iCyclades - Cyclades Discovery Guide

The Riale di Bosco stream rises on the slopes of the Pizzo Stella (or Martschenspitz, alt. 2688m), which overlooks at the Italian border the village of Bosco/Gurin. After a 2km run, it flows just below the Ferubar stables into the Rovana di Bosco/Gurin, which in turn flows into the Rovana di Campo, a tributary of the Maggia.

We are at the foot of the bell tower of the church of St. James and St. Christopher, which was built in the 13th century. The esplanade and the entrance are on the west side.

The church esplanade offers an exceptional panoramic view of the west and north of Bosco/Gurin. After a short tour inside the church, we go down to the Walserhaus, the museum dedicated to the history and customs of the Walser people.

The church of Bosco/Gurin was consecrated in 1253, shortly after the construction of the village. It underwent transformations in the 15th and 16th centuries. Its organ, the work of a Valaisan craftsman, dates back to 1740 and was restored in 1982.

We are here in front of the Walserhaus Museum, on the small road around the village. The museum is open from 15 April to 30 October from Tuesday to Saturday from 10:00 to 11:30 and 13:30 to 17:00, and on Sundays from 13:30 to 17:00.

In the 13th century, this area was known as Buscho de Quarino, the "Quarino Forest". Over the centuries, "Buscho" became Bosco, the Italian name of the village, and "Quarino" became Gurin, the name of the village in Gurijnartitsch, the local Walser dialect.

We will arrive at the torrent, which we will cross to approach a surprising series of agricultural buildings, the Ferubar.

Bosco/Gurin is the only non-Italian speaking village in Ticino. "Em Doorf" means "In the Village" in Gurijnartitsch, the local dialect of Walser origin. The Walser are a mysterious Germanic people who settled in the Alps during the Middle Ages.

The historic core of the village has been preserved over time, characterised by various architectural elements typical of the Alpine regions, where wood and stone compete for the limelight.

In the 19th century, in the absence of documents from before the Middle Ages, a legend claimed that the Walsers were the descendants of Roman legions from Germania forced to settle in the Alps.

Although the remote origins of the Walsers remain a mystery, it is known that they were established in the Goms Valley in the Upper Valais. The name "Walser" is a variant of "Walliser" (Valaisans, in German).

In the 12th and 13th centuries, the Walsers from the Goms Valley began to settle in other Alpine regions, probably due to progressive overpopulation. The earliest written record of this emigration is that of the foundation of Bosco/Gurin in 1253.

We are here near the small local shop of a large Swiss supermarket chain, the only grocery shop in Bosco/Gurin. We can walk up to the church or down to the Walserhaus, the museum dedicated to the history and culture of the Walser people.

We took these shots on September 8, 2021, on a sunless day when a threatening sky brought out the colours of the alpine pastures, woodwork and flowers. Despite the lack of blue sky, or perhaps because of the leaden clouds, Bosco/Gurin was quite spectacular.

At the bottom of the lane leading down from the small supermarket, walk past the fountain and continue straight on.

The alleyway runs along the side of the slope, below the church. The view over all sides is superb.

In the distance we can see the chairlift car park with the bottom of the long bar of the Ferubar stables on the right, a rather surprising construction on the banks of the Riale di Bosco torrent.

From here, Bosco/Gurin can only be visited on foot and a small sign even reminds you that the lanes are not sledge runs. It is true that, in winter, sledgers are welcome and a 4km track awaits them... but outside the village!

For food, drink and accommodation, look no further, there is a restaurant and a hotel-restaurant, both at the entrance to the village. There is also a B&B, some rooms, a small grocery shop. The choice is very limited!

The Walserhaus (House of the Walser) is a small museum dedicated to this German-speaking people who settled in this remote area in 1253, first in the Bernese Oberland, then in the Goms Valley in the Valais in the 8th-9th century and later in the Val Formazza in Italy.

Passing along this rather improbable path will allow us to admire some beautiful houses before reaching the stairway that leads up to the church and branching off a little higher to bypass the steep climb.

The "House of the Walser" (Walserhaus) is the small chalet you see on the other side of the road, in front of which there is a small fenced garden where old plants that were necessary for the survival of the alpine population are grown.

If you like kitsch and garden gnomes, you must definitely take this path to go and visit the church, you won't believe your eyes!

Bosco/Gurin can be reached by car, but we recommend that you take the postal bus up there. The road is narrow and difficult, with very sharp hairpin bends. In any case, check the bus timetable so that you don't run the risk of running into it!

Here we turn our backs on the street that passes in front of the Walserhaus museum. In front of us, a bridge crosses the Riale di Bosco stream and takes us across the Ferubar stables to the west. On the left, the Undrum Lee road goes down towards the chairlift parking area.

The "House of the Walser" (Walserhaus) is the small chalet you see on the other side of the road, in front of which there is a small fenced garden where old plants that were necessary for the survival of the alpine population are grown.

Behind us, the path leads around a house before ending down in the village square. In front of us, a small oratory marks the spot from which a path leads around the church hill to the eastern part of Bosco/Gurin.

Next to a small oratory, the Em Doorf path leads to the east of the village without going over the top of the hill where the church stands.

Thanks to its architectural beauty, Bosco/Gurin has been a member of the association "The most beautiful villages in Switzerland" since 2020. The association was founded in 2015 to promote, publicise and preserve the cultural, natural and rural heritage of Swiss villages.

Our virtual stroll will take you to the row of buildings you can see in the distance, on the other side of the stream that runs down the mountains hidden in the clouds.

The small road you see below is the one that goes around Bosco/Gurin. It starts at the end of the main road, at the entrance to the village, and leads to the chairlift car park to the south-west.

The Ferubar stables are part of the Bosco/Gurin heritage and are still used by local farmers. These buildings are in a row and consist of an upper barn and a lower stable.

In 1925, when these stables were still built in the lower part of the village, an avalanche destroyed them and they were rebuilt here in a long row protected by an embankment.

Towards the south, we can see the chairlift car park in the distance. In winter it is the starting point for 30km of ski runs (red and black) and a 4km sledge run.

The road continues for a few hundred metres and then becomes a hiking trail that leads up to the Guriner Furgga (Passo di Bosco, alt. 2323m), the mountain pass through which the first inhabitants of Bosco/Gurin arrived.

A "torba", in Ticino dialect, is a granary. It is characterised by its wooden support struts. Restored in 2008 on the initiative of the Walserhaus Gurin association to enhance the old village square, it belongs to the museum and is used as a storehouse for the tools of its garden of rare varieties and as a space for craft activities or temporary exhibitions.

Along the Undrum Lee road which leads to the ski lift car park, there are a few passages between the houses which lead back to the village. We will take one of them which will lead us back to the stairs that go up to the church.

You see residents' cars here and there but the village is only crossed by footpaths. The road ends a few meters ahead of us. To the right, a small road leads around the village, past the start of the ski lifts and back to the main road, 200m below the bus terminal.