Discovering Val Brembana: an itinerary among nature and villages

Val Brembana is located in the province of Bergamo, set between the spectacular peaks of the Alpi Orobie and a heavily urbanized valley floor where the river Brembo flows quickly.

The mountain landscapes, the hiking opportunities on the many trails and the presence of picturesque villages and historical attractions make the entire valley a real paradise for mountain lovers and, in general, for all tourists who like to visit beautiful places surrounded by a natural setting of exceptional beauty.

From the very beginning of the valley, near Villa d'Almè, there are less than 15 km to arrive at San Pellegrino Terme. We get there after passing the villages of Sedrina, birthplace of the legendary cyclist Felice Gimondi, and Zogno.

San Pellegrino is famous all over the world for the homonymous mineral water and right here, in fact, is located also the S.Pellegrino company. The town is also an important thermal centre: the spa, born in the early '900 with the construction of beautiful buildings in Art Nouveau style, had lost relevance towards the end of the century, but has been completely renovated in 2014 and today it represents an excellence of this territory.

Other attractions of San Pellegrino Terme include:

- the Grand Hotel, a building with majestic and spectacular architecture located next to the river. It was built in 1904 and the following year Margherita di Savoia, Queen of Italy, stayed here. In later years, other characters such as Eugenio Montale and Salvatore Quasimodo resided in this hotel;  

- the Casino, another characteristic building of the early '900, with a beautiful facade with two high towers and an interior with an atrium where we can find several columns in red Verona marble and a wonderful staircase in Carrara marble. Since 1917 the casino is no longer in business: today it hosts conferences or weddings, and can be visited during the summer;

- Tempio dei Caduti, originally called Tempio della Vittoria, is a war memorial. Built of local stone in 1924, contains inside magnificent mosaics representing scenes of war and biblical events.  

San Pellegrino is the place to stay for visiting with daily excursions other areas of Val Brembana, such as the nearby Val Serina.

Accessible by passing the river Brembo at the junction of Ambria, between Zogno and San Pellegrino, Val Serina offers many opportunities for nature hikes, especially through the network of trails called via Mercatorum. 

Via Mercatorum, as the name indicates, is a maze of trails developed already in medieval times to encourage trades between the city of Bergamo and the nearby mountain valleys. These routes are now well marked and have been developed in a tourist perspective. In fact, especially in summer, they are a destination for excursions and walks suitable for families, offering a beautiful scenery and outstanding views.

Now we go back to San Pellegrino Terme to spend the night: we can opt for the historic Hotel Bigio, perfect for its location right in the centre of the town; or for the QC room San Pellegrino, a modern lifestyle hotel just a few steps from the spa (the brand in fact is the same, QC Terme).

We leave San Pellegrino and continue our itinerary in the heart of Val Brembana. Driving just a few hundred meters outside the town, we met a road to the right that, after crossing the river, goes up towards the village of Dossena. 

Dossena is located between Val Brembana and Val Serina: its historical mines, from which once was extracted calamine and, only recently, fluorite, are the main attraction of the town. Dossena was in fact an important mining center already in Roman times, and this activity continued almost uninterrupted until 1981. 

Today there are 18 km of excavations, of which 2 km can be visited through very suggestive guided tours, in which we can take part with a helmet on our head to live an immersive and safe experience through the tunnels and ventilation chimneys, rails and old rusty carriages, and even an underground pond.

More recently, in 2022, Dossena also saw the inauguration of a Tibetan bridge called Ponte del Sole: the idea is to develop natural tourism through the creation of this enchanting bridge from which we can admire, not without some thrill, a breathtaking landscape.

From Dossena we descend again to the valley towards San Pellegrino. Once back on the Val Brembana state road, we continue north for a few kilometers until San Giovanni Bianco. 

From here, turning left at the fork towards the end of the village, we can reach Val Taleggio, a little valley famous for its typical products including some types of cheese known all over the world. In fact, Val Brembana and the surrounding valleys represent a world-class dairy excellence, with products such as Taleggio, Branzi and Formai de Mut.

After San Giovanni Bianco we turn right, along the river in a small gorge until we reach the village of Camerata Cornello. From here starts one of the paths of the Via Mercatorum that, in a few hundred meters, reaches the picturesque village of Cornello dei Tasso.

Dating back to Middle Ages, Cornello dei Tasso owes his name to the presence in the village of the Tasso family, of which Torquato Tasso, famous writer and poet, author of the heroic poem Gerusalemme Liberata, was also part.

The remains of Palazzo Tasso are still visible today, along with the arcades and stone arches that characterize the small village, which today has become a sort of open-air museum, a window on the medieval history of the territory. The church in Romanesque style dominates from above the beautifully preserved village.

The path of the Via Mercatorum continues even after Cornello dei Tasso, entering a wood and reaching the nearby village of Oneta.

Oneta is another charming village where we can find the Casa Museo di Arlecchino, a noble palace that now houses numerous masks of characters of the comedy of art, and where in the past stayed, according to tradition, the Renaissance actor Alberto Naselli.