by Federica Lassi
Another planet, a “Martian” landscape. Amidst the green meadows of Valsassina, between Pasturo and Introbio, reddish patches stand out vividly on the mountains, arousing astonishment and sparking curiosity in observers who manage to spot them from afar. They are the Sassi Rossi (Red Rocks), emerging behind the Rocca di Baiedo and bringing
revealing an ancient history, the result of a geological phenomenon dating back to before the dinosaurs
trample this earth. Reddish-coloured rocks on which, by taking a short hike from Baiedo, it is possible to walk in order to touch with one's own hands (and feet) this unique deposit and, at the same time, admire the spectacle of the Valsassina from above. A walk that can be taken by anyone and with little difference in altitude (about a hundred metres). Departure, therefore, from the aforementioned locality of Pasturese, in the direction of Piani di Nava. On
A building, a painting indicating all the places reachable from Baiedo by walking from that point: Rocca, Piani di Nava, Rifugio Riva, San Calimero and Sassi Rossi (800 metres), our destination. The ascending, tarmac road already offers a beautiful view of the village when you turn around, and on the left, a house whose foundations rest on some red stones, a small taste of our final destination. Near the Agriturismo B&B “Il Mirtillo”, a series of signs, including one indicating to continue straight on towards Sassi Rossi: instead of continuing on the concrete road that leads to Piani di Nava, you should take the mule track (there's also a small wooden hut as a landmark, to be passed on the left side). Even from here, the first Sassi Rossi begin to be glimpsed on the horizon.
The path climbs slightly past some animal pens, then becomes steeper. We leave some wooden benches behind us. The gradients now begin to become steeper, a tollgate appears, we begin to hear the sound of water and the vegetation becomes a little thicker. And there it is, ahead of us, a small bridge to cross. The mule track flattens out slightly but then becomes steep again. More toll booths, another bridge to cross (smaller than the previous one), meadows and flowers framing the path, beauty for the eyes. Continue uphill to a tollgate on a bend, from which the Sassi Rossi can be admired and immortalised. There is little left. The mule track opens onto a wooded clearing and is embellished by a beautiful wooden fence. Then the forest suddenly thins out and the landscape changes radically. In a nanosecond, from Eden we end up on Mars. Feeling a bit like astronauts, we start walking on the soil of this new, undiscovered planet. A reddish spur of rock that took shape in the Permian, the last geological period of the Palaeozoic Era, the result of geological movements, erosion of watercourses and deposits of metamorphic and volcanic rocks. A ’Martian“ fragment in the middle of the green oasis of the Valsassina, which, from the Sassi Rossi, shows itself: on one side Introbio, on the other Pasturo, in front of the Zucco Angelone and the Rocca di Baiedo. Sometimes you don't need to go who knows where to escape: with just a few steps it really does seem as if you have been catapulted into another world.
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