Читать книгу Through the Italian Alps. The GTA - The Grande Traversata delle Alpi онлайн

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The spread of industry notwithstanding, ancient farming and agricultural practices have survived. South-facing slopes were shaped into terraces for cereal and grape cultivation. There are ingenious examples of exploitation of the sun’s heat, with vines draped over trellising leaning on dark rock faces; this can still be seen in the Susa and Aosta valleys. Moreover, though the Piedmont Alps are dotted with ghost villages and abandoned hamlets, a surprising number of hardy shepherds and herders endure spartan conditions for months on end so their flocks can indulge in summer grazing on high. Milk from the sheep, cows and goats is skilfully transformed into high-quality dairy products. Where feasible, butter is packed into wicker panniers loaded onto mules or horses and accompanied valleywards on a weekly basis. Otherwise – as mains electricity is a rare commodity – there are ingenious age-old systems of refrigeration such as the crutin in the Gran Paradiso area, whereby a cooling stream is channelled through a low hut, ensuring a constantly low temperature. In the Ligurian-Maritime Alps are curious sella or trüna: built on a sloping hillside and partially underground, they boast a vaulted roof of turf, an efficient insulator. Cheeses are brought to slow maturation in ancient low-slung stone huts, often half-dug into the mountainside.