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'Valtellina' or the 'Valtelline' valley; (, , ) is a valley in the Lombardy region of northern Italy, bordering Switzerland. Today it is known for its skiing, its hot spring spas, its cheeses (in particular Bitto, named after the torrent Bitto) and its wines. In past centuries it was a key alpine pass between northern Italy and Germany and control of the Valtelline was much sought after, particularly during the Thirty Years' War.

Contents

Geography

History

Wines

Valposchiavo

References

External links

Geography

The most important commune of the valley is Sondrio; others include Aprica, Morbegno, Tirano, and Bormio. Livigno, although on the northern side of the alpine watershed, can also be considered to be part of Valtellina as it falls within the province of Sondrio.

History

During the 16th, 17th and 18th century the Valtellina was part of Graubünden, which was then a country independent of Switzerland, but is now the easternmost canton of Switzerland. Graubünden is the area in which German, Romansch and Italian are spoken and hence during 16th century rule by Graubünden, the region was known varyingly as ''Veltlin, Westtirol'' (West Tyrol), and as the ''Welsche Vogteien'' ("Foreign Bailiwicks").
In 1797 the growing power of the First French Republic created the Cisalpine republic in Northern Italy. On 10 October 1797, the French supported a revolt in the Valtellina against the Graubünden (the "Grey Leagues"; ''Grisons'' in French, now a Swiss Canton) and joined the Cisalpine Republic.
In the region north of Morbegno in the Costiera dei Cech live a cultural group believed to descend from an 8th century Frankish invasion of Italy.
The area was originally a mix of Romansch and Italian languages but now Italian is the dominant language.

Wines

In Valtellina the wines are produced mainly by ''Chiavennasca'' (the local name of Nebbiolo grape variety). Generally the quality of the wine is high, and most wine have the appellation DOC and DOCG. The most know red wine are: Inferno, Grumello, Sassella and Sforzato (Sfurzat).

Valposchiavo

In the lower part of Valposchiavo, in Switzerland there are produced also some wines, similar to the Italian wines, but with other regulamentations, i.e. different appellation and sugar addition is allowed).

References

Further reading: F Pieth: Bündnergeschichte, 1982, ISBN 3-85894-002-X

External links

★ An extensive history of the Valtelline area

★ Tourist information