The title of the evening was: THE MEMORY OF THE TERRITORY.

First of all, the large audience watched the film again or saw it for the first time ‘Faraway Lands – Bratta and Piazzeda’, a production by director Valentina Capone, who has worked with Ecomuseo for years, running various theatre workshops, some of which took place in the garden outside the Palazzetto Besta.

In the presence of some of the actors who took part in the making of the film, people who lived through those times, and relatives of those interviewed – most of whom are no longer with us but live on in our memories – those present embarked on a journey back in time to the first half of the last century. The footage from Don Cyril, parish priest of Bratta from 1939 to 1957 and a keen photographer, came to life through the stories of various residents of Bianzone, supplemented by dramatised scenes.

A number of topics relating to everyday life were discussed, such as the kitchen, the school and the games of yesteryear. Then, in the second part, specific historical events were recalled, such as smuggling, the war, with particular focus on the exodus of Jews from the Bianzone area as well, and the changes that took place after the Second World War, particularly the construction of the Bratta Road e Piazzeda Street and the arrival of electricity.

The following is a presentation of the PRIMARY SCHOOL WEBSITE along with the work carried out over the last two school years and the MAP OF THE CRAFTS COMMUNITY which was created thanks to research carried out by the children at Bianzone Primary School as part of the CAMBIAMENTI….STRADA FACENDO project. With the help of families and friends, they mapped out the shops and artisans that existed in the last century, discovering how the village was once self-sufficient and had all the services necessary for daily life. The map now needs the community’s help to be expanded. For this reason, an appeal was made to those present, which is also open to others:

LOOK FOR PHOTOS AND VIDEOS RELATED TO THESE PLACES AND BE WILLING TO SHARE INFORMATION

This material will also be used for another project that Ecomuseo has included in the three-year programme: WE ARE ALPI.

In this case, the first step is to identify the ISSUES that characterise the Bianzone community. To encourage public participation, an online and paper-based questionnaire will be shared shortly.

L'articolo CINEMA ESTATE A MADONNA DEL PIANO proviene da Ecomuseo Bianzone.

Every summer, the festival brings concerts and performances to Valtellina – between Valdidentro and the mountain peaks of the Province of Sondrio – blending artistic excellence with the Alpine landscape.

LeAltreNote isn’t confined to the summer season or the boundaries of the valley. The festival extends to cities in northern Italy such as Milan and Turin, with events that bring the same spirit to these cities: high-quality, accessible music that has the power to surprise.

Soloists, ensembles and internationally trained artists take turns in a programme that spans genres and styles, with a consistently recognisable common thread.

Photos from the 2025 edition of Dorsa Luana

L'articolo FESTIVAL LE ALTRE NOTE 2026 proviene da Ecomuseo Bianzone.

In the area of Bianzone and Villa di Tirano, the best-known and most popular apple varieties are produced: from the  Golden, to the Stark Delicious, Gala e Fuji. The Valtellina apple-growing area stretches down from Grosotto (the highest apple orchard is at 700 metres) to Piateda and even further down, past the main town Sondrio: in all, a stretch of around 40 kilometres that runs along the main valley. To these is added the separate and much more circumscribed area of Postalesio and Talamona in the lower valley.

Images taken from:

• Stock photos from 2013 of glimpses of Via Guarnelle, Seal La Gatta and Contrada Selva by Vanda Cerveri
• Photo of 28 March 2026 at Madonna del Piano of frozen apple orchards

TIP: For further information go to the site Earth is Life and read the interview by Gian Piero Menghina, resident in Bianzone and owner of the’Azienda Agricola Menghina

L'articolo PRIMAVERA A BIANZONE! proviene da Ecomuseo Bianzone.

This event, in contrast to the nearby Sanctuary of the Madonna of Tirano, has never been officially recognised, however, a parchment memorial has been found that mentions the “The Apparition. The The manuscript in question was found in 1911 in the Fornonzini-Confortola house, now the site of the nursery school, by priest Federico Cattaneo, coadjutor with the title of spiritual bursar of the Madonna del Piano, and returned to the parish archives. The text reads:

Ad maiorem Dei gloriam et Beatissimae Virginis. Mariae. Ad perpetuam rei memoriam

“In the year one thousand six hundred and seventy-five, on the sixth day of April, Battista de Flagelli, or Fragiti di Bianzone, a simple and God-fearing man, as the Rt Rev. Provost was leaving his house to go and celebrate Mass, met me at the door of my house in the Rectory, all thoughtful and greeting me, said he had something important to discuss with me and I said: and what do you have to tell me?  He said, full of redness, that he did not dare to reveal it, because, being a sinful man, he did not know whether he would believe it, but in any case that he could not keep silent about it, because, after knowing it, he could not have rest or repose unless he revealed it. I pleaded with him, thinking he wanted to talk to me about something else, and he added:
The truth is that on the 26th day of the last month of March, which was the first day after the Annunciation of the Ever-Virgin Mary, after having commended myself to God and to his Most Holy Mother Mary at the beginning of the night, at about two o'clock in the morning, I was awake in bed and saw the poor, black house, in which I usually sleep, shining with rays and splendours greater than those of the Sun. Mother Mary at the beginning of the night, at about two o'clock, when I woke up and was in bed, I saw the poor black house in which I usually sleep shining with rays and splendours greater than those of the sun, indeed it seemed that the whole house was made of the finest gold, and I felt such pleasure in my soul It seemed as if I were in Paradise and among so many delights and splendours I heard a voice, and it seemed to me to be the Virgin Mary, if I saw her well, who said to me, go, announce to the Provost and to the people of Bianzone that in my honour they should have an altar raised and my temple situated here on this plain reduced to a more honourable state, Tell them that if they do so, I promise them my blessing and protection, otherwise they will beware of the chastisements that you are enduring and at that time, since I was infirm with a ruptured intestine, I felt healed as I am now healthy and I truly believe that it was the Blessed Virgin although I did not discern her among so many splendours, and I said they would not believe me, and I was warned that I should begin to lead stones and rocks and contribute something of my poverty, so I promised to give her two spoonfuls of wine, and at once I led a few cartloads of stones, and so at that moment that great splendour departed: I delayed till now because I did not dare to say it, since I am an abject person, poor and a great sinner, but finding no rest I was forced to say it, and I offer to endure any torment to confirm this truth. I then told him that he should seek out the Bianzone officials, and he replied that I wanted to tell them on his behalf and that he offered to appear and affirm the whole thing; I then went to celebrate Holy Mass and afterwards I spoke about it with my Lord Canons, that is to say the R Sig. Sig.P. Antonio Zanina, with Sig. P. Carlo Adda and with R. Sig. P. Giov. Nodari, who with other people went separately to meet the Baptist to inform him of the truth and to all replied the same, and after a few days I requested that the Council of this Mag.After a few days I requested that the Council of this Magistrate's College be assembled, since I wanted to speak to him about this success, and in the said Council, having explained everything as above, I told him that I could not canonically approve such an apparition, because this is to be done by the Lord Superiors, but in any case, since it is a pious and holy thing to restore the Church to a more honourable state, it would be good not to be against it, and that in doing this to the honour of the Virgin Mary, they could only expect great good.
So that Magical Council determined the adherir to these aids as follows...”.”

After the Apparition took place in the humble, blackened house of Battista De Flagelli, located close to Piazza Vanoni, a grandiose project to enlarge the Piano church was initiated, which also led to the construction of the present monumental façade that stands out from the view of those arriving from Sondrio.

The event is recounted in the following volumes:

• ‘From One Hail Mary to the Other’ by Vanda Cerveri
• Bianzone - The sanctuary of Madonna del Piano by Dante Sosio
• Bianzone caskets of art and culture by Emanuela Cerveri
• Bianzone among vineyards, churches, palaces and ancient quarters by Gianluigi Garbellini

It is also annually reminded on the Mary The Immaculate One 

L'articolo 26 MARZO 1675: LA MADONNA APPARVE A GIAN BATTISTA DE’ FLAGELLI proviene da Ecomuseo Bianzone.

It will start from Madonna del Piano at 20:30 and, through 7 stages, will come to the church of San Siro.

This route, usually in the opposite direction, is one of several faith routes that were the subject of various processions in the past. The faithful also came from neighbouring villages such as Teglio. Until 1870, the people of Tell arrived at the Sanctuary on foot to ‘sing mass’ on Sundays in Albis. This is recorded in the memoirs of priest Federico Cattaneo, bursar of the church from 1910 to 1921, quoted by Dante Sosio in the text ‘Bianzone - The Sanctuary of the Madonna del Piano, notes on history’.’, which you can find inside the church.

In addition to the traditional processions, there were exceptional ones in times of famine or when a storm was predicted.

Children and people who believed the story of the SWEATHING STONE. On the east side, an embossed stone is still visible, which could be touched before the restoration work in the 1970s/1980s. Above it was an inscription, now completely disappeared and replaced by a small plaque, which recounted the fact. According to legend, in fact, it was on that very stone that the Madonna would sit, leaving it perpetually wet with her sweat.

L'articolo GENTE DI PRIMAVERA – VIA CRUCIS ZONALE proviene da Ecomuseo Bianzone.

L'articolo QUARANTESIMO ANNIVERSARIO DELLA RIAPERTURA AL CULTO DELLA MADONNA DEL PIANO proviene da Ecomuseo Bianzone.

L'articolo CONCERTO D’ALTRO CANTO proviene da Ecomuseo Bianzone.

L'articolo MOSTRA FOTOGRAFICA DEDICATA AL SANTUARIO DELLA MADONNA DEL PIANO proviene da Ecomuseo Bianzone.