Bormio

In a wide basin at the foot of a circle of mountains, where the Frodolfo stream flows from the Valfurva into the Adda, Bormio is one of the most important summer holiday and winter sports centres in the Alps, the hub of a well-equipped ski resort and a base for excursions and ascents in the Ortles-Cevedale range. The historic core has narrow, winding streets, with many houses notable for their doorways, decorations and 15th- and 16th-century frescoes on the façades, towers (Alberti tower) and churches. Palazzo De Simoni (headquarters of the Town Hall) houses the Civic Museum. Piazza Cavour is the centre of the town, overlooked by the collegiate church of Saints Gervasio and Protasio, and the Kuèrc ("lid"), a loggia with a slate roof where justice was once administered. On the façade of the little church of S. Vitale, 14th-century frescoes can be admired. At the start of the road to the Stelvio is the Bormio Terme resort, while to reach the slopes, one ascends to Bormio 2000, the heart of the ski area, from where another cable car reaches the scenic Cima Bianca.