore
Santa Maria Maggiore is the heart of the Vigezzo Valley, its main tourist and administrative center. It is located at an altitude of 800 meters in the center of the Vigezzo plateau and preserves the stately features of an ancient capital. The parish church, consecrated to the Assumption of Mary , was originally built before the year 1000, then rebuilt with a single nave in the 18th century. It features frescoes by the local painter Giuseppe Maria Borgnis, including a coronation of the Virgin . Valuable paintings and frescoes of artistic relevance can also be seen in the oratorios S. Giovanni and S. Rocco in Crana.
The "Rossetti Valentini" School of Fine Arts
The artistic tradition that made the Vigezzo Valley the “Valley of Painters” continues today thanks to the “Rossetti Valentini” School of Fine Arts, founded at the end of the 18th century. In the attached art gallery , works by painters from the Vigezzo Valley are gathered.
The Chimney Sweep Museum
The Chimney Sweep Museum in Santa Maria Maggiore shows pictures, objects and equipment of a now abandoned craft, but which played a fundamental role in the economy and in the migratory movements of the Vigezzo Valley.
The “place of miracles” in the Vigezzo Valley
In the village of Craveggia there is what has been called the “Square of Miracles” of the Vigezzo Valley, because the parish church of Santi Giacomo e Cristoforo and the baptistery gather around the main square . Inside the church is the treasure of the King of France, which consists of valuable paraments made from old silk fabrics, cibories , crosses and Eastern sensory books .
The places of the Centovalli
After reaching Switzerland and the Centovalli valley, one encounters the towns of Borgnone , Lionza, Verdasio , Pila and Intragna , which are connected to one another by roads and old mule tracks. Intragna has the highest bell tower in Ticino (65 m) and is home to the Museo etnografico regional delle Centovalli e del Pedemonte (Regional Ethnographic Museum of the Centovalli and Pedemonte), which collects evidence of life in this area over the past decades and centuries .