Rasura between Alpine Pastures, Mountain Trails and Valtellina Culture

Rasura combines an Alpine landscape with marked trails, historic buildings, museums and regional cheese specialities. When choosing your accommodation, you can therefore consider whether you are primarily interested in experiencing mountain trails, local history, Alpe Culino or the culinary tradition of Valgerola.

Mountain Landscape and Elevations

The Foresta Demaniale dell’Alpe Culino state forest covers 311 hectares, lies within the municipality of Rasura and extends downhill from Monte Rosetta at an elevation of 2,357 metres. Alpe Culino combines Alpine meadows at medium and high elevations with woodland areas and offers views of the valley floor around Morbegno, the Costiera dei Cech and the mountain group of the Val Masino valley. A hiking trail in the Alpe area begins at Bar Bianco at 1,506 metres and ends either at Baita dei Vèn at 1,801 metres, Lago Culino at 1,959 metres or Cima della Rosetta at 2,142 metres.

Marked Trails and Sporting Routes

In the valley, the still-marked ancient Valgerola road complements the mountain trails. It can be walked in around two hours and passes through Campione, Sacco and Rasura. The “Dal Pizzo dei Tre Signori alla Valtellina” trekking route runs below the parish church of San Giacomo. The International Rosetta Skyrace route starts in Rasura and climbs towards the mountain pastures of Ronchi and Corte.

There are also clearly described routes for cycling and running. A 16-kilometre route uses the Polifunzionale di Rasura as its starting and finishing point, then follows the Via-del-Bitto trail, a wide and accessible cycling route, to the Olano mountain pasture. Another running route starts at the Polifunzionale, covers 3.2 kilometres almost entirely along a trail through the Orobie Mountains of Val Gerola and ends at Cima Rosetta at 2,150 metres.

Churches, Mills and Museums

The parish church of Rasura is dedicated to Saint James the Greater and was built in 1634 on the remains of an older church dating from the 14th century. The Mulino del Dosso houses the Vanseraf Ethnographic Museum. Along the trekking route, the mill can be seen on the right after a short descent and is now known as the Museo Etnografico Vanseraf. The Museo Vanseraf was built in 1836 by Giacomo Pezzini of Rasura.

From Rasura, the Museo Vanseraf can be reached in a few minutes via the mule track that leads below the church to the hamlets of Dosso and Sacco. The Museo della montagna is located in the Polifunzionale di Rasura. A visit to the Museo Vanseraf provides insights into the history of Valtellina and the lives of its people.

Regional Products and Traditions

Alpe Culino is one of the most important ERSAF mountain pastures for the production of Bitto DOP. Bitto DOP, ricotta and goat’s cheese are sold directly at Bar Bianco. Rasura is also one of the traditional centres for the production of Valtellina Pezzotti. On 5 and 6 October, Rasura hosted the 39th edition of the Sagra della Castagna.

Getting to Alpe Culino

The road to Alpe Culino leads from Morbegno through Val Gerola to Rasura and then continues onwards. The route is approximately 6 kilometres long; the final 2 kilometres run along an unpaved road. When choosing accommodation in Rasura, you can compare this route connection with your own priorities: local history and museums, marked hiking routes, Alpe Culino or regional products.

Other places for comparison include Bormio, Stazzona, Torre Di Santa Maria, Valdisotto, Chiesa In Valmalenco, Caspoggio, Sernio and Teglio.

For the higher-level travel overview: Sondrio.