Hike to Mount Camoscio following the "picasass" tracks

At the feet of Mottarone, in front of Montorfano, there is mount Camoscio, once called “the corner of Voltata”, which is a tract of road Sempione that goes from Baveno to Feriolo.
The history of this place is tied tightly to the granite quarries. It is said that San Carlo Borromeo, in the year 1500, was the one to discover the pink granite in Baveno. In 1800 this corner of mountain has seen many different dynasties of miners alternate each other, and this started the golden era of “picasass” (miners in dialect).
The trail starts right from the “picasass” path, that is the road that was used by miners to reach the veins of pink granite. In the space of an abandoned quarry there is a room of a museum in the open, where some blocks of granite and their making are shown, together with explanatory panels and pictures of that time. This space refers to GRANUM, the museum of granite that can be visited in the historical Palazzo Pretorio in Baveno.
To reach the peak of mount Camoscio one can follow the trail that goes up among the woods, or, for those who love rock climbing, the via ferrata of picasass, built and maintained by CAI Baveno.
On the peak of the mount, where a cross is placed, the sight goes from Borromeo gulf, to Toce’s mouth, to Montorfano until the high peaks of Val Grande. Just below the peak, the lodge “papa Amilcare” (dad Amilcare) was built by the Gruppo Alpini of Baveno.

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