Clocking in with approximately 633km (393 miles) distance, 44,000m in ascent (and the same in descent), a low of 295m and a high of 2804m above sea level, and crossing 62 passes, the Grande Traversata delle Alpi entails a full 47 days on the trail, taking 248hr 40min. Striking out a mere stone’s throw from the Italian and French Riviera on the Mediterranean coast, it embarks on a remarkable journey across one third of Italy’s alpine arc, the western sector. Mighty stone giants line the way, monumental landmarks that take turns supervising breathtaking backgrounds on what is probably Italy’s most rewarding long-distance walking route. Arduous mountain passes where the eye gazes over boundless horizons of rugged rock and snowscapes are encountered on a daily basis. Following on are emerald meadows spread with glorious wildflowers in peaceful val eys where age-old pastoral activities are still practised, part of a traditional way of life in far-flung hamlets. One of the many beauties of the GTA is that it drops into inhabited settlements on an almost daily basis, giving walkers a privileged look into alpine communities where ageing farmers still don cloth caps and cords, their womenfolk often clad in timeless black.
Pathways can be enjoyed in peace and quiet for days on end as the itinerary is little trodden – unless herds of chamois, comical marmot families and impressive birds of prey are taken into account. In between outstanding stages the occasional link stretch can be less exciting, but such days give time to meditate on past experiences without risking ‘overload’ and being overwhelmed by an excess of brilliant alpine scenery! Few parts of the Alps can guarantee such a memorable kaleidoscope of experiences for walkers.
Italy’s Western Alps
Have I discovered a district that exceeds all others in beauty? Or do the Alps become more beautiful to us at each succeeding visit? Or is it that after an absence of nearly two years I beheld them with the eyes of the exile who is restored again to his beloved home? Whatever be the reason, I am like a man who has found a treasure, and whose avarice cannot check his longing to declare it.
(R.L.G. Irving, 1911)
The western sweep of the Italian Alps traversed by the GTA embraces distinct mountainous groups, and walkers cannot fail to notice the changes in the landscape as the trek progresses. On the map the curvaceous reliefs resemble an outstretched hand, the spaces between the fingers representing the valleys branching off exponentially as they climb. Starting closest to the Mediterranean and topped by 2651m Marguareis are the Ligurian Alps or Alpi Ligure, cause of Irving’s wonder. Characterised by smooth pale mountains they consist mainly of limestone, a sedimentary rock deposited some 200 million years back in a warm tropical sea, but gradually shaped into karst terrain by the dissolving effect of rainwater. Of the extensive limestone cave systems over 500 have been recorded to date by speleologists, but exploration is ongoing; the most extensive has 13 entrances, is 40km long and 950m deep. Since 1978 a good 6700ha have been protected under the well-run Parco Naturale Alta Val Pesio e Tanaro.
Argentera, the highest peak in the Maritime Alps
As of the road pass Colle di Tenda on the border with France, the Ligurian Alps are followed by the Maritime Alps or Alpi Marittime, which feature stocky 3297m Argentera. D.W. Freshfield observed them at length from the Côte d’Azur: ‘Day by day, in the clear winter sunshine, I had seen from the hills round Cannes the snowy chain’, later noting that they gave access to ‘views… of surpassing beauty’. On the other hand the rugged core was described for its ‘crests that are all exceedingly precipitous and narrow, sharp as knives and jagged as saw blades’ by Austrian naturalist Fritz Mader (1895). These dramatic mountains of igneous-metamorphic origin assume shades of grey, orange, Prussian blue and purple, while intense patches of red (due to the presence of iron) can even interfere with a compass. Granite is predominant alongside gneiss, from intrusions of ancient lava. A handful of modest ice and snowfields survive, and glacial modelling is widespread both here and in the following groups. The notably abundant wildlife is monitored by the competent Parco Naturale delle Alpi Marittime, which traces its origins back to 1855 when land was donated to the Italian king for the purposes of a game reserve; the largest park in Piedmont now covers an impressive 28,000ha.
That chain is succeeded by the Cottian Alps, or Alpi Cozie, beginning in Valle Stura and boasting the spectacular isolated 3841m Monviso (Monte Viso), clearly visible from the city of Turin in northwest Italy. Bound for Cuneo by train D.W. Freshfield wrote (1880): ‘The rich vineyards and campanili of the plain form a shifting foreground, while against the sky towers, solitary and sublime, the noble pyramid of Monte Viso, fulfilling beyond all other Alpine peaks our childhood’s ideal of a mountain’. At its foot is the 465ha Riserva Naturale Speciale Pian del Re, encompassing the source of Italy’s most important river – the Po – then extending the entire course of the waterway. The Monviso is composed of relatively young metamorphic rock with a good percentage of so-called ‘greenstone’, while the southern reaches of the Cottians mean a predominance of limestone. Here lies the Gran Bosco di Salbertrand; 70% of this forestry reserve is cloaked in magnificent fir and larch woodland, and is home to a large deer population. The Cottian range purportedly took its name from Marcus Julius Cottius, a contemporary of Augustus and Roman ruler of the Susa valley, which marks their border with the neighbours.
Climbing towards Passo d’Orgials (Stage 9)
According to legend the appellation for the Graian Alps, or Alpi Graie, commemorates the passage of mythical Greek hero Hercules (Ercole Graio) over the Piccolo San Bernardo pass, allegedly between labours. Extensive glaciers and nevées overlie metamorphic formations here, the result of volcanic material transformed during the raising of the Alpine chain in the Tertiary period 54–57 million years ago. U-shaped valleys and armchair cirques are widespread, as are curious ‘roches moutonnées’, polished stone humps emerging from the ground, so-named for their resemblance to sheep. The Graians take in Europe’s highest mountain, Mont Blanc, as well as the superb 4061m Gran Paradiso peak, which gave its name to Italy’s very first national park. The 70,000ha Parco Nazionale del Gran Paradiso (mostly in the Valle d’Aosta region) dates back to 1922 when King Vittorio Emanuele III handed over this former hunting reserve, which boasts surprising concentrations of wildlife along with 450km of paved tracks.
Lastly, as of the Valle d’Aosta the GTA enters the realms of the Pennine Alps or Alpi Pennine, located on the edge of Switzerland. Known as the Central Alps, they are crowned by the magnificent glaciated 4634m Monte Rosa, Europe’s second summit after Mont Blanc. The range also includes the Matterhorn and the Parco Naturale Alta Valsesia; clocking in at 6500ha it calls itself the highest park in Europe.
Monte Rosa peaks at 4634m
Piedmont
All these mountain ranges are situated in the Italian region of Piedmont – Piemonte in Italian – which aptly means ‘foot of a mountain’. It assumed strategic importance in the Roman era, providing easy access to Gaul and the transalpine provinces. As a border region it has also played host to an intriguing range of ethnic and religious groups over the ages. The vast swathe from the Ligurian to the Cottian Alps is still home to 200,000 people claiming to belong to the curious Occitan cultural group. Originally hailing from central France and the Spanish Pyrenees, they boast a distinctive red/yellow flag and recently revived Franco-Provençal dialect, the language of the troubadours. Their thriving folk music and traditional dances star the ghironda or ‘wheel fiddle’ akin to a laptop hurdy-gurdy (a stringed instrument played by turning a handle).
On the other hand the Waldenses, a local Protestant group, have a terrible history of persecution. They are known in Italian as the Valdesi after their founder Valdo, a wealthy 12th-century merchant from Lyon who gave away all his worldly goods and turned to evangelism. Attracted by the simple values, many Piemontese joined his ranks. However, all followers were excommunicated by the Catholic Church and, despite the Reformation, were massacred in Italy’s Valle Pellice in 1655. Dubbed the ‘Piedmont Easters’