In memory of the day that Dante Guanella was to reach Splügen on foot, retracing the ancient path along the Alpine arc. Documenting an enterprise which re-introduced a historic trail to the public. It was on September 28th 1969 when, after a century and a half or so, a group of men led by Dante Guanella from Campodolcino, set out along the Cardinello hiking trail in order to reach Splügen. No-one could have imagined that a mere 50 years later that the route would have become a popular destination travelled by thousands of tourists arriving from all corners of the globe.
The ancient origins of the path go back centuries. It was a muchtrodden Roman byway, followed on in due course by pilgrims, wayfarers, merchants and soldiers all moving strictly on foot or on horseback. Recognised and held in healthy respect for the perils of some of its severe sections, the Cardinello has been the inspiration of many an artist who portrayed it in their works or recorded it in their travelogues. But it’s a history which was put very much “on hold” in 1821, the year of the opening of the celebrated Donegani carriage way, dreamed up and financed by the Austrians, then the ruling force of the valleys, and which rendered the use of the ancient mule track totally redundant. The Cardinello was to remain the exclusive domain of local shepherds and hunters and became a forgotten part of the history of Alpine transit routes.
But at the beginning of the 1960’s the SNAM company were to construct a vital oil pipeline from Genova which crossed the valle Spluga as far as Ingolstadt in Germany. An ambitious piece of work indeed, but which sadly pretty much destroyed the ancient Cardinello pathway. And you would then have to wait until 1969 to hear further of the route at all, thanks once again to Guanella (Campodolcino 1931-2019) whose brainchild it was to restore access to this evocative and unbridled mule track. It was no easy task to liberate some sections overwhelmed by debris and boulders - the result of excavations for the SNAM pipelines - but with the considerable help of a group of friends he succeeded in his endeavours: the Cardinello path was once again a viable proposition. In celebration on the 28th September 1969 he organised a trek all the way to Splügen with people from the valley alongside pack animals, with transit permits for the latter obtained from the Andeer Vet Herman Saurer.
Men and beasts of burden along the Cardinello just like centuries long ago. And just twenty years later, Italians and Swiss combined imaginatively to extend the itinerary from Thusis all the way to Chiavenna opening it up to tens of thousands of tourists to appreciate the history of this once vital Central Alpine route. Thus was born the popular Via Spluga as we know it today. Twenty years old next year. Today it’s a 70km long itinerary which attracts ramblers from all over the world every year, fascinated by the possibility of reliving the same emotions aroused in the hearts of wayfarers - for all manner of different motives and over centuries - who followed in the very same footprints across the Alps.
