Departure point:    

Vogogna (VB), Italy

How to get there:    

By train: Vogogna Station, Ferrovie dello Stato. Timetables: http://www.trenitalia.com/; www.ffs.ch
By car: A26 motorway to Gravellona Toce, then SS33 of Sempione, exit for Piedimulera-Vogogna.

General Description:    

Vogogna is the only village in the province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola to have preserved the architecture of the medieval village of the fourteenth century.
Headquarters of the National Park of Val Grande and of the “Geolab”, geological laboratory dedicated to the geological features of the territory that has become part of the Sesia-Val Grande Geopark, sponsored by UNESCO.
There are two self-guided tours,  "The breath of history", with an historical and anthropological theme, and the "Geological Trail", which starting from Vogogna develops up to Premosello.

The route:    

From the station go to Piazza Pratini, go up via de Maria towards the piazza della Chiesa. Here the village starts, and it has been listed in the 217 “Most beautiful Villages in Italy” for its historical, artistic and cultural particularities  (www.borghitalia.it). It has also been awarded the Bandiera Arancione from the Touring Club Italiano (www.bandierearancioni.it).
Along  via Roma you will reach the Praetorian Palace, built in 1348 on the model of the Lombard broletto. Market place under the porch space and civic headquarters on the first floor, it has the Mascherone Celtico (celtic head statue), important evidence dating from the third century BC. Next to the Praetorian Palace is the Villa Biraghi-Vietti-Violi (half of seventeenth century), headquarters of the National Park of Val Grande. There is also the GEOLAB, geological laboratory of the Sesia-Val Grande Geopark (UNESCO).
An alley goes up to the Visconti Castle (Castello Visconteo) (XIV c.), that you can also reach with a panoramic elevator. From here a mule track goes up to Genestredo, with the oratory ofi San Martino, and to the Rocca (XI c.), signal and defense tower of the valley. The itinerary is equipped with informative panels (nature trail “the breath of history”, Parco Nazionale della Val Grande). From the Rocca the way back is the same itinerary of the way forward uphill.

Useful information:    

It is possible to continue along the geological trail set out by the Park between Vogogna and Premosello, arriving to Premosello station. In this case schools can access to the service of guided tours.
For information and specialized educational visits for schools contact:
•    Ente Parco Nazionale Val Grande (www.parcovalgrande.it).
•    Cooperativa ValGrande, specialized in proposals for environmental Education (www.coopvalgrande.it)

Where to eat:    

Ristorante Vecchio Borgo, Piazza Chiesa, 7, 28805 VOGOGNA (VB), tel.: +39 0324 87504