Sentieri degli Spalloni — Vertical Stories: Ten Years

A decade of frontier paths

The conference "Vertical Stories: Ten Years of Sentieri degli Spalloni" is the event that concludes the tenth anniversary season of the Sentieri degli Spalloni Association. After ten years dedicated to rediscovering and retracing the ancient smuggling trails between the Ossola Valley and Switzerland, the association gathers in Masera, in the Verbano-Cusio-Ossola area, to summarize a journey of historical research, trekking, and shared memory. The meeting's subtitle, "Alpine Pastures of Yesterday, Challenges of Tomorrow," encapsulates the day's spirit: looking at the past of the Ossola mountains to question their future.

Masera, in the Ossola Valley

The conference is held at the Masera Sports Field, a municipality in the lower Ossola Valley in Piedmont, at the gates of Domodossola. Masera has always been a symbolic location for the event: it is here that, in various editions, some of the trekking stages dedicated to the "spalloni"—the smugglers who crossed the border in secret with the bricolla on their backs—have concluded. The conference transforms this memory into a moment of collective reflection open to hikers, scholars, valley residents, and curious visitors alike.

Alpine Pastures of Yesterday, Challenges of Tomorrow

The heart of the meeting is the dialogue on the future of mountain life and the enhancement of the highlands. Discussions will cover pastures, alpine meadows, and those who still choose to live and work at high altitudes today, safeguarding a heritage of traditions threatened by depopulation. It is no coincidence that the 2026 edition of Sentieri degli Spalloni has been included among the events of the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists 2026, proclaimed by the UN and led by the FAO, and has received the patronage of the Piedmont Regional Council.

The tenth anniversary season

The conference closes the 2026 edition titled "Beyond Every Limit: The Call of Freedom," which unfolded over previous months with a two-stage cross-border trek: "The Rebel Trail. The Ridge of Borders" and "The Echo of Silences – The Dialogue between Pastures and Memory," along the historical borders between Italy and Switzerland. The day in Masera represents its cultural synthesis: an opportunity to gather testimonies, images, and stories accumulated over ten years of walking.

Why attend

• A conference open to the future of the highlands and Ossola alpine pastures
• A review of ten years of historical research on the smugglers' border trails
• An event recognized during the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists 2026 (UN/FAO)
• An opportunity to meet the Sentieri degli Spalloni Association and the Ossola Valley community