Bannio Anzino

Access

Bannio Anzino can be reached by driving up the Anzasca Valley from the Ossola plain along the road connecting Piedimulera to Macugnaga, deviating towards the settlements at the main bridges over the Anza stream. Public connections are guaranteed by extra-urban car services that connect the municipality to Domodossola and the other centres in the valley, allowing access even without a private vehicle, especially during the periods of greatest tourist influx to Macugnaga. For those coming from further afield, the main reference point is the railway station and transport hub of Domodossola, connected by long-distance lines, from which one continues along the valley road network towards Bannio, Anzino and Pontegrande.

Introduction

Bannio Anzino is an alpine municipality in north-eastern Piedmont, located in the upper-middle part of the Anzasca Valley, in the province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola. The municipal territory extends on the left side of the valley furrow, in a typically mountainous context, with the valley floor furrowed by the Anza stream and wooded slopes rising towards the ridges separating the valley from the Valsesian side basins. The municipality is made up of two main historical nuclei, Bannio and Anzino, administratively united in 1929 and flanked by the hamlet of Pontegrande and small scattered settlements that maintain the traditional Walser-Ossolan architectural layout, with stone and wood houses and rafter roofs.

Description

The natural environment is influenced by the typical imprint of the western pre-Alpine valleys: broadleaf forests at lower altitudes gradually give way to conifers, pastures and the high-altitude landscape, while the network of historic mule tracks connects the valley floor with mountain pastures and hills connecting to Valsesia. The climate is mountainous, with cold, snowy winters and relatively mild summers, conditions that have historically oriented the economy towards mountain pasture farming, small-scale subsistence farming and, more recently, towards hiking and devotional tourism linked to the local sanctuaries and the network of routes converging on the valley.
The origins of the settlement of Bannio are ancient: human presence in the area is already attested in Roman times, as indicated by the findings of a necropolis datable between the 1st century B.C. and the 1st century A.D., a sign of a settled community inserted in the Alpine transit flows. For many centuries, Bannio represented the main administrative centre of the Anzasca Valley, assuming a role of civil and religious reference that is still reflected today in the presence of the church of San Bartolomeo, of early medieval origin, transformed in the 17th century and flanked by a 17th-century bell tower recognised as an important monument. Anzino, once an autonomous municipality, developed on the opposite bank of the Olocchia torrent and built its identity around the sanctuary dedicated to Saint Anthony of Padua, enriched in the 17th century by an altarpiece that fuelled an intense flow of pilgrimages from the surrounding valleys.
The recent history of the municipality is marked by the administrative unification of 1929, which united Bannio and Anzino under a single entity, while maintaining the specificity of each village, also in terms of religious and civil traditions. A distinctive element of the community is the 'Milizia Tradizionale di Bannio' (Bannio Traditional Militia), a historical corps created in the 17th century as a territorial defence and which over time has become a ceremonial expression of collective memory: every year, during the summer period, the militia parades in historical uniform, with roles and officers drawn by lot, on the occasion of the main local festivities.
The economic fabric of Bannio Anzino today is characterised by a combination of traditional activities and residential functions, with a small and progressively ageing population, in line with the demographic dynamics of many small Alpine municipalities. Alongside a residual mountain agriculture and livestock farming linked to alpine pastures, there is room for small craft activities, local services and small-scale tourism, based on second homes, diffuse hospitality and stays linked to religious heritage, traditional festivals and the network of trails linking the valley to the passes towards Valsesia. The municipality also plays the role of local reference point for administrative services and cultural initiatives involving the entire mid-Anzasca Valley.
The town's cultural identity is reflected in a calendar of festivities that interweaves the Marian cult and devotion to St. Anthony of Padua with popular traditions rooted in time. Particularly significant are the celebrations linked to the sanctuary of the Madonna della Neve (Our Lady of the Snow), located above the village of Bannio and reached by a route marked by votive chapels, and the festivals that animate Anzino in June, when the presence of pilgrims coming on foot from the neighbouring valleys recalls the village's ancient function as a religious crossroads. The ritual practices associated with the Traditional Militia, carried out between the end of July and the beginning of August, contribute to keeping alive an intangible heritage that unites military memory, devotion and community belonging.
In terms of excursions, the municipal territory offers a dense network of routes that connect the villages with mountain pastures, sanctuaries and passes towards Valsesia, allowing for ring routes or crossings lasting several days. Among the most popular routes is the path that climbs to the sanctuary of the Madonna della Neve, often combined with links to the higher mountain pastures, as well as the Cammino di Sant'Antonio, a devotional itinerary that links the sanctuary of Anzino with Valsesia following ancient transit routes. The natural setting, with extensive forests, meadow terraces and glimpses of the surrounding peaks of the Monte Rosa chain, also favours short walks and routes of ethnographic interest to discover rural architecture and evidence of emigration and the valley economy.

Information

Area: 39.47 km²
Altitude: 669m
Maximum elevation: 2,652m - Pizzo Tignaga
Number of inhabitants: 454 as of 31.07.2025
Name in dialect: Bani e Anzìn
Inhabitants name: banniesi
Patron Saint: Beata Vergine Maria della Neve, celebrated on 5 August
Bordering municipalities: Calasca-Castiglione, Carcoforo, Ceppo Morelli, Fobello, Rimella, Vanzone con San Carlo
Website: www.comune.bannioanzino.vb.it