Val Maira

The Maira Valley area is one of the most extensive Piedmont mountain areas. A variety of morphological elements form the area: the alpine slopes of the Upper valleys with a widespread glacial morphology (altitude reaching up to 3,000 m), the mountain slopes of the middle valley set prevalently on rocky morphologies, the lower side of the low valley based on calcareous and dolomite and lastly, a small portion of alluvial valley floor at the eastern tip, hosting marginal farming which, however, determines a great variety of views and environments.

The area is characterised by the presence, in the upper-alpine zones, of a system of roads and mule tracts that connected the various military structures being slowly abandoned today, but which hold a strong impact on the landscape, opening out to many panoramic observation points.
The typical settlement model – if considered from the main town of Dronero set in the valley floor – is that of a sprinkling of houses divided into villages, "ruate," the main town of which is not necessarily the most extensive.

If historically the main activity of the valley – especially in the higher areas - was sheep farming, this activity is today slowly being reactivated after being abandoned during the 1970s-1980s, since in the early 20th century the cultivation of cereal and hemp were introduced; metal processing instead was registered between the 18th and 19th centuries, to be a main activity of Dronero.

When the trans-valley connecting roads fell into disuse, the isolation of the villages in the furthest end of the valley floor was one of the main causes of their abandonment. Only recently has there been a "return" to some centres which have started to become known to the public, especially to excursionists.