Alp Stories

J'eco srl

About this app

'Alp Stories' leads to the discovery of the cultural heritage of a small Alpine region, which straddles the political border between Italy and Switzerland and, more precisely, Lombardy and the Canton of Grisons.
The itineraries trace a path through the four valleys, which together paint a viable ring on foot, by bicycle or even by train traits: from Valtellina, further south, going north along the Valchiavenna, which continues in Val Bregaglia towards Swiss territory until the Maloja pass, and then declined to Engadine and further south still, get in Puschlav, rejoining the Valtellina in Tirano area.
'Alp Stories' interprets this territory through a 'lens' special, which invites the visitor to take a different experience: more conscious exploration through the micro-social histories of this region. The intent is to begin to bring to light the ethnographic repertoire that makes these Alpine area with a common cross-border vocation and by the many cultures of subsistence. A quick glance at European local history, for example, reminds us that between 1512 and 1797 much of this area was subjected and unified under the Swiss Three Leagues, subtracting albeit with different degrees of interference influence Italian .
We are accustomed to think of this Alpine region as a destination for winter tourism or as a territory to be left behind quickly to reach the countries of central Europe. The building, over the past half century, the main tunnels spread the perception that the Alps constitute always a natural barrier, which is preferable to circumvent.
An ethnographic gaze, threw between facts and stories of the past and between practices and knowledge of this, however, it tells us that it is not always so. If crossings and passages were for centuries a source of conflict between governments, not as it was for the local people: it came and they went, along paths and mule tracks traveled by many, many generations. The harsh, sometimes extreme, living conditions have spurred communities and settlements to connect, achievement, exchange and hybridize: a vital need may well turn into a widespread cultural competence, that even today we can continue to appreciate.
The contents of 'Alp Stories' are available through cycling trips, without taking anything away from those who were on foot, by train or car equipped. However, the quality will be necessary to have: the slowness, which makes the crossing time a real cultural journey through the Alps that unite Italy and Switzerland.
The Archive of Ethnography and Social History of the Lombardy Region, with the support of Dynamoscopio, oversaw the collection and processing of content.
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ARCHIVE OF ETHNOGRAPHY AND SOCIAL HISTORY
Palazzo Lombardia
Piazza di Lombardia City, 1
20124 Milan (Italy)