The bride of the air
Suggestions
A trip from Turin to the Lanzo Valleys mountains gives you a chance to discover an 1893 epic: an adventurous honeymoon by the “Stella” aerostat. An original way to hike along mountain trails also suitable for families.
Suggested period
from mid July to mid September
Starting point
Balme
Duration
4 nights – 5 days
Price reduction
for children up to 12 years of age
On October 7, 1893, the fifty-year widower industrialist from Turin Giuseppe Chardonnet marries his housekeeper’s daughter Annetta Demichelis. Chardonnet, “air captain”, publicly announces that, at the end of the wedding ceremony, he and his bride would take off for their honeymoon. The next day, shortly after resuming the trip, updrafts within the clouds carry the balloon away. Towards the evening, the “Stella” crashes against the Uja di Bessanese slopes. The travelers survive the impact but it will take them two days to reach the valley below…
Following the unlucky bride and groom steps, on the first day you will descend from Balme to Turin (you could do it by railroad using the Torino Piemonte Card), to visit:
- The Basilica della Consolata, where the ex-voto offered for having survived the accident is kept
- The Museo della Montagna so as to discover the alpine culture of our valleys.
Having returned to Balme, the next day you will climb to Rifugio Gastaldi and stay overnight. The next day, you will reach Punta Adami, at the foot of Uja di Bessanese. You will then return to Balme in the afternoon. The following day, before leaving, you may visit the Ecomuseo delle Guide Alpine di Balme and, eventually the Acque Minerali del Pian della Mussa plant and/or the “Cà du Roc”cheese factory.