Hike: Bergamo to Monte Filaressa, Monte Costone, Corna Bianca

Overview | Notes | Flora | Trail Photos

Top left: Trail 533 in Salmezza. Top center: A broken birch tree near Corna Bianca. Top right: Trail 531 marker. Bottom left: Hike tracks from Bergamo to Salmezza calling out trails 531 and 533. Bottom right: On Trail 533 below Salmezza.

Overview

Length: 31 km (19.2 mi)
Duration: ~9 hours (one 30 min stop for lunch, and two small stops)
Elevation: 1,640 m (5,380 ft)
Location: Italy, Lombardy, Parco dei Colli, Alzano Lombardo

Notes

Two weeks ago we tried to reach Monte Filaressa and turned around due to stormy conditions. Today, we are able to make it to Monte Filaressa (1134 m) and beyond to Monte Costone (1195 m) and the flanks of Corna Bianca (1228 m). Our turn around point before returning to Bergamo is the small hamlet of Salmezza. This hamlet is a good example of an alpine village.

To reach Salmezza, you can walk from Bergamo as we do here, or you can take a tram – bus – gondola combination to get to Selvino and then walk up. Or, you can drive. To be honest, this is a long walk. There are plenty of places to stop along the way to relax. We stopped at Canto Basso for a small break, then again at the top of Monte Filaressa for lunch, and then at Salmezza for a coffee (take-out only during pandemic). In our hike to Salmezza last August, we ate at Merelli Gilberto. So that's a great option for lunch when things return to normal after the pandemic.

You can climb to the peak of Monte Filaressa, but must turn around to continue on toward Salmezza. As you are descending from Filaressa, you might be tempted by the first trail going off to the right, heading to Salmezza. Be warned that trail is very steep. If you continue down a little more, descending back toward Monte di Nese, you'll reach a easier and flatter trail that goes around the north of Monte Filaressa.

As a reminder, typical for these hikes, study before going: CAI maps and OpenStreetMap. There are trails that follow the crests, which can be a bit intimidating. There are usually alternate trails slightly lower (and longer) but just as satisfying. Trail signage gives indications to difficulty. For the path between Monte di Nese and Salmezza, Trail 533 is your lower altitude trail and Trail 531 is your crest trail. In today's hike we took Trail 531 going and Trail 533 returning.

Flora

Many of the resources we use are listed in our post Resources for Identifying Plants around Bergamo. We especially rely on the Checklist flora (for the Lombardy region) to check if the altitude we spotted the plant and the season of bloom are correct. Then, we double check in the half dozen guide books we have. In particular, the Gruppo Flora Alpina Bergamasca have a series of really useful books.

On this hike, the Gentians were particular difficult to identify. We used the data at Checklist Flora. We ruled out G. acaulis (found above 2000 m, blooms starting in May, and looks like G. clusii) and G. bavarica (found above 1700 m, blooms starting in July, and looks like G. verna). On this hike we didn't break 1200 m.

We give identifications in this form:

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


[Brassicaceae] Alliaria petiolata – Garlic Mustard {Alliaria comune}
[Brassicaceae] Cardamine heptaphylla – Pinnate Coralroot {Dentaria pennata}

• Note the seven (hepta) parts (leaflets) to the leaf.

[Caprifoliaceae] Knautia arvensis – Field Scabiosa {Ambretta comune}
[Ericaceae] Erica carnea – Winter Heath, Spring Heath – {Erica carnicina}
[Euphorbiaceae] Euphorbia amygdaloides – Wood Spurge {Euforbia mandorlo}
[Fabiaceae] Laburnum anagyroides – Common Laburnum, Golden Rain/Chain {Maggiociondolo}

• Didn't get a good photo of this, but was spotted at low elevations < 600 m.

[Gentianaceae] Gentiana clusii – Trumpet Gentian {Genziana di Clusius}

• Found above 1400m (we saw it between 900 – 1100 m, outside of reported range).
• Bloom starting April. (satisfied)
• No green inside corolla to distinguish between G. acaulis. (satisfied)

[Gentianaceae] Gentiana utriculosa – Bladder Gentian {Genziana alata}

• Found above 300 m (satisfied)
• Blooms starting in May (stretching it but we are almost in May)

[Gentianaceae] Gentiana verna – Spring Gentian {Genziana primaverile}

• Found above 400 m. (satisfied)
• Blooms starting April. (satisfied)

[Polygalaceae] Polygaloides chamaebuxus – Shrubby Milkwort {Poligala falso bosso, camebosso}
[Ranunculaceae] Helleborus niger – Christmas rose {Rosa di Natale}
[Rubiaceae] Cruciata laevipes – Crosswort, Smooth Bedstraw {Crocettona comune}

• Rubiaceae is a family of flowering plants, commonly known as the coffee, madder, or bedstraw family.

[Salicaceae] Salix sp. – Willow {Salice} – possibly S. purpurea.
[Thymelaeaceae] Daphne cneorum – Garland flower {Dafne odorosa}

Left and center: [Brassicaceae] Alliaria petiolata – Garlic Mustard. Right: [Brassicaceae] Cardamine heptaphylla – Pinnate Coralroot.


[Brassicaceae] Cardamine heptaphylla – Pinnate Coralroot.


Left: [Caprifoliaceae] Knautia arvensis – Field Scabiosa. Right: [Ericaceae] Erica carnea – Winter Heath, Spring Heath.

Left: [Euphorbiaceae] Euphorbia amygdaloides. Right: [Rubiaceae] Cruciata laevipes – Crosswort, Smooth Bedstraw.


[Gentianaceae] Gentiana clusii – Trumpet Gentian.


[Gentianaceae] Gentiana utriculosa – Bladder Gentian.


[Gentianaceae] Gentiana verna – Spring Gentian.


[Polygalaceae] Polygaloides chamaebuxus – Shrubby Milkwort.


Left: [Ranunculaceae] Helleborus niger – Christmas rose. Center and right: [Thymelaeaceae] Daphne cneorum – Garland flower.

[Salicaceae] Salix sp. – Willow.

Trail Photos

Left: Above Monte di Nese, walking toward Monte Filaressa. Right: Canto Basso, walking toward Monte Cavallo.

Left: The hike tracks (without annotation). Center: Trail north of Monte Filaressa that skirts the peak. Right: Madonna del Riposo overlooking Selvino.


Left: Madonnina of Monte Costone. Right: Leaving the Madonnina and heading to Corna Bianca on the crest trail.

Left: The flanks of Monte Filaressa heading up to the peak. Right: From the flanks of Monte Filaressa looking south toward Monte di Nese.


Left: Trail 533 below Monte di Nese with profile of Monte Filaressa in the background. Right: View of the alpine village of Salmezza from Corna Bianca.

Rained Out Monte Filaressa and Corna Bianca Hike

Overview | Notes | Flora | Trail Photos

Top left: A View of Canto Basso after the rain.
Top right: Annotated hike tracks from Bergamo to Monte di Nese.
Bottom left: Trail 533B with Anemone nemorosa.
Bottom right: Christmas rose with drops of water.

Overview

Length: 26 km (16.1 mi)
Duration: 8.5 hours (lots of stops)
Elevation: (1347 m) 4418 ft
Location: Italy, Lombardy, Parco dei Colli, Alzano Lombardo

Notes

We tried to reach Monte Filaressa from Bergamo today and just shy of 20 minutes from the summit, a storm rolled in and we ran for the cover. It's not the destination but the journey, right? We'll be back!

We've passed by or through Monte di Nese many times, including on these hikes:

• Hike from Beramo to Le Buche di Nese
• Roundtrip Bergamo to Selvino on Foot, Cable Car, Bus, and Tram
• A Short Hike from Maresana to Monte di Nese
• Nembro to Bergamo Hike (via Parco dei Colli di Bergamo)
• A Hike from Maresana to Selvino

Yet, in all these times, we passed under Monte Filaressa (1134 m), which sits just northeast of Monte di Nese. Today was to be our day to pass up over Monte Filaressa and continue on to Corna Bianca (1228 m) – not that we are peak baggers or anything, but we were just looking for something different. However, today wasn't going to be the day to do that.

In an exposed saddle, just below Monte Filaressa, and on the border between Valle Brembana and Valle Seriana, a storm blew in quickly. Feeling vulnerable to hail, rain, wind and lightening, we beat a path to a lower location to wait out the storm under the eaves of a stone structure. (A structure without ample eaves is like an ill-fitting hat.)

We wait for about ½ hour and then decided to head home instead of continuing on. As we approached the trails around Canto Basso the white bark of birch, carpets of anemone laden with dewdrops, and the sounds of far-off thunder created an magical atmosphere that was worth getting completely soaked over. And, on the way back to Bergamo, we discovered some new trails around Ca' Matta near Maresana. So on the whole, not a bad day.

Flora

Many of the resources we use for plant indentification are listed in our post Resources for Identifying Plants around Bergamo. We especially rely on the Checklist flora (for the Lombardy region) to see if the altitude we spotted the plant and the season of bloom are correct. Then, we double check in the half dozen guide books we have. In particular, the Gruppo Flora Alpina Bergamasca have a series of really useful books.

We give identifications in this form:

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

We are adamant about being familiar with families of plants as a base. Once you can start telling families by sight, then identification gets much easier. We were inspired back in 2012 by the book Botany in a Day: The Patterns Method of Plant Identification (1996) by Thomas J Elpel. In this book, Elpel teaches you how to use the patterns method of plant identification to identify families of plants.

For families, we estimate that we are > 99% accurate with identification. For genera and species, 95% and 90%, respectively.


[Adoxaceae] Viburnum lantana – Wayfaring tree {Viburno lantana}
[Boraginaceae] Pulmonaria australis - Lungwort {Polmonaria sudalpina}
[Lamiaceae] Clinopodium sp. likely C. methifolium – Wood calamint {Mentuccia maggiore}
[Lamiaceae] Melittis melissophyllum – Bastard balm {Erba limona}
[Lauraceae] Lauris nobilis – Sweet Bay {Alloro}
[Liliaceae] Erythroninum dens-canis – Dog's-tooth-violet or Dogtooth violet {Dente di cane}
[Plantaginaceae] Globularlia nudicaulis – Leafless stemmed Globularia {Vedovelle alpine}
[Primulaceae] Primula veris – Cowslip primrose {Primula odorosa}
[Primulaceae] Primula vulgaris – Primrose {Primula comune}
[Ranunculaceae] Anemonoides nemorosa – Wood anemone {Anemone dei boschi}
[Ranunculaceae] Helleborus niger – Christmas rose {Rosa di Natale}
[Ranunculaceae] Anenome hepatica – Liverwort {Epatica erba trinità}
[Rosaceae] Crataegus monogyna - Whitethorn {Biancospino comune}
[Thymelaeaceae] Daphne cneorum – Garland flower {Dafne odorosa}

[Adoxaceae] Viburnum lantana – Wayfaring tree


[Boraginaceae] Pulmonaria australis - Lungwort


[Lamiaceae] Melittis melissophyllum – Bastard balm

[Lamiaceae] Melittis melissophyllum – Bastard balm


[Primulaceae] Primula veris – Cowslip primrose

[Thymelaeaceae] Daphne cneorum – Garland flower



Left: [Primulaceae] Primula vulgaris – Primrose
Right: [Ranunculaceae] Anenome hepatica – Liverwort

[Liliaceae] Erythroninum dens-canis – Dog's-tooth-violet or Dogtooth violet

Left: [Ranunculaceae] Anemonoides nemorosa – Wood anemone
Center: [Plantaginaceae] Globularlia nudicaulis – Leafless stemmed Globularia
Left: [Lamiaceae] Clinopodium sp. likely C. methifolium – Wood calamint

Trail Photos

Left: Hike tracks from Bergamo to Monte di Nese.
Right: Above Ca' Matta - Maresana.

Left: Canto Basso with Canto Alto in the distance.
Center: Canto Basso on trail 533 heading to Monte di Nese.
Right: Above Monte di Nese.

Left: Croce dei morti, Maresana.
Center: The trail above Via alla Zarda.
Right: The trail leading to Via Col di Lana.


Left: A view of Olera.
Center: The flanks of Monte Filaressa with white birch.
Right: Our shelter during the storm, the eaves that is. Thank you for the ample overhang!