The landscape of the Valmalenco is striking not only for its marvellous natural beauty, but also for the human environment, which man has developed over the centuries a little at a time. At the cost of great physical effort he has made himself a space between craggy hollows and wide meadow clearings.

This gave rise to a significant bond between the landscape created by man and the natural landscape. Unfortunately, the recent, at times invasive urbanisation has modified considerably and partly erased it.

Some important traces, however, still remain to testify this centuries-old "pact between man and nature" in the ancient, rural settlements, in the Alpine architecture and in those magnificent works to chisel out the landscape and produce the terraces.

Almost a warning not to lose any more of man's invaluable heritage.