Departure point:    

Orcesco (VB), Italy

How to get there:    

By train: Domodossola Station, Ferrovie dello Stato. Timetables: http://www.trenitalia.com/; www.ffs.ch Orcesco station, Vigezzina railway. Timetables: www.vigezzina.com
By car: A26 motorway to Gravellona Toce, then SS33 of Sempione, exit for Masera and Valle Vigezzo, follow the SS337 for Valle Vigezzo up to Druogno.

General Description:    

The Vigezzo Valley, famous as the Valley of Painters” , has been home to many artists and a source of inspiration for landscape and portrait artists who have influenced art and culture over the centuries. Orcesco is a small hamlet of Druogno and has an active  Environmental Education Center where it is possible to make laboratory activities. In Santa Maria Maggiore you can visit the Chimney Sweep Museum (Museo dello Spazzacamino) and the Fine Arts School and art gallery Rossetti Valentini.

The route:    

From the station of Orcesco you reach in a few minutes the laboratories of the Environmental Education Center of Orcesco( CEA ) obtained in some old restored houses and in the fields for cultivation for horticultural plants and herbs at the edge of the village.  Uphill  a monumental chestnut tree dominates the meadows and the village of Orcesco: from here a trail and a track lead to the road going to Druogno. Opposite the station, in the big building of the “Colonia di Druogno” is the Museum Museo UniversiCà,  managed by the cultural foundation of the same name. In the museum are set up multimedia itineraries dedicated to traditions, crafts, stories and characters of the valley.
Crossed the village you reach the deconsecrated church of San Giulio where is the Postcard Museum and where is an exhibition itinerary of the works of the sculptor Giancarlo Sangregorio.
From Druogno station you reach the Center of Road Education and the sports field. Following the cycling and pedestrian path you arrive shortly in Santa Maria Maggiore, passing in front of the camping site and reaching the comfortable rest area. Leaving the cycling path, walk along the wide parking  area parallel to via G. Matteotti that you cross to enter in the park of Villa Antonia where is the Chimney sweep Museum. Crossing the village you reach the Fine Arts School Rossetti Valentini. To return, reach  Santa Maria station of the Vigezzina railway.

Useful information:    

For information and specialized educational visits for school contact:
Environmental Education Center “CEA Orcesco” (www.cea-orcesco.it)
Druogno: www.comune.druogno.vb.it – tel 0324 93071
Museum UniversiCà: www.universica.it
Road Education Park of Druogno: www.parcoeducazionestradale.it
Chimney sweep Museum: Tel./Fax 0324 905675, www.museospazzacamino.it
Fine arts School Rossetti Valentini: Tel: +39 336 236151 - www.comune.santamariamaggiore.vb.it
Santa Maria Maggiore www.comune.santamariamaggiore.vb.it

Where to eat:    

Ristorante La Stazione, via Stazione n.11 28853  Druogno (VB), Tel. +39 0324 93005
Ristorante La Baitina, Via Pasquaro 28853, Drugno (VB), Tel. +39 0324 245018