Imagna Valley, the green garden of Milan

Naturally beautiful, is a small green valley with a treasure of art, culture, historic villages, well-being, good cuisine and flavors of typical Italian local traditions, at the foot of the Alps.

Valle Imagna is a small valley of the Alpine foothills amazingly rich in history and natural beauty, ideal spot where to spend a top holiday of sports, culture and relaxation. Nestled in the mountains, just 20 km from Bergamo and 50 km from Milan, the Imagna Valley is willing to surprise you with a wide array of sports opportunities, ancient small villages that tell millenary stories, trekking itineraries in the greenery, traditional museums, parks and – last but not least – excellent natural thermal baths and good food.

SPORTS & NATURE

Trekking

Many the trekking trails in the valley and the opportunities for those loving hiking in the mountains.  You can go discovering woods, grazing lands, ponds, hills and mild peaks, you can embrace the whole valley along the “Sentiero dell’Alta Valle Imagna”, explore nature trails and relive the past among old mule-tracks, ancient paths and traditional villages.

Mountain Biking

Pristine nature, a territory still little known, different difficulty levels: the Imagna Valley and its mountain-bike itineraries are ideal for enthusiasts of two wheels. The itineraries are part of a network covering all the valley and converging to the Bergamo area.

ANCIENT HISTORIC VILLAGES

Small villages to discover

The valley holds a historical and architectural treasure of inestimable value. It is indeed rich in ancient small villages and quarters to discover, like Arnosto, where till the end of the XVIII century there was the Venetian Customs, with its museum of peasant culture, Roncaglia, a rural hamlet dating back to the XII century, and ancient historic itineraries to relive. Examples of rustic architecture are scattered all over the valley, with the traditional “Ca’”, the local hamlets with the traditional slate roofs (the “piode”).

ROMANESQUE ARCHITECTURE

Back to the Roman Age

Churches with valuable paintings, bridges dating back to the Roman Age, unique examples of Romanesque art, religious sites: the whole valley is dotted with fine expressions of art at all levels. Almenno San Bartolomeo and Almenno San Salvatore preserve four different churches, real jewels of Romanesque art in a real open-air museum unique in Italy. The most important religious site is the Cornabusa shrine, entirely carved into the rocks, and much attended by people from the valley but not only.

THERMAL BATHS & WELLNESS

Thermal baths

Wellness and relaxation find a special place in the Imagna Valley: Valle Imagna is home to important thermal baths, those sulphurous waters are among the oldest and healthiest in Italy, and a renown modern Spa. The thermal baths are housed in an elegant Liberty villa of the late XIX century where you can have inhalation and balneotherapy treatments as well as mud-bath therapy. The Bio-Spa Carèra is housed within the Hotel Miramonti, in Rota Imagna, offering high-quality wellness treatments and a magnificent spa with sauna, Turkish baths, whirlpool, Kneipp path, emotional showers, indoor and outdoor pool.

GOOD FOOD

Food from Bergamo

Traditional food from Bergamo, restaurants and agriturismi, production of local cheese and dairy products, wines, honey and jams: the Imagna Valley is a treasure of good food and gastronomical experiences. You can taste the traditional food in the local agriturismi, buy cheese, honey and jams from local producers of the valley, have food and wine tastings and tours, reliving ancient flavors still appreciated and much enjoyable nowadays. Belonging to the same hilly range stretching to Valcalepio and Franciacorta, with a peculiar microclimate, Vallimagna boasts red and white wines of excellent quality.

“Oh, this valley is so beautiful! Almost an elliptical basin, dug in the mountains, with borders of livid limestone, and the bottom of black schist, which look like coal; but richly covered in forests, meadows, hills; and upon that mantle of mild greenery, interrupted by harsh odd cliffs, stand out scattered farmhouses, small villages, churches, towers. When the sky is blue, the valley looks like a decorated emerald jar, with a transparent sapphire lid”.

Antonio Stoppani “Bel Paese”