Arianna Nussio

For me the Valposchiavo is a place one can fall in love with – and that includes all the joys and heartache that love implies. Straddling the boundary between northern and southern Europe our valley is unique in its cultural wealth and in the variety of its landscape.

We find Italian atmosphere in our architecture, our cuisine and our joie de vivre. And we find more typically Swiss characteristics in our sensitivity for the landscape, our precision and our respect for nature.

I was born here and I returned after my studies to discover a quality of life that I had not been aware of as a child.

As far as our cuisine is concerned, the first thing that comes to mind are the succulent skewers of venison that our hunters from Brusio grill over an open fire during the autumn ”Paneneve” festival, then the ripe tomatoes fresh from my mother’s garden served with a dribble of olive oil and a sprinkling of peppermint leaves.

Among my favorite Psuc’ciavin dialect expressions are ”sambüc”, ”sampogn” and ”sanglot”. A standing joke is that they are the valley’s three patron saints; in reality they translate as ”elderberry”, a common small tree here, but also by association a slighty dense person, (because elderberry wood is soft inside and gradually dries out!), a “bell” hung around the neck of an animal, and a “hiccup”!

I suggest that you visit the Val dal Saent, the Pescia Alta in autumn when the larches glow golden. At dawn or dusk they present an unforgettable spectacle.

But San Romerio is the most special of all places in my view. I hike up there at any season and always return happy and relaxed. I love it most when no one else is there, at sunset in summer or late in autumn – a unique fusion of nature, culture and spirituality. San Romerio cannot be described – it must be experienced. If that is not possible, then Rolf Haller’s 2014 film can at least give you an impression of the place.