Nona – Manina Pass

Between Val Seriana and Val di Scalve lies the beautiful Manina Pass, characterised by the iconic little church of Manina’ built in 1949 in memory of the passage of the Pilgrim Madonna.

The pass separates the municipalities of Valbondione on one side and Vilminore di Scalve on the other. Once you reach your destination, you can enjoy the splendid view of the highest peaks of the upper Seriana Valley and, at the same time, if you turn towards the starting point, you should also be able to see the Presolana massif. You can reach the Manina Pass from Lizzola, a hamlet of Valbondione, or from Nona, a hamlet of Vilminore di Scalve, with a walk of about 1h/1h30.

Departure

To reach the hamlet of Nona di Vilminore di Scalve, you can drive up from Vilminore along the Oltrepovo road, or from Colere, passing through Valnotte and the hamlet of Teveno di Vilminore.

The village of Nona is very small and parking spaces are limited. Fortunately, however, once you pass the church, you can turn right onto a fairly narrow road that leads just outside the village to a dirt car park. During the summer, to park in Nona, you need to purchase a parking ticket (also available at the Osteria della Nona) or pay for parking via the Easy Park app. (Parking pass for Vilminore di Scalve – Val di Scalve)

Route

From the centre of the village, follow the signs for the CAI 408 trail to reach the Manina pass. About fifty metres after crossing the stream that flows along the edge of the village, in the Giavallo area, the trail leaves the carriage road and continues halfway up the hillside. This section is locally known as ‘Vià de Olt’ and was used by the Strusì (the sled pullers who carried material from the mines down to the valley).

Once you reach an altitude of about 1,500 metres and leave the first stretch of forest behind, you can admire the Case Rosse refuge, once home to miners and now a private refuge belonging to the CAI (Italian Alpine Club) of Celadina.

From here, you can already begin to see the outline of the little church of Manina in the distance, and you can continue to your destination along the CAI 408 trail, or by following a variant on the right that leads to the same destination. Just above the Case Rosse refuge, you will find a stone plaque with the inscription (in italian): “Gelpi Pietro, died on 11 December 1877 at the age of 46, struck down by the deadly alpine frost”.

As soon as you reach the sign marking an altitude of 1,798 metres, the view opens up onto a completely new landscape, with views of Pizzo Coca, Redorta and Diavolo; to your right are Mount Sasna, Gleno and Cimone. Below you can see Lizzola and its ski lifts. A hundred metres to the right of the chapel, you can see a tree stump with information about the surrounding mountains. Just beyond the pass, you can also see the remains of a trench and a series of bunkers built on the edges, part of the fortifications erected by the Germans in the winter of 1943/44. These trenches were part of the Blue Line, a series of defences that were supposed to be the last obstacle to the Allied advance in Italy.