The great beech trees of Morterone

Near Lecco (only on the map, not in terms of travel time), hidden behind the famous Mount Resegone, lies an unexpected and unique place: the lush green valley of Morterone. This municipality has been among the least populous in Italy for years, with fewer than 40 inhabitants.

From Ballabio, in Valsassina, a winding road stretches for about fifteen kilometres, intrepidly clinging to the rugged, rocky slopes. Once you reach the top of the pass (Forcella di Olino, altitude: 1,183 metres), you will be greeted by an enchanting place that truly seems to exist outside of time, where historic clusters of houses are dotted over a wide valley surrounded by tall, wooded mountains. A truly special way to experience this incredible setting is the Sentiero dei Grandi Alberi, the trail of the Great Trees.
As the name suggests, this is a route that takes you past some incredible trees, while also allowing you to immerse yourself in historic villages with characteristic stone buildings and to appreciate the works on display at the Morterone Open-Air Museum of Contemporary Art. Right from the start, the trail – which is about 7 km long and easy to walk – features splendid ash, fir and larch trees, but the undisputed stars of the show are the monumental beech trees. In the village of Frasnida, on the edge of a sloping meadow, stands one of the finest examples, with a trunk circumference of nearly 4 metres (diameter 125 cm) and a height of almost 20 metres. Although this specimen has a striking visual impact on the landscape, it is just one of the green monuments to admire along the route.
It is also interesting to note how the woodland has evolved: in various beech forests, one can see majestic solitary trees, surrounded by many others that are much younger. This is because these areas were once pastures where the larger trees provided shelter for the animals; as the land was abandoned, many more trees grew from the isolated beech trees, transforming the landscape into a shady woodland.
A green monument open to the public.

Along the Sentiero dei Grandi Alberi 
Starting and finishing in the centre of Morterone, at an altitude of just over 1,000 metres, this circular route has an elevation gain of around 350 metres and takes about three hours to complete. The only way to get to Morterone is by car, via the SP 63 from Ballabio, as there are no public transport links, but there is free parking in the village.

The first section, which is almost flat, leads into a beech wood just outside the village. After about forty minutes, a sign points to Frasnida Bassa, a cluster of old farmhouses that is well worth the short detour. Back on the main track, the path climbs up to the ruins of Frasnida Alta and from here you follow the red-and-white signs marked GA.

On the way up, you will come to Fontana dello Zucchero and Fontana del Merlo, before entering the part of the woodland that gives the route its name. Here, the path winds its way among the largest beech trees on the route, which colour the landscape with warm hues in autumn. Following a ridge through the trees, you emerge at Cul Volt, at the foot of the Costa del Palio. From there, you turn right and begin the gentle descent, with wide bends, which leads back into the woods and back to the village.