TOURISM OFFICE
Ponte 4 - 28863 Formazza (VB)
Tel. +39 0324 63059
Email: prolocoformazza@gmail.com
OPENING HOURS
Tourist Office opening hours from September 1st to May 31st
Tuesday from 2:30 pm to 6 pm
Friday and Saturday from 10am to 12:30pm and from 2:30pm to 6pm
Sunday from 10 to 12:30
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WALSER CULTURE
WALSER
Discover the Walser heritage of the Formazza Valley, shaped by Alemannic pioneers since the 13th century. Admire the iconic wooden Blockbau houses, with slate roofs and the characteristic "mushrooms" (Pilze) of the granaries, visible in villages like Riale and Ponte.
Titsch, an ancient German dialect, is the beating heart of this identity, now an intangible heritage. Experience Walser traditions at events like Pomattertag and discover the skill of wood craftsmanship. An authentic soul and a unique Alpine heritage, just waiting to be explored.
WALSER MIGRATIONS: HISTORICAL PROFILE AND CAUSES OF EMIGRATION FROM VALAIS
Between the 12th and 14th centuries, the Walser migrated from the Upper Valais ("Goms") to new Alpine valleys. While the exact causes of this exodus remain uncertain, their settlement was often encouraged by feudal lords, eager to populate and control inaccessible territories.
Decisive for their success was the granting of "Walser Right" (Walserrecht). This privilege guaranteed the settlers:
Personal freedom
Community autonomy
Hereditary land tenancy
THE PUSH TO THE SOUTH
It is believed that groups crossed the Simplon Pass before 1200 and colonized the southern part of the pass, later driving out the Latin population from the Zwischenbergen region. In the 13th century, several high Italian valleys were colonized. For example, settlers from the Mattertal settled in the Pomatt (Formazza Valley), Saaser Tal, and Gressoney. Settlers from the Pomatt migrated again in the mid-13th century and founded Boso-Gurin, the only German-speaking town in the Canton of Ticino to this day. Other Italian Walser (Southern Walser) colonies include Im Land (Alagna), Makaná (Macugnaga), Urnafásch (Ornavasso), Rima, and Rimella.
WALSER COLONIES IN THE WEST
In the 12th and 13th centuries, German-speaking Valaisans settled in French Savoy. There they founded three colonies, two of which are still called Les Allamands (the Germans) today. However, the German language has long since disappeared.
THE WALSER OF THE NORTH
In the 12th and 13th centuries, people from the Lötschental settled in the Bernese Oberland, founding colonies in the Lauterbrunnertal and Planalp at the foot of the Brienzer Rothorn. Another settlement was founded south of Thun. The so-called Lötscher were those who had returned to the Bernese Oberland.
THE EASTWARD EXPANSION
Walser expansion continued eastward: settlers from the Upper Valais settled first in Ursera and then in the Upper Rhine area (Obersaxen).
Subsequently, the Pomatt (Formazza Valley) became an important center of further emigration. Settlers from the Pomatt were among the first to settle in Avers and the Rheinwald (Graubünden). Davos also saw significant Walser colonization, perhaps from groups from the Lower Valais or other southern colonies.
From these new settlements, such as the Rheinwald and Davos, expansion continued into neighboring valleys, Liechtenstein and Austrian Vorarlberg, where the Grosswalsertal and Kleinwalsertal still bear their mark today.
FORMAZZA - LAW
The Thalbuch (1486), granted by the Duke of Milan, is the cornerstone of Walser liberties in the Formazza Valley, based on the original autonomies of the Valais. It established an autonomous court (Valley Council) with minor civil and criminal jurisdiction, a model later adopted by other Walser colonies in Graubünden and Vorarlberg.
Equally fundamental is the communal order of the Alps and forests: still in force today, it divides common property into "quartieri" (corresponding to the settlements from Foppiano to Canza), assigning collective ownership of the entire valley territory to the consortia.
