Walking the Highways, Byways & Paths of Valle Vigezzo for Intermediate Hikers. The Vigezzo Valley, incorporated within the Val d'Ossola, is considered by its inhabitants to be the most spacious and, of course, the most beautiful valley in the Ossola. It certainly has the most towns and villages and is the gateway to Switzerland. Prior to construction of highways and the railroad, the original, primal paths (sentieri) used by the invading "barbarians" from Switzerland later became the "mule trails" used by traders and merchants and eventually became horse and coach trails used to carry passengers and freight from Domodossola, the ancient capital of the Ossola to the country north of Italy. During your walking/hiking tour of the Valley you will walk along some of the same “sentieri” the first settlers of the area created and used. These earliest residents, known as the Leponzi people, were a mixture of Celtics and Liguri (people from the Ligurian province of Italy, its capital city is Genoa). You will see many of the same structures and frescoes the medieval inhabitants constructed, painted and created, and you will enjoy the same type of food, prepared according to the ancient recipes. Bring your cameras, your knapsacks, layered clothing, your hiking boots, your "good legs," and your appetite!
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