A Hike to Rifugio Fratelli Longo and Lago Diavolo from Carona

Overview ~ The Route ~ Resistance ~ Rifugio Longo ~ 

Water, Dams, and Electricity ~ A Final Thought ~ Flora

  

Left: View from the Lago Diavolo dam looking west.

Center: View from trail 208 - looking east.
Right: Rifugio Longo with green backdrop.

On a warm July Sunday, we headed up to Alta Val Brembana for a hike to Rifugio Fratelli Longo and Lago Diavolo. We stopped in Branzi (of cheese fame) for a coffee before continuing on to Carona and parking.

Starting in Carona, we followed a combination of CAI trails 210, 209, 208, 224, and 258 in a loop that took us through forests, past reservoirs and waterfalls, and into one of the most historically interesting valleys in the Bergamasque Alps. The hike ended, as many of our hikes do, with an excellent lunch at the rifugio. This is one of the few rifugi we haven’t been to in the Orobie, so it was nice to get a chance to visit.

Overview

Length: 19.7 km
Elevation Gain: ~1,010 m
Duration: 7 hours total including lunch, 4 hours 51 minutes moving time
Highest Point: 2,142 m
Starting Point: Carona (1,189 m)
Destination: Rifugio Fratelli Longo (2,026 m) and Lago Diavolo

The Route

We started in Carona (here) on CAI trail 210, a mostly paved service road that climbs steadily into the valley. Around the third kilometer we left the road and took CAI trail 209, a forest trail that climbs through the trees to meet trail 208, the Sentiero delle Orobie Occidentali. From there we continued on trail 224 to Rifugio Longo.

After reaching the rifugio, we continued up to Lago Diavolo, one of the iconic alpine lakes of the Orobie. The lake sits beneath rugged peaks and beside a dam that today holds back the alpine waters. Today, the lake looked pretty low to our eyes. 

We returned to the rifugio for lunch before descending on trail 258, a narrower and more interesting trail that drops into the valley and follows portions of an old aqueduct before reconnecting with trail 208 and eventually Carona.

One of the highlights of the day was encountering a large herd of Bergamasca Sheep. Seeing roughly 1,500 animals spread on a steep slope under the trees felt like stepping into another century. The Bergamasca breed originated in the valleys around Bergamo and remains closely associated with pastoral life in Val Brembana. The shepherd spoke a broken Italian indicating he was from somewhere else. Our Italian friends hinted he might be of Balkan origin.

Resistance 

A recurring theme on this hike was the difference between taking "the road" and taking "the trail." 

A few of our Italian companions generally favored the obvious and established route. Suggestions to deviate from the main trail, whether by taking trail 209 through the forest or making a detour to see the dam and lake, were initially met with skepticism. Once the alternative route revealed a hidden view, an interesting landscape feature, or some unexpected beauty, enthusiasm returned.  

Yet the next suggestion for a detour often triggered the same debate all over again. 

Perhaps this is one of those universal hiking truths: many hikers want certainty, while others are willing to trade certainty for curiosity. On this day, curiosity won some battles but not all of them.  

Rifugio Fratelli Longo 

The rifugio sits at 2,026 meters in the Valle del Monte Sasso and is one of the classic destinations in the Orobie Bergamasche. The rifugio is named after Giuseppe and Innocente Longo, two Bergamasque brothers who died while climbing the Matterhorn (Val d’Aosta) in 1934. 

The history of the rifugio is intertwined with that of nearby Rifugio Calvi. A mountain hut was originally constructed on this site by the CAI Bergamo section in 1923 was dedicated to the four Calvi brothers. Following damage and neglect during World War II, a larger rifugio was built nearby in the valley, becoming today's Rifugio Calvi. The older structure was renovated and rededicated to the Longo brothers, giving rise to the current Rifugio Fratelli Longo. 

Today, Longo serves hikers traversing the western Orobie and climbers heading toward passes that connect Val Brembana with Valtellina. Despite its remote location, it remains a welcoming place for a meal and conversation. During our visit, we chatted with the manager, who mentioned her son was preparing for a trip to Los Angeles, Death Valley, and Las Vegas. Small connections like that are one reason rifugi remain special places. 

Water, Dams, and Electricity 

The valley above Carona looks wild today, but much of its modern appearance was shaped by hydroelectric development during the twentieth century. 

Beginning in the early 1900s, the growing industrial centers of Bergamo and Milan needed electricity. The high valleys of the Orobie, with abundant snowfall (back then), steep gradients, and natural basins, were ideal for hydroelectric production. A series of dams, tunnels, reservoirs, and aqueducts were constructed throughout the area around Carona. 

Lago del Prato, Lago Marcio, Lago del Diavolo, Lago Fregabolgia, Lago del Sardegnana, and other reservoirs became part of an interconnected system designed to capture and move water efficiently through the mountains. Some of the trails hikers use today originated as service roads for dam construction and maintenance. The old aqueduct section we followed on trail 258 is a reminder that much of the valley's infrastructure was built not for recreation but for moving water. 

The dams dramatically altered the landscape while also preserving a visible record of twentieth-century engineering. Standing near Lago Diavolo, it is hard not to admire the ambition required to build large concrete structures in such a remote alpine environment long before modern construction equipment could be easily transported into the mountains. 

Today, hikers pass through a landscape where natural and human history coexist. Alpine lakes, shepherds, and centuries-old mountain traditions share the same valley with dams, tunnels, and hydroelectric infrastructure that helped power Lombardy's industrial growth. 

A Final Thought

We enjoyed this hike more than we expected. The combination of forests, reservoirs, alpine scenery, sheep, mountain history, and good food made for an excellent day in the Orobie. The route also reinforced a lesson we've learned many times: when given the choice between the road and the trail, the trail is usually the better story. 

  

  

  

  

  

Flora

[Apiaceae] Astrantia major

  

[Asteraceae] Centaurea sp.

  

[Asteraceae] Cirsium sp.

[Asteraceae] Pilosella sp.

[Onagraceae] Epilobium sp.

[Orchidaceae] Dactylorhiza maculata

[Orchidaceae] Gymnadenia rhellicani or Nigritella rhellicani

[Plantaginaceae] Digitalis grandiflora

[Rosaceae] Sanguisorba dodecandra

 
 

Above Genoa: A Short Hike Over A Vertical City

We spent four days in Genoa in mid-March. The main post is here: Genoa Weekend. One highlight of the visit was a short hike that stitched together two of Genoa’s hillside transport lines—the Granarola and the Righi funiculars—to give one of the best views of the city.

   

Left: View from top of Granarola Funicular station in Genoa, Italy.
Center left: The Granarola Funicular car, bottom station.
Center right: The Righi Funicular arrives in the top station.

Right: Tracks for this hike between Granarola and Righi top stations.

Overview

Length: ~5.6 km
Duration: ~1.5 hours (top of funicular to top of funicular)
Elevation gain: ~221 m
Location: Genoa, Italy

Notes

On a gray Sunday morning,  we took the Granarolo funicular up into the hills above the city. The original idea was simple: ride up, wander a bit, and then take the same funicular back down.

Instead, we ended up walking along hillside roads and trails across the ridge until we reached the Righi funicular, which we used to descend back toward the center. Most of the walking time was spent on the percorso ginnico (gymnastic course) as labeled on maps. It’s approximately an isoline that leads to the Righi top station.

The walk itself isn’t dramatic in the Alpine sense. There are houses, gardens, small streets, and patches of trail. But the perspective is what makes it memorable.

At one moment you feel like you are in a quiet hillside village. Then you turn a corner, and the entire city appears below you—the port, the old center, and the Ligurian Sea beyond.

Genoa looks almost like a relief map from above.

After descending on the Righi funicular, we returned to the center for lunch, coffee, and something sweet before catching the train home.

It was a fitting end to a trip that combined wandering streets, riding strange elevators, and briefly escaping the city by walking above it all.
 

  

Left: Granarola Funicular top station, Genoa Italy.
Center: Gardens above Genoa center.

Right: The Righi Funicular descending into the city.

   

Left and center left: Percorso Ginnico in Parco delle Mura above Genoa.

Center right: A trail above Genoa.

Right: Salita di Granarola.

  

Left: In the hills above Genoa, a polveriera (gun powder storage).

Center: Trail Genoa in Parco delle Mura

Right: View northwest toward Santuario di Nostra Signora della Guardia.

Le Vie di Misma - Trails 511 and 510

Every so often we head back toward Monte Misma, one of those mountains that sits quietly on the edge of Bergamo’s everyday horizon. It’s not dramatic like the high Orobie peaks, but it’s close, accessible, and threaded with trails that make for perfect short escapes into the woods.

This time we explored a small network of paths sometimes referred to as Le Vie di Misma, linking Sentiero 510 and Sentiero 511 for a compact morning hike. We were joined by friends who live in nearby Fiobbio, for whom these trails are practically their backyard. They wanted to show us one of their regular haunts, which made the outing feel less like discovering a trail and more like being given a local tour.

  

Views over Val Seriana and trails through anemone. Old roccolo on the right.

Details

Duration: ~2.5 hours
Distance: ~7 km
Elevation gain: ~514 m (max elevation was at 900m)
Location: Bassa e Media Val Seriana (Albino / Pradalunga area), Bergamo, Italy

The Route

We started walking at about 10:15 in the morning and finished around 12:45. Some time was lost to finding our friend’s independent-minded dog who decided to go exploring without us.

From near Albino station (which you can reach by tram from Bergamo) you can walk to Montecura Accoglienza e Ospitalità and find your way to the Morosini Cappella. This is the same as the start of our Monte Misma – Just Outside Our Window hike from January 2025.

From the Morosini Cappella, you pick up Sentiero 510 climbing gradually through wooded slopes on the lower flanks of Misma. The trail passes through quiet forest and occasional clearings before reaching the area around Stalla Cura, which marked the high point of the walk for us.

Instead of continuing down the usual route toward Pradalunga, we opted for a small detour: an unmarked trail that reconnects with Sentiero 511, creating a pleasant loop-like route and a bit of mild navigation fun.

  

Signs along the trail.

A Foraging Encounter

One interesting moment of the hike came near the Cappella del Martirio della Beata Pierina Morosini area, where we met a woman out collecting wild plants for dinner. Her basket included:

• Primula flowers – destined for decoration on swordfish
• Aglio orsino (wild garlic) – to make pesto
• Silene – likely for pasta stuffing

Encounters like this are one of the small pleasures of hiking in the Bergamo foothills. The trails are not just recreational paths; they are still part of a living landscape where people gather herbs, tend small plots, and move through the woods with purpose.

The hillside around the cappella is typical well-used woods in this area: too much ivy for our tastes. But someone thoughtfully planted prettier non-natives Edgeworthia chrysantha and Skimmia japonica to make up for it.

  

Country lane hiking. A tree with a cut ivy trunk. We love whoever did this.

  

Final Thoughts

This hike isn’t about grand vistas or long alpine pushes. Instead, it’s a short woodland ramble close to home—just enough climbing to wake up the legs and enough wandering paths to keep things interesting.

Trails like 510 seem like nothing when glancing on a map but are a different story when you are on them. And, in the foothills of the Alps (like Val Seriana), the trails are tricky and narrow almost as if by design. All to say we were huffing and puffing when we reached Stalla Cura.

All the effort felt lighter thanks to walking with friends/locals. When someone shows you their everyday trails, you see them differently: less as a destination and more as a lived‑in landscape. On the slopes of Misma, these woods are part of daily life for the people in the surrounding villages—and for a morning, we got to experience them that way too.

Flora

[Family] Genus species {Common name in English, Common name in Italian}

[Araceae] Arum maculatum {Cuckoo Pint, Gigaro scuro}


[Asparagaceae] Scilla bifolia {Alpine Squill; Scilla silvestre}


[Liliaceae] Erythronium dens-canis {Dogtooth violet; Dente di cane}
  

[Primulaceae] Primula vulgaris – {Primrose; Primula comune}


[Ranunculaceae] Anemone nemorosa – {European Wood Anemone; Anemone dei boschi}
 

[Ranunculaceae] Helleborus niger – {Christmas Rose; Rosa di Natale}


[Rosaceae] Prunus spinosa {Blackthorn; Pruno selvatico spinoso}  - likely, but not sure


[Rutaceae] Skimmia japonica 


[Thymelaeaceae] Edgeworthia chrysantha

[Thymelaeaceae] Daphne mezereum {Fior di stecco; Paradise plant}