Above

Valtellina is a valley in the north of Lombardy, Sondrio province, right in the middle of the Italian Alps. At the beginning of June, cows are walked above 1800 m to the summer pastures, where grass and herbs are so particular that give cheese an extraordinary taste and genuineness. This Valley is the area with the most mountain pastures in the entire Alps, about 120 for a total of 7000 dairy cattle in the mountains every summer. The processing of milk at high altitude implies difficulties due to the harshness of the territory: no roads and often no electricity. Great sacrifice and dedication are required. It’s a hard job, found on sacrifice. Only respect and love for nature allows these ancient traditions to resist for generations. The pastoral world has always had a central role in history, we think of painting and literature, not only because it is nice and bucolic - the word bucolic comes from the Greek boukolos, which means cowherder - but because it is essential. Without it, pastures would disappear, many life forms would be extinguished, hydro-geological instability would increase, the territory would become poorer, monotonous and inhospitable and would completely lose its tourist attraction. I search for places and atmospheres that I had experienced in my childhood: the sound of milk splashing on the aluminum bucket when cows are milked by hand, constant cowbell background sound, shepherds yelling to recall the animals. Familiar sounds and gestures. In a world ruled by frenzy, often people don’t dwell on the surrounding reality and the signs of the past. Up there, nowadays, there is still a timeless rural world, deeply rooted in the mountain and peasant culture, that marks the daily life of its people and environment.