A Hike to Rifugio Tagliaferri via Val di Gleno

Overview | Hike Details | The Gleno Dam | Flora | Misc Photos

Upper left: A member of the Asteraceae family in the process of sending it's seeds. Upper right: The Gleno Dam from above. Lower left: The village of Vilminore in Val di Scalve. Lower right: Trail 410 in the Val di Gleno.

Overview

Length: 22.2 km (13.8 mi)
Duration: 9 hours (Includes 1 hour for lunch at the rifugio.)
Elevation: 2290 m (7510 ft) gain. High point at Passo Belviso at 2518 m (8260 ft)
Location: Pian del Gleno, Vilminore di Scalve, Bergamo, Lombardy, Italy

Hike Details

The main driver for today’s hike was to see the Gleno Dam. Ever since we saw a photo of it several years ago - part of it missing and in an impossible but beautiful looking setting - we knew we would go see it. Add to that the necessity of place to eat (because we walk to eat) and the hike to Rifugio Tagliaferri via Val di Gleno was born.

We were advised not to take Sentiero 411 – Sentiero 410 (via Val di Gleno) to the Rifugio Tagliaferri but rather to take the more popular Sentiero 413 (via Valle del Vò). We were glad we stuck to our original idea because Sentiero 411 seemed to be the less popular route, which for us was a good thing. And, Sentiero 411 is about the same in time and distance.

The hike worked out like this:

1. We started in Vilminore and took the shuttle up to Pianezza.
• If you are off-season, you can try and drive up to Pianezza and park.
• Or, you can start walking in Vilminore.
2. From Pianezza, we took Sentiero 411 to the dam.
3. From the dam, we picked up Sentiero 410 to Passo Belviso.
4. From Passo Belviso, we picked up Sentiero 321 to Rifugio Tagliaferri.
5. Lunch at Tagliaferri.
6. Reverse direction and head back to Pianezza/Vilminore.

Left: Hike stats: distance, velocity, time and altitude. Right: The hike route in the Val di Gleno.

A note on the shuttle bus:

We started in Vilminore and parked the car in one of the many free lots. From there, we took a small shuttle (navetta) up to Pianezza, where we started hiking. You can also hike right out of Vilminore by walking up to Pianezza following the road or taking one of the trails marked “Diga del Gleno”. We walked back down the road from Pianezza to Vilminore at the end of the day and it wasn’t bad. The shuttle costs 4 euros one way. We purchased tickets at Bar Imperial and the shuttle stop is at the municipio across the street from the bar. Why take a shuttle instead of driving up to Pianezza? During the summer months, only residents are allowed and you must take the shuttle. Off season, and you don’t need to worry. On our way up to the dam – around 8:00 am – it wasn’t crowded at all, that is, no people on the shuttle, few hikers, and few people at the lake except for some overnight campers. When we returned in the afternoon, the tents on the lake where gone and replaced by many families up to enjoy Sunday at the lake. And there was a waiting line for the shuttles back going from Pianezza down to Vilminore, which is why we walked.

On this hike it’s hard to get lost, but in bad weather, uncertainty, or just plain wanting to know how far to go to the next landmark, you can download the GPX tracks from the CAI links included in this post and use them in MAPS.ME. We’ve found that you sometimes need to convert tracks from the CAI Bergamo site from GPX to KML to get them to load in MAPS.ME.

There was a small refreshment stand / bar on the lake. After that, there is nothing until you reach Rifugio Tagliaferri. The Rifugio is named for Nani Tagliaferri, the first president of the Valle di Scalve chapter of CAI. Tagliaferri, the person, disappeared in 1981 in the glaciers of the Peruvian Andes. Tagliaferri, the rifugio, was inaugurated in 1985.


Some of the dishes a Rifugio Tagliaferri. Left to right: a simple pasta dish, salamella with polenta, lamb with polenta, and homemade apple cake.

The Gleno Dam

The central part of the dam collapsed early on the first of December 1923. From 1535 m (5,036 ft), the water rushed out finding its way to the north end of Lago Iseo at approximately 186 m (610 ft) and killing more than 350 people along the way. What went wrong? The dam had just been completed not more than four months before, but there were warning signs along the way from the quality of the cement and reinforcement used to a change in the type of dam permitted and type build. The last point is interesting because the Gleno Dam was permitted as a gravity dam but during construction which was changed from a gravity dam to a multiple-arch dam. A gravity dam relies on its weight to hold back water. A multiple-arch dam uses less concrete and relies on distributing the force of the water to the arches (buttresses) on both sizes of the dam. It’s these arches that give the Gleno Dam its captivating look as if it were of ancient Roman origin. But sadly, it wasn’t or else it would probably still be standing. Cost cutting to save concrete and reused scrap metal from WWI inside the concrete likely led to its collapse.

However, a very thorough analysis (in Italian) Il crollo della Diga di Pian del Gleno: Errore Tecnico? suggests that situation was much more complicated and that the dam was built to specifications of the time. Further, many of the allegations of bad cement or reused scrap metal may not have much to do with the collapse. The analysis also discusses the evidence supporting the possibility of sabotage, including the theft of dynamite two days before the collapse. The court case ran from 1924 to 1927 and found the owners and many others involved guilt, with compensation for damages to the survivors.


Views of the Gleno Dam (La Diga del Gleno) which collapsed in 1923.


An interesting point raised in the report is that the dam was planned to provide energy for a cotton factory. At one time, the valleys above Bergamo were filled with industry run by the water. Today, as you drive up the valleys, in this case Val Seriana and then into the Val di Scalve, you can’t help but notice along the road (which stays close to the river) the hulking abandoned factories that speak to that past. Some of the structures are beautiful examples of industrial architecture.

Another point from the analysis was this disturbing sentence: “L’ondata fu preannunciata da un violento spostamento d’aria che iniziò l’opera di distruzione, strappando le vesti a chi si trovava all’aperto, seguita dalla massa d’acqua che, dopo aver devastato I centri abitati della valle, si esaurì nell ago d’Iseo.” The translation is this: “The wave was preceded by a violent rush of air before the destruction, ripping off the clothes of those who were outdoors. The rush of air was followed by a mass of water that, after ravaging the population centers of the valley, found its way to the top of Lago Iseo.” The ripping-off of the clothes part stuck in my mind. In the report, there is a picture of the victims laid out in a room - presumably by the responders to the disaster - some with bits of cloth or twigs and branches discretely placed over private parts.

To this day, we’ll never know what caused the dam to collapse.


Information board at the dam talking about the collapse.

Flora

If we had to pick one plant that characterized this hike, it would be Sanguisorba. It is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rosaceae native to the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The common name is burnet. We guess we were seeing the most common type S. dodecandra – Italian Burnet (Salvastrella con dodici stami).

For more on flowers found around Bergamo, especially in the Bergamasque Alps, see our Pinterest page: Bergamasque Prealps Flowers and Plants.

Usual disclaimer: we use the resources listed in the post Resources for Identifying Plants around Bergamo to identify plants shown here. If we had to give ourselves a score for identifications, it would be 95% accurate for species and 98% for genus.

The plants are arranged below as follows:

[Family] Genus species – Common name in English (Common name in Italian)

[Amaryllidaceae] Allium schoenoprasum – Wild Chives (Erba cipollina)

[Apiaceae] Bupleurum petraeum – Rock Hare’s Ear (Bupleuro delle rocce)

[Asteraceae] Carlina sp.

[Asteraceae] Centaurea uniflora - Plume Knapweed (Fiordaliso alpino con un capolino)

[Asteraceae] Cirsium erisithales – Yellow Thistle (Cardo zampa d'orso)

[Asteraceae] Cirsium spinosissimum - Spiniest Thistle (Cardo spinosissimo)

[Asteraceae] Crespis aurea – Golden Hawk's Beard (Radicchiella aranciata)

[Asteraceae] Leontopodium sp. – Edelweiss (Stella alpina)

[Boraginaceae] Eritrichum nanum – Arctic Alpine Forget-me-Not (Eritrichio nano)

[Brassicaceae] Noccaea rotundifolium – Round Leaved Penny Cress (Erba storna a foglie rotunda)

[Caryophyllaceae] Cerastium arvense – Filed Chickweed (Peverina dei campi)

[Caryophyllaceae] Dianthus sp.

[Caryophyllaceae] Dianthus superbus – Fringed Pink (Garofano superbo)

[Caryophyllaceae] Saponaria officinalis – Bouncingbet, Common Soapwort (Saponaria comune)

[Celastraceae] Parnassia palustris - Marsh Grass of Parnassus (Parnassia delle paludi)


[Crassulaceae] Rhodiola rosea – Roseroot Stonecrop (Rodiola rosea)

[Crassulaceae] Sempervivium sp. – Mountain Houseleek (Semprevivo), possibly S. montanum

[Gentianaceae] Gentian sp. – Gentian (Genziana)

[Orobanchaceae] Pedicularis sp. – Lousewort (Pediculare) – possibly P. kerneri.

[Orobanchaceae] Rhinanthus sp. - Yellow Rattle (Cresta di gallo)

[Orobanchaceae] Euphrasia sp. – Alpine Eyebright (Eufrasia delle alpi)

[Papaveraceae] Pseudofumaria lutea – Yellow Corydalis (Colombina gialla)

[Plantaginaceae] Linaria alpina – Alpine Toadflax (Linajola alpina)

[Plumbaginaceae] Armeria alpina – Alpine Thrift (Spillone alpino)

[Rosaceae] Potentilla nitida – Pink cinquefoil (Cinquefoglia delle Dolomiti)

[Rosaceae] Sanguisorba dodecandra – Italian Burnet (Salvastrella con dodici stami)

[Ranunculaceae] Pulsatilla alpina – Alpine Pasqueflower (Pulsatilla alpina)

 

[Saxifragaceae] Saxifraga aizoides – Yellow Saxifrage (Sassifraga gialla)

[Saxifragaceae] Saxifraga byroides – Mossy Saxifrage (Sassifraga briode)

Miscellaneous Shots of the Hike

Left and center: Donkeys (or are they mules!?) eye us suspiciously. Right: Walking up the Val di Gleno.


Left: The trail along the Gleno River. Center: On Passo Belviso - A view of Lago Belviso. Right: View toward Presolana.


Left: A mural in Vilminore showing trail to the Gleno Dam. Center: A war monument in Castione della Presolana. Right: Vilminore - Parrocchia S. Maria Assunta e S. Pietro Apostolo.


Left: The start of the trail, just above Pianezza. Center: Trail 411 from Pianezza to the Gleno Dam. Right: Trail near Passo Belviso.

A Run/Hike on Elba - Nisportino and the Pietre Rosse Trail, Rio nell’Elba

Left: Run route above Nisportino Elba reported on ViewRanger. Center: View above La Rivercina beach toward Portoferraio. Right: View over Spiaggia dei Mangani with colored Mediterranean macchia.

Overview

Length: 7.35 km (4.6 mi)
Duration: 2.25 hours (We ran for about ½ the distance. Time also includes a 20 minute swim at Spiaggia dei Mangani.)
Elevation: 526 m (1726 ft) gain
Location: Nisportino, Rio nell’Elba, LI, Tuscany, Italy

Details

This post describes the second of two run/hikes we did while staying on Elba. The first hike was A Run/Hike – Monte Strega, Rio nell’Elba. Like the first hike, we did this run/hike as early in the morning as possible to avoid the heat. Nisporto and Nisportino are on the west side of a mountain range so they are shaded in the early morning, which helps with early morning physical activities.

Does Nisportino mean little Nisporto? At least that’s the way diminutives should work in Italian. Nisportino is indeed smaller and Nisporto larger. Nisportino doesn't have boats anchored in its waters and Nisporto does. Nisportino is slightly more upscale. We were staying in Nisporto but found ourselves liking Nisportino a bit more as a beach and place to go, especially with the nice restaurant Ristorante Pizzeria Bar "La Battigia" (breakfast, lunch and dinner). It's about a 10 minute drive between the two even if swimming between the beached is under 2 km. We tried it.

Side note: We don’t know much about money laundering in Italy, but we have noted that among our Italian friends there is a consistent vein of thought and it is this: if a restaurant in the north* has a lot of staff that seem to come from the south of Italy (and our friends say they can tell), has low prices, then there is a good chance the restaurant is a front money laundering business. During our stay on Elba (which is in Tuscany), a restaurant that “seemed” to be Tuscan owned was looked at more favorably than one that satisfied some of the criteria given above.

* Let's not start on what even constitutes "north".  

We went looking. According to ANSSAIF, from the most recent “… official estimate (2014), the total size of Italy’s black market is estimated to be 12.4 percent of GDP (approximately €210 billion or $229 billion). The actual share may be larger.” That's a sizable chunk of the GDP. In an article from La Stampa, it is estimated that 5,000 restaurants in the province of Napoli alone are in the hands of organized crime. La Stampa article continues with examples of shuttered restaurants in Torino, Rome, and Milan, so the problem is across Italy. 

Why a restaurant you might wonder? Because it’s a cash-intensive business where illegal cash can be easily combined with legal cash. Also, staff jobs in an “owned” restaurant can be doled out to family or those loyal to the organization. Finally, some restaurants start as legal, but due to loans that can’t be paid back to organized crime organizations they become “owned”. Downturns in the economy and reduced bank lending lead people to other sources of loans. Hmm, maybe our Italian friends are right?

Back to the run/hike. Here’s what we did:

1. This route goes counterclockwise, starting and ending at the beach in Nisportino.
2. From Nisportino beach head east by southeast on Via Nisportino, always climbing to find a trail (approximately at 42.830644, 10.392829).
3. Leaving the asphalt, take the wide trail (it may be called 101) to the crest of the mountain and the “piazza” on the crest of the mountain separating Nisporto/Nisportino from Rio nell’Elba. The piazza is a pull off the main road just north of Monte Strega. It is really a dirt space where many trails intersect and bicyclists, motorcyclists, walkers, and runners naturally congregate.
4. From this high point, take trail the GTE, heading north and start descending. The GTE or “Grande Traversata Elba” is a 60 km mountain bike path that runs from Chiessi in the west of the island to Cavo in the northeast of the island.
5. Follow the trail passing around something called Case Nardelli and then hit an open space for transmission lines and go slightly uphill to SP 33.
6. From there look for the signs for either Spiagga dei Mangani or trail 265 and head west toward the beach. You are passing through leccio or Quercus ilex.
7. At the beach, take a swim and enjoy the isolation of Spiaggia dei Mangani.
8. With shoes back on head south toward Nisportino, just another 15 -20 minutes away to arrive at where you started. The track between Spiaggia dei Mangani and Nisportino is quite high up and offers some great shots o the coast looking toward Portoferraio.

Why is it called the Pietre Rosse? From the red rocks cliffs of Punta dei Mangani. Standing on the Spiaggia dei Mangani, you can see the contrasting colors. On the left the red promontory of Punta dei Mangani and on the right, the white limestone edges of Monte Grosse.

Side note: Yet another endorsement for MAPS.ME and their offline capabilities. Really, they don’t pay us to endorse them! But this app is a lifesaver in terms of navigating with or without network. Without network, Google Maps is a nightmare. With network, Google Maps just doesn’t have the detail like MAPS.ME. Sure, Google Maps gives you the weather and traffic and other bits of info. But that’s not what you need when you are in the middle of nowhere with no cell coverage and you need to know which way to go. There are other more “serious” navigation apps for sure, but MAPS.ME works for most common offline situations.

Left: Trail marker 265 - Percorso Pietre Rosse. Center: Making our way up from Spiaggia dei Mangani, Elba. Right: A sign describing the Percorso Pietre Rosse.


Left: ViewRanger distance, speed, duration, and altitude profiles. Right: Spiaggia dei Mangani and the trail to Nisportino.


Left: The trail takes you through a forest of leccio - Quercus ilex. Center: Sign for the GTE. Right: The trail on the ridge of the hill above Nisporto/Nisportino Elba.


Left: View toward Monte Capanne in the distance - the highest point on Elba at 1019 m (3343 ft). Center: View from GTE looking west down toward NIsportino (which is hidden). Right: Spiaggia dei Mangani, Elba,  from the trail.


Left: Panorama of Spiagga dei Mangani, Elba. Right: A peaceful beach: Spiaggia dei Mangain and the red Punta dei Mangani.


Left: View of Spiaggi and Punta dei Mangani. Center and left: Looking back from Pietre Rosse trail toward the beach.


Left: On the trail near Punta delle Casette, just before coming to Nisportino. Right: Nisportino beach from Punta delle Casette.

A Run/Hike on Elba - Monte Strega, Rio nell’Elba

Left: Run route above Nisporto Elba reported on ViewRanger. Center: On the mountain crest looking down on Nisporto. Right: Trail 253 above Nisporto Elba.

Overview

Length: 9.91 km (6.15 mi)
Duration: 1.5 hours (We ran for about ½ of the distance.)
Elevation: 599 m (1965 ft) gain
Location: Nisporto, Rio nell’Elba, LI, Tuscany, Italy

Details

This post describes a run/hike we did while staying on Elba in Nisporto for a few days. The lure of the nearby Monte Strega was strong and called to us to explore. And we did. We got up one morning as early as we could muster to try and beat the heat and we climbed out of Nisporto to the top of Monte Strga. Obviously, the route we did can be done walking and would be more enjoyable, and you’d have time for more photos!

For another hike we did on Elba see: A Run/Hike on Elba - Nisportino and the Pietre Rosse Trail, Rio nell’Elba.

Elba is the third largest island in Italy, after Sicily and Sardinia. There is a lot to explore on this island and even in our second time here, we barely scratched the surface. Elba is part of the province of Livorno (what we call Leghorn in English), which is part of the region of Tuscany. The island probably rings a bell for most as the place Napoleon was exiled to in 1814 – 1815. He only stayed 10 months but seemed to have carried out a lot of reforms and improvements to the quality of life for its inhabitants.

Nisporto is a small district that is part of the town Rio nell’Elba, though the two are separated by a mountain range and it takes 15 – 20 minutes by car to travel between them. If the shape of Elba is a fish swimming west, then Nisporto and Rio nell’Elba are located the upper back fin of said fish and are separated by mountain range reaching 427 m (1400 ft).

Here’s a rundown of what to do to follow the run/walk described here.

1. This route goes counterclockwise, starting and ending in Nisporto.
2. Take the asphalt road Via Nisporto south toward Bagnaia. This is a steady uphill climb that eventually flattens out and goes down slightly.
3. At a certain you reach a sign that signals trail 253 “Innesto GTE”, which means connector for the GTE. The GTE stands for “Grande Traversata Elba”, a 60 km mountain bike path that runs from Chiessi in the west of the island to Cavo in the northeast of the island.
4. Take trail 253 – always climbing – until you reach a saddle with a few choices. Just off to the east and down is Rio nell’Elba. You instead, will take the trail going north that continues up toward Monte Strega.
5. Upon reaching Monte Strega, stop and admire the view on your high point on this trip at 427 m (1400 ft).
6. Descend quickly from Monte Strega to reach another saddle and the main asphalt road running between Nisporto and Rio nell’Elba. This location has a large pull-out area and is a frequent gathering place for bicyclists, motorcyclists, and walkers. A number of trails intersect at this point.
7. Take the road back down into Nisporto.

If you weren’t staying in Nisporto and were coming from elsewhere, you could leave your car at the saddle described in #6 above. But then again, why not leave the car in Nisporto and be able to take a swim after all the effort?



Left: Sign for trail 253. Center: Trail signs above Nisporto indicating GTE and Monte Strega. Right: ViewRanger distance, speed, duration, and altitude profiles.


Left: On the road to Bagnaia. Center: View from trail 253 toward Castello del Volterraio. Right: Last push up to Monte Strega.


Left: Looking south along the spine of the mountains between Rio nell'Elba and Nisporto. Center: View from road to Bagnaia toward Portoferraio. Right: The winding road leading to Nisporto, which is part of the route.


Left: View west over Nisporto with Portoferraio in distance. Right: Jogging into Nisporto and heading toward the beach.