Poschiavo

Poschiavo lies south of the Bernina pass in an Italian-speaking, historically Protestant-and-Catholic valley that belongs to Graubunden but faces Lombardy, and the architecture shows the double inheritance - a piazza of Lombard character with a Reformed and a Catholic church, and behind it the Spaniolenviertel, a street of substantial nineteenth-century houses built by families who made money as emigrants in Spain and returned to display it. The valley's other export was confectioners: Poschiavini ran pastry shops across Europe, and the tradition survives in the town's bakeries. The Bernina railway, a World Heritage line, stops at a station built just outside the village at the community's request, and a little further down the valley at Le Prese it runs along the street, which visitors find startling the first time.

History

Poschiavo is first mentioned in 824, in a later copy, as in Postclave, and in 1140 as de Pusclauio. Its 19th-century palazzi in Renaissance style were built by local families who had made their fortunes abroad, especially in Spain (Wikipedia, Poschiavo).

Highlights

• The Spaniolenviertel - houses built by families returning from Spain.
• Two churches on one piazza - the Reformed and Catholic parishes together.
• A train down the street - the Bernina line running along the road at Le Prese, just south.
• An emigrant confectionery tradition - the pastry trade the valley exported.

When to go

April to October. Half a day.

Things to know

Poschiavo is a long way round from the rest of Graubunden - over the Bernina or up from Italy. The town is small and quiet outside market days. Museums keep short hours. Most signage is in Italian.

Nearby

The Brusio spiral viaduct is south; the Bernina pass and Alp Grum are north.

Key facts