The “baita” in history

Tradition and nature, history carved in wood and stone

Nowadays, our concept of a baita is that of a small house, even modest in size, located in a mountain setting, built with typical local materials such as stone and wood, and usually situated above 1000 meters above sea level, therefore not always accessible during the winter period.

Over time, the function of this type of dwelling has become that of a reference point and a refuge for holiday and relaxation periods; indeed, it is nice to spend free time in the baita with our family and friends. Quite often, moreover, the baita is equipped with every kind of comfort so that it can be used comfortably even during the less favorable climatic periods of the year. However, this concept of the baita has only been acquired recently.

The history of alpine territories, in fact, shows us the baita not only as a dwelling but also as a point of reference for the economic activities of farming families who lived in the area and had to adapt to the environmental conditions, both climatic and territorial, to sustain themselves throughout the year. It is also worth noting that the various construction types of this building reflect the influences of different dominations over time and neighboring populations.

Here, we will trace the history of the baita in a specific alpine context: the Valtellina.

The Alpine arc has always been a place of exchange between different cultures and realities. In the 15th century, Valtellina was an extensive border area between the Duchy of Milan, the Republic of Venice, and the Grey Leagues. This fostered a meeting of cultures that spread throughout the neighboring valleys, leaving visible traces not only in language (dialects) but also in customs and traditions, as well as in dwellings and traditional rural settlements. For example, the areas of the lower valley and the Orobic region were influenced by Bergamasque and Venetian cultures.

All this was facilitated by the enhancement of two Alpine passes: the Dordona, which can be reached starting from the village of Fusine to arrive at Foppolo on the Bergamasque side, and the San Marco Alpine pass, which were upgraded by the then Duchy of Venice to improve trade routes with the populations of the Bergamasque territory, then still subject to that dominion. The ancient “Priula” route, still identifiable along the current road leading to the San Marco pass, still preserves, in parts, its original cobblestone pavement, climbing from the town of Morbegno, passing through the municipality of Albaredo along the Bitto valley, reaching the pass and then continuing to Mezzoldo, the first municipality of the province of Bergamo.

Not only was the influence due to cultural exchanges between different populations the cause of the diverse evolution of building types, but the characteristics of the territory and a predominantly farming economy also contributed to the formation and transformation over time of settlements and dwelling types. What should be noted, however, is that the characteristics of housing types were mainly determined by the management methods of the territory, its morphology, and climate.

The baita as an alpine dwelling is indeed part of the phenomenon where families, along with their livestock, moved in the springtime to reach the alpine pastures. Communities were organized according to a subsistence economy, which changed considerably with the introduction of vineyard cultivation, cereals at higher altitudes, and chestnut groves on the Orobic side, significantly modifying the settlements.

So, if we want to try to draw a first conclusion, we can state that the baita is part of those initial rural settlements linked to an early subsistence economy that used the alpine pastures at all altitudes, during the most favorable seasons, thanks also to a dense network of paths that allowed for transhumance. It is therefore not far-fetched to think of the baita not only as a simple building but, as mentioned by T. Forni in “La dimora rurale e le sue testimonianze” in the Cultural Heritage of the Valtellina Mountain Community of Sondrio, as a “container of life and history.”