The Walser

The history of Macugnaga, a town often described as the “Pearl of the Rosa”, started in the 12^th century, when the Walser, a people of Germanic origin coming from Valais, occupied this pleasant basin of the upper Anzasca Valley, thus starting the Walser colonisation around Monte Rosa.

Those ancient peoples knew how to best exploit what they were offered by the high-altitude mountain pastures and, with their capacity to adapt, created one of the most characteristic alpine communities, passing on, from generation to generation, a language, customs, and culture.

Today, the Walser tradition is borne witness by the architecture of the Macugnaga houses, the costumes that the women of the town wear on special occasions, the Titsch language that is still spoken by the elderly, and the Dorf, the small residential core dating back to 1200 with the contemporary church, cemetery, and ancient, centuries-old lime tree.