RONCO CANAVESE, Italy — At the Ponte degli innamorati, or Lovers’ Bridge, in Ronco Canavese, Christelle Anselmo smiles as she talks about the place, she now calls home. Tucked along the Soana River, the picturesque spot has become a place for couples to declare their love — not only for one another, but also for this corner of the Italian Alps.

Anselmo was born in Paris to parents from the Soana Valley. Thirty-three years ago, she returned to the place her family had once left in search of a different life. “Today, I work alongside my husband in our family butcher shop, and our 20-year-old son is growing up in the Alpine community my family never forgot.”

Christelle Anselmo

Matteo Perocca’s connection to the valley runs through another disappearing trade. Born in France to parents from the area, he spent 20 years working in glassmaking — the same craft that once sent men from these mountain villages across Europe in search of work.

“I’m very proud to be able to continue this little piece of the history of emigration,” he says.

Their stories trace a journey in reverse: descendants of emigrants returning to build their lives where earlier generations had struggled to make a living. For decades, people left the Soana Valley for France and beyond, but many kept one foot at home, returning each summer to help with the haymaking, reunite with family and care for the land.

“They left, yes, but they always came back,” says Cristina Fabrizi, host of Radici d’Italia, a television program exploring the ties between Italian communities and their emigrants. “Even today, the descendants of those who left return in the summer, drawn by an almost visceral bond with their roots.”

In the Soana Valley, that connection survives in family memories, traditional crafts and local recipes, as residents work to keep a disappearing world alive.

A Valley Shaped by Work

Located within Gran Paradiso National Park, established in 1922, the Soana Valley was once far more densely populated. A little more than a century ago, Ronco Canavese had roughly 10 times as many residents as it does today. Agriculture, livestock farming and specialized crafts sustained the local economy.

Copperworking was among the most important trades. A foundry operated in the area from 1675 to 1950, turning metal into everyday objects and reusing materials whenever possible.

“There was no electricity, no elaborate machinery,” says Donatella Steffenina, a local resident and one of the guardians of Gran Paradiso National Park. “We used the resources available in the area, along with our knowledge of the ore and how to process it.”

The foundry is gone, but its history speaks to a culture built on resourcefulness and skills passed from one generation to the next.

From the Alps to Paris

In the late 19th century, glassmakers from the valley headed to France, Savoy and Paris, where urban expansion created demand for glaziers. Many worked seasonally, returning home each summer to help with agricultural tasks such as haymaking.

Their work took them into unfamiliar cities, where practical skills and personal contacts helped them find customers. Back home, their absence left women and children to manage households and farms until the men returned.

For the families who stayed behind, those returns became a highlight of the year. Marleene Anselmo, a member of the local association I Nostri, remembers the excitement of the summer homecomings.

“The name comes from the people who left to work as glassmakers, leaving their wives and children here,” she says. “In the summer, they came back for the haymaking and everything else. It was a great celebration, and we created this association to preserve the memory of our ancestors returning to the valley.”

Keeping the Mountains Alive

The seasonal returns helped preserve more than family ties. They also kept the landscape in use. Without regular care, fields and terraces can become overgrown, altering an environment shaped by generations of farming and livestock raising.

“During the summer, the emigrants came back for three months and tried to maintain this environment, preventing it from being completely abandoned,” says Sandro Francesconi, an environmental hiking guide. “That helped preserve a balance between the forces of nature and the management of the land.”

Today, visitors come for the valley’s trails, scenery and cultural heritage. Some are returning to places their families never stopped talking about. “We have an incredible number of international visitors,” Francesconi says. “Some come back because they feel connected to their roots.” For them, the landscape is more than a destination. It is part of a family history shaped by the work of those who stayed and those who left.

Crafts That Tell a Story

Local artisans and associations are working to preserve traditional slipper-making, bobbin lace, wood carving and other crafts. Each requires skills that are increasingly difficult to sustain as the number of practitioners dwindles.

One slipper maker traces the tradition to the late 19th century. “These are traditional shoes, a very old craft that goes back to 1870,” the artisan says.

Made from nine layers of material, the slippers demand patience and experience. Bobbin lace requires a different kind of precision.

“It clears my mind,” one lace maker says. “It’s a bit like solving a math problem — it relaxes you.”

Traditional clothing is also being revived. A group established in 2019 has helped bring back the virigonel, a local garment, while the Franco-Provençal dialect and traditions of mutual aid remain important markers of the valley’s identity.

For those keeping these traditions alive, work is also a way of passing on a sense of belonging.

Recipes From a Mountain Kitchen

The valley’s culinary traditions reflect a landscape where winters were long and ingredients scarce. Local specialties include frit gris, made with potatoes, Swiss chard, onions, butter and toma cheese; mocetta, a cured meat; potato salami; and paste di meliga, cornmeal cookies.

“Our grandparents didn’t have much money, so they made their special Sunday dishes with the few ingredients they had,” says Selene Aimonetto, a local cook. “They used potatoes, onions and Swiss chard. And because we’re in the mountains, we cook the onions in butter rather than oil.”

The recipes preserve the ingenuity of households that learned to make the most of what the mountains provided. Passed down through families, they remain another way of keeping the past close.

Preserving the Memory of Home

The association I Nostri gathers stories of families who left and returned, preserving memories of the summer homecomings that once brought the community together. Its work helps keep alive the experiences of people whose lives unfolded between the valley and the places where they went to find work.

In the Soana Valley, the legacy of emigration endures in skills passed from one generation to the next, in a landscape shaped by centuries of work, and in families who continue to return. Coming home is more than a visit to an ancestral village. It is a way of keeping that village alive.

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*Radici d’Italia is a Rai television series produced as part of the “Roots Tourism” initiative promoted by Italy’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and funded by the European Union’s NextGenerationEU program.