Vallemaggia, or Valle Maggia, is an alpine valley located in the Swiss canton of Ticino, north of the town of Locarno. It is crossed by the Maggia. About fifty kilometers long, it branches out into many side valleys that are often uninhabited.
Val Bavona
The Bavona Valley opens onto the Vallemaggia near Bignasco. The Bavona River flows through it, rising to an altitude of approximately 560 meters over a length of 12 kilometers. The valley is a narrow, U-shaped glacial depression. The numerous boulders and stones that litter the valley floor date back to the retreat of the glaciers and were deposited by landslides, such as the one that occurred near Fontana in 1594. Twelve hamlets (Terre) are scattered throughout the valley floor, their inhabitants called Terrieri. Due to the absence of roads until 1950 and the deliberate refusal to install electricity, the villages have retained their uniform character with their traditional stone houses (Rustici), although some of these houses have been somewhat altered by ornaments such as geraniums and cartwheels. Connection to electricity is prohibited in the valley in order to preserve these traditions. The hamlets are named – from southeast to northwest – Mondada, Fontana (destroyed by a landslide in June 2024), Alnedo, Sabbione, Ritorto, Foroglio, Roseto, Fontanellata, Faedo, La Bóla, Sonlerto, and San Carlo. The most famous is Foroglio, with the Calnègia waterfall, which, with a drop of 108 meters, is one of the highest in Ticino.
The Mergozzo pasture
The Mergozzo pasture is located in the municipality of Avegno-Gordevio in Vallemaggia, Ticino (Switzerland). Located at an altitude of 1,400 meters, it welcomes over sixty goats every summer, owned by the Maddalena family. Inscriptions on “rustici” (typical granite houses) show that this mountain pasture was already occupied in the 17th century, a time when conditions must have been very harsh. More recently, several of these old stone huts have been carefully renovated in a spirit of heritage conservation and offer all modern comforts to shepherds who stay on the mountain pastures in summer.