Exploring Monte Poieto, Cornagera, and the Buco della Carolina

Overview ~ Thoughts ~ Flora ~ Photos

 

   

Top left: The madonnina of Monte Cornagera keeps watch over the Val Seriana.

Top right: Approaching Monte Cornagera from below.
Bottom left: Passing through the feature called "Buco della Carolina".

Bottom center: The trail on top of Monte Cornagera.

Bottom right: The cableway of Monte Poieto, Aviatico.

This is about a hike to Monte Poieto, passing through the feature called Buco della Carolina and the surrounding “canyons” of Cornagera. You can park here to start the hike (as one option). We last did this hike in 2016. In that post From Bergamo to Monte Poieto we talk about the options for arriving without a car. In the 2016 hike, we hiked from Rifugio Poieto down to Aviatico. In this hike, we do a loop from Avicatico to Monte Poieto and back.

Overview

Duration: 2 hours walking
Elevation: Max elevation 1353 m. Elevation gain 400 m. Starting elevation 1014 m.
Length: 5.5 km
Location: Albino, Valle Seriana, Province of Bergamo

Thoughts

We rarely repeat a hike. Because there are so many hikes to choose from around Bergamo, we are usually interested in exploring rather than repeating. That said, a repeat hike (or any kind of exploration travel really) has its benefits. You see things with new eyes, new information, and experience. And, in this case, with new friends.

During this hike, we went with friends from our neighborhood. These friends are experienced hikers that were able to point out geographical features and give historical context. These friends grew up in Bergamo walking these trails. At one point on the trail, they pointed out where to find fossils, and we did. At another point, they explained how World War II soldiers hid among the rocks. Insights like this made this repeat hike completely new and fun.

Monte Poieto (1375 m) is the mountain that the rifugio of the same name is on. Today, when we visit, everything is closed for a seasonal break – the rifugio and cableway are silent. But there are picnic tables and large areas to spread out a blanket and relax. We have a lunch of sandwiches, wine, and mapo, a cross between the mandarin cultivar "Avana" and the grapefruit cultivar "Duncan".

From Monte Poieto you can see the cross of Monte Cornagera (1312 m), just 700 m away as the crow flies. The etymology of Cornagera name was covered in our post From Bergamo to Monte Poieto. For the etymology of Poieto, our hiking companion suggests the name came from dialect and has to do with the activity of creating charcoal.

The Cornagera craggy dolomite peaks have been an escape for residents below (Aviactico) for thousands of years. In 999, it is reported that the local population escaped here for fear of the new millennium (millenarianism). Or centuries later to escape pirates, plagues, and even the Nazis during World War II.

The towers of Cornagera (i torrioni della Cornagera) have names that every local knows: Longo, Garlini, Torre Savini, and i Gemelli. Generations of climbers did their first climbs here.

The Buco della Carolina is a 50 m fissure between Monte Cornagera and Monte Poieto that you can squeeze through if you want as a variation in the trail. The origin of the name goes back to World War II. After Italy signed the Armistice of Cassibile, many local Italian soldiers went into hiding to avoid being killed. One young soldier hiding in this fissure had a lover called Carolina and wished only to get back alive to hold her in his arms.

Flora

 
[Agaricaceae] Macrolepiota procera

[Betulaceae] Betula pendula

  

[Colchicaceae] Colchicum autumnale

[Fagaceae] Fagus sylvatica



[Gentianaceae] Gentiana asclepiadea

[Lamiaceae] Teucrium chamaedrys



[Lunulariaceae] Lunularia cruciata



[Primulaceae] Cyclamen sp.


[Ranunculaceae] Hepatica nobilis


[Rosaceae] Sorbus aria

Photos

  

Left and center: Sign markers for Trail 537, Monte Cornagera.
Right: Tracks and stats.

 

Left: a sign describing the Cornagera area.
Right: view from Monte Poieto toward Monte Cornagera.

 
On top of Monte Cornagera.

  

On top of Monte Cornagera, Aviatico, Val Seriana, Bergamo.

  

The feature called "Buca della Carolina".

  
The feature called "Buca della Carolina".

  

The towers of Cornagera and climbing toward Monte Cornagera.

Music Album Covers with a Reflection in a Mirror

Composite image of 25 album covers with a mirror reflection.

The criterion for selecting albums in this album cover mosaic is that a person or object is reflected in a mirror or reflective surface.  There were rearview mirrors and mirrored image album covers that we don’t include because they don’t meet the criterion. 

The idea of the Greek myth of Narcissus is invoked in several of the 25 images included here.  In many of the images, we feel like a voyeur eavesdropping at an intimate moment.  The Def Leppard mirror doubles as a skull as well. 

The album covers in the composite image are: 

1973 Caetano Veloso - Araçá Azul
1973 Fripp and Eno - No Pussyfotting
1973 Silverhead - 16 and Savaged
1975 Black Sabbath - Sabotage
1977 Linda Ronstadt - Simple Dreams 

1977 Roger Daltrey - One of the Boys
1979 Tubeway Army - Replicas
1980 Billy Joel - Glass Houses
1983 Split Enz - Conflicting Emotions
1983 The Smiths - This Charming Man [EP]


1986 Cyndi Lauper - True Colors
1992 Lyle Lovett - Joshua Judges Ruth
1993 Def Leppard - Retro Active
1994 Kenny Loggins - Return to Pooh Corner
1996 - Donna Lewis - Now in a Minute


1997 Davide Lee Roth - The Best
1997 Elliott Smith - Either-Or
2005 Ben Folds Five - Songs for Silverman
2005 John Winter - Progressive Blues Experiment
2009 Cesaria Evora - Nha Sentimento


2013 Jun Miyake - Lost Memory Theater - Act I
2014 David Bowie - Nothing Has Changed
2016 Beth Orton - Kidsticks
2017 Kevin Morby - City Music
2017 Nick Hakim - Green Twins