BOCCIOLETO – Alpe Seccio

This itinerary is part of the Valsesia Art Trails. In fact, it is rich in art testimonies distributed along the entire route, including the center of Boccioleto itself, the small churches of Ronchi, Ormezzano, Solivo, the chapel of Selletto and especially the Church of Seccio, with frescoes from the first half of the 15th century.

From the center of the village of Boccioleto, 667m, cross the residential area and take trail 387, a comfortable mule track that, in about 20 min, leads to the hamlet of Ronchi, 814m. (Those wishing to shorten the route can skip this first section and drive directly up along the carriage road.)

The church of Ronchi with its frescoed facade is only the first valuable building encountered along this route. From here the mule track winds through meadows and woods, passes the Genestroso chapel and, crossing the carriage road, reaches the hamlet of Ormezzano, 964m, situated on a slope. Going along one more stretch of road, another inhabited hamlet can be found: Solivo, 1017m, characterized by the pretty little church and oratory of San Nicolao, renewed in its architectural parts by the Commission “Montagna antica, montagna da salvare.”

Immediately afterwards the mule track becomes steeper as it enters the forest, passing Selletto at an altitude of 1208m, and then crosses the Daloch Alps, 1261m, Sul Sasso, and then reaches Alpe Seccio 1390m, a wide alpine pasture where there are numerous mountain dwellings.

Here stands a small church of considerable artistic significance, dating back to the 15th century and dedicated to St. Lawrence, believed by some to be the oldest in Val Sermenza.

From the Alpe you can continue to descend until you reach the Cavaione stream, crossing it by a small bridge and then climbing the opposite slope to reach Alpe Sull’Oro, 1263m. Here you meet routes 396 and 399, which descend to Rossa and Boccioleto, and the second to Rainero.