Beautiful Formazza offers easy access to the high Alps, Germanic villages, glaciers and Italy’s most beautiful waterfall, all just over an hour from Lago Maggiore.

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Formazza, or Pomatt as it is known in the local Walser Germanic dialect, comprises over ten small settlements with a total population of 447. Formazza has managed to survive the worst excesses of industrial strength tourism. This is due to its distance from the rest of the country coupled with the fact that the one road in and out of the valley, ascending in a seemingly endless series of steeply winding, tortuously hairpin bends, was often snowbound in winter.

The area, situated at the sharp end of a wedge of Italian territory that pushes deep into Switzerland, is famed for its hiking and cross-country skiing.

 

Walser identity

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The Walser identity is still fairly strong and visitors may hear the language spoken though local costumes are now only worn at folk gatherings.

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The (possibly apocryphal) story goes that during the war, the German army intended to exact reprisals for some misdemeanour committed by the locals; the town was about to suffer collective punishment when the commanding officer chanced to overhear some Walser speakers; the town was spared. The main village, Ponte (Zumschtäg or Zer Briggu in Walser), is where most of the hotels and restaurants and other amenities are to be found. The main attraction here as in every other settlement in the valley, is its perfectly preserved ancient stone and wood core and its cosy dwellings.

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Most visitors head for the mountains where Formazza’s real attractions lie. First up, just a couple of kilometres out of Ponte, heading up-valley, are the picturesque and very photogenic hamlets of Grovella and Canza with their beautiful sturdy traditional Walser buildings.

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Waterfall

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Gaining height, you arrive at the Toce waterfall where the Toce comes rushing over a granite lip before cascading down 100m, to crash on the rocks below, purportedly, Italy’s tallest waterfall.

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Lovers of dramatic waterfalls should make sure to visit on those few days of the year - conveniently in August - when the sluice gates upstream are opened and the show can be enjoyed in all its frothy majesty. At the top, there is a wooden lookout platform jutting out over the abyss. This way you can watch from above as the water thunders over the edge.

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There is also a recently restored, very atmospheric 1920s bar and restaurant (previously also a hotel). The road curls up above the waterfall then wends its way up into a flat-bottomed bowl, surrounded by towering peaks. Before you lies the main draw: the incredibly photogenic, perfectly preserved Walser village of Riale nestling on the flat valley floor with its church perched on a rocky knoll next to it, a site which has remained little changed for centuries - other than the power lines marring the view. From here a wealth of paths lead off in every direction, many skirting a large network of mountain lakes.

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One not too strenuous trail passes a dam and Lake Moresco not far after the village of Riale and then wends its way up to Gries Lake and the Swiss border. Another very popular, slightly shorter walk takes you to the Maria Luisa rifugio/mountain hut and yet more lakes.

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The more energetic will want to climb up to the glaciers above Lago Moresco or otherwise to hike over the pass into Bosco Gurin in Switzerland, Italian speaking Ticino’s only Walser community.

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You may notice old black and white postcards for sale in one of the shops in the centre of town. If you look carefully at old photos of a local artificial lake, Sabbione, created by the damming of a stream in 1953, you’ll notice a mass of icebergs bobbing on the water. Sadly, though there are still plenty of glaciers in the area, Sabbione glacier has now receded a considerable distance from the lake.

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Many dams were built in order to generate electricity, hence the unsightly power lines: In fact, before tourists arrived on the scene, other than farming, the mainstay of the local economy was electricity and countless local men were employed in the sector building dams and running equipment. Recently, however, most plants have been automated and employment has plummeted.

Ironically, the electricity industry saved the valley from unsightly tourist development so typical of other high mountain valleys. This was because, benefiting from gainful employment with the electricity companies, there was less incentive to create tourist infrastructure, including apartment blocks for tourists which are so common elsewhere. Another unexpected beneficial side effect of the electricity industry are the several superb art deco power stations dotting the landscape illustrating how investors were keen not only to turn a profit but also to embellish the landscape.

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In winter, due to its excellent snow-cover, this high altitude bowl is one of Italy’s top cross-country ski areas and foreign national teams often come here to train late into the season.

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Lower down the valley, at San Michele, there is another major cross-country ski centre as well as limited downhill skiing at Sagersboden which boasts a very steep black run.

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Locals are very proud of their cheese, most notably Bettelmatt, named after a tiny alpeggio, which has achieved a certain measure of fame amongst cognoscenti.

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Cheese and products such as milk, salami and yogurts can be bought in various places but the most popular is a farm shop next to the only bridge over the river. One of the best places to eat locally is the agriturismo, Ross Wald, run by a friendly local Walser, and located amongst a thicket of pine trees a couple of kilometres down from San Michele village. If you’re lucky enough to be in the area in winter, it’s great fun to be taken to Ross Wald by snowmobile. Just call ahead.

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After a day’s strenuous hiking - or skiing – there is nothing better than soaking away the aches and pains in the hot springs at Premia several kilometres down valley.

 

Public transport

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4 buses daily from Domodossola station.