👇 SUMMARY
00:00 ➝ Intro from Verbania-Pallanza Train Station
01:35 ➝ 1st sector: Cycling among the flowers
02:00 ➝ Memory and Peace Park and Fondotoce Resistance House
03:20 ➝ Special Nature Reserve of the Fondotoce Reeds
04:54 ➝ Towards Ornavasso
08:05 ➝ Cycle footbridge near Candoglia
09:08 ➝ 2nd sector: Cycling among the woods
10:14 ➝ Ornavasso, Strada Cadorna and Forte di Bara
12:55 ➝ Among the fields towards the WWF Oasis of Bosco Tenso
14:47 ➝ Vogogna, Palazzo Pretorio and Vogogna Castle
16:20 ➝ Lunch break!
17:47 ➝ 3rd sector: Cycling among the villages
19:12 ➝ Hill of the Sport Bike Park of Villadossola
19:53 ➝ Arrival in Domodossola
📽 USEFUL VIDEOS
◦ Documentary Val Grande '44: • EPISODIO 1 🎞 Val Grand...
◦ Documentary of the Ossola Partisan Republic: • LA REPUBBLICA DELL`OSS...
◦ RAI film "40 days of freedom" (first episode): • 40 giorni di libertà p...
🔗 USEFUL LINKS
◦ Itinerarium, GPX track and route description: www.itinerarium.it/escursioni...
◦ Lago Maggiore tourist district, GPX tracks and descriptions: www.distrettolaghi.it/it/perc...
◦ Vogogna Castle: www.castellodivogogna.it/
🚵 BIKE AMONG THE FLOWERS: Fondotoce - Ornavasso (15 km)
It starts from the Verbania-Pallanza train station.
You first pass by the House of the Resistance and inside the Special Nature Reserve of the Fondotoce Reeds, then you always keep to the orographic left of the Toce and if you want you can make a small detour to visit Mergozzo.
In the surroundings of Montorfano you go along a very suggestive stretch, among the cultivations of flowers (azaleas, rhododendrons and camellias) and cross the Toce on the cycle/footbridge near Candoglia (view of the Marble Quarry of the Milan Cathedral) reaching Ornavasso.
🚵 BIKE AMONG THE WOODS: Ornavasso - Vogogna (19 km)
From Ornavasso continue north and arrive at Punta di Migiandone, where the Strada Cadorna also starts - a military road built between 1915 and 1918, which houses trenches, hidden walkways and barricades.
At the top of the Strada Cadorna you reach the Forte di Bara, a fortified position that was to house long-range guns, to protect the trenches of Ornavasso and Migiandone.
During the 1st GM the Bara Fort was not used, but during the 2nd GM in this area a battle took place in this area between the Valtoce division and the Nazi-Fascist army, in October 1944, in defense of the Ossola Partisan Republic .
After that, continue crossing the Toce al Ponte di Migiandone towards Cuzzago.
You enter a very beautiful plain area, full of cultivated fields and woods and you reach the WWF Oasis of Bosco Tenso, established in 1990 to protect the local flora and fauna (40 species of known birds).
Finally, we come to the medieval village of Vogogna and its Palazzo Pretorio and the Visconteo Castle, built in 1348. Vogogna is one of the most beautiful villages in Italy and hosts the headquarters of the Val Grande National Park.
🚵 BIKE AMONG THE VILLAGES: Vogogna - Domodossola (26 km)
From Vogogna you pass again on the other side of the Toce via a cycle and pedestrian walkway.
Continue alongside the Hydrochem factory and then continue along the Toce and the Anza stream (which descends from Macugnaga) towards Piedimulera.
Among these civil buildings stands the Palazzo Testoni whose main construction element is a strong tower with a square plan, built in 1595 by Desiderio Ferrerio, probably in order to control the mule track that led to the Anzasca Valley.
Continue on the cycle path, skimming Pallanzeno and Villadossola, whose population received the silver medal for civil merit, for the 1943 uprisings against Nazi-fascist oppression.
Villadossola represents the gateway to the Antrona Valley.
In Villadossola there is the Historical Museum of the Resistance.
After Villadossola you flank the Collina dello Sport Bike Park and then the Toce on an easy cycle path reaching the end of the route, at the Domodossola station.
The capital of Ossola and the center of the 7 Ossola alpine valleys.
You can visit the Sacro Monte Calvario, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The Centovalli train leaves from the station and leads to Locarno.
Very famous is the Saturday City Market in Piazza Mercato.
Town Hall: seat of the council of the Ossola Partisan Republic (10 September 1944 and reconquered by the Nazi-fascists on 23 October 1944).
Sources: Wikipedia and web
© ️ MUSIC
◦ Song: Fredji & Tobsky - Flow (Vlog No Copyright Music)
Music promoted by Vlog No Copyright Music.
Video Link: • Fredji & Tobsky - Flow...
◦ Ehrling - Mood
◦ Nomyn - Daydreamer
◦ Urban Lullaby - J.Fontanez / D. Maxwell
ℹ️ Drone shooting based on current D-Flight maps.