District of Bergell

	For the geographer that part of the Bergell belonging 
to the Grisons commences at the Maloja Pass and ends at the 
small stream known as the Lovero below Castasegna.  From a 
historical-political point of view, however, as can clearly be 
seen from a study of the boundaries of this Italian-speaking 
district, it goes beyond the Maloja Pass up to the middle of 
the Lake of Sils, into the Fedoz Valley, and includes the upper 
part of the Madriser Valley which belongs geographically to 
Avers.  The fact that the waters of this district flow into 
three different seas, i.e., the North Sea, the Adriatic, and 
the Black Sea, is most certainly unique.  The District of 
Bergell comprises the communes Bondo, Casaccia, Castasegna, 
Soglio, Stampa and Vicosoprano.

	The name Bergell, Bregaglia in Italian, is derived from 
that of the tribe of the Bergalei, which in its turn is derived 
from the Celtic "Berga", meaning slope.  The Bergalei were 
therefore "the slope-dwellers".
	
	As the valley controls a large part of the southern 
side of the Septimer and the Julier/Maloja passes, it may be 
assumed that it was settled before the La Tène epoch for which 
finds have been made.  There are good grounds for believing 
that he Romans occupied Bergell before the conquest of Rhaetia 
around 15 B.C.  Roman finds at the top of the Septimer Pass and 
at various places in the valley prove the Roman settlement of 
the valley.  The Itinerarium Antonini, as list of Roman posts 
on the roads dating from the year 3 A.D., calls the Station 
Murus (proved by excavations), on the rock at Castelmur above 
Promontogno, the "Porta".  It not only divided the valley 
politically into the jurisdictions of Sopra Porta and Sotto 
Porta, but also forms a definite climatic barrier.

	St. Gaudenzio, the martyr, brought the Christian belief 
into the valley and the site of his grave, situated according 
to legend at Casaccia, was a well-attended place of pilgrimage 
up to the time of the Reformation.

	Until the early Middle Ages Bergell belonged to the 
territory of the town of Como, but then it began to separate 
itself from the south and sought connection with Rhaetia; this 
can be seen from the Carolingian register of landed property, 
in which the valley is listed as a separate "Ministerium 
Bergallia".

	In 960 the Bishop of Chur became the sovereign lord of 
Bergell as the result of a donation by Otto I.  At a very early 
date it was possible for the people of Bergell to acquire some 
important rights, and the contract of the communes of the 
League of God's House drawn up at Zernez in 1367 ensured for 
the people of Bergell the right to elect their own local 
Podestà.  Even at that time the valley was practically free.

	The admonition of Karl IV to his princes and 
dignitaries to make use of the Septimer Pass, and the 
improvement of the route, made in accordance with the Bishop's 
orders in 1387, brought an increase of commerce and trade and 
extra revenue to the carriers.  The conquest of the Valtellina 
by the people of the Grisons in 1512 gave Bergell new 
importance, and it is hardly a coincidence that the first 
commissary at Chiavenna was a man from Bergell, Andreas von 
Salis, a member of the Salis-Soglio family, which was of great 
influence in politics and had a long record of foreign service.

	The success of the Reformation in the villages of 
Bergell was not only due to the influence of the 
highly-talented Bishop of Capo d'Istria, Pier Paolo Vergerio, 
but can also be attributed to the fact that the Bishops of Chur 
were usually German, whereas the reformers were Italian.

	During the Wars of the Grisons the Spanish blocked the 
food supplies and attacked the people of Bergell.  In 1628 the 
Plague, brought in by the foreign troops, claimed many 
victims.  After the Treaty of Milan law and order returned, and 
in the following decades trade across the passes flourished.  
The people of Bergell were not spared the trials for witchcraft 
in the middle of the 17th century, and about 50 such trials 
took place.

	At the time of the French Revolution the Austrians 
occupied the valley in the winter of 1789/99; they fought the 
French in the spring of 1799 on the Septimer and at Lobbia.  
The final loss of the subject territory belonging to the 
Grisons was a heavy blow for Bergell, lying so near to 
Chiavenna, and even the construction of a new road over the 
Julier and Maloja around 1820 did not compensate for this.

	According to the old division of the country dating 
from 1535 there were two jurisdictions in the valley, Sopra 
Porta and Sotto Porta, which formed the High Court of Bergell.  
The new division of the Canton in 1851 set up the District of 
Bergell, with the six political communes already mentioned.

Famous people of Bergell:

	Giovanni Andrea Scartazzini (1837-1901) from Bondo, was 
for many years a parson at Fahrwangen.  He became famous in 
Europe through his publications on Dante, and his work threw 
new light on research into Dante's work.  Renato Stampa, an 
expert on Scartazzini's work, considers him the greatest 
Italian-speaking personality of the Grisons and one of the most 
eminent Swiss of Italian extraction.

	Giovanni Giacometti (1868-1933) painter, from Bondo.  
After studying in Munich and Paris he settled in Stampa, where 
he took an active part in the life of the village.  In Bergell 
and the Engadine, Giacometti, who was a friend of Segantini's, 
created works which have hardly a parallel in Swiss painting in 
their intensity and sensuousness.  He lived to see the day when 
what he had fought for with Hodler and Amiet inspired and 
encouraged a whole generation of young Swiss artists. 
(G.Peterli).

	Alberto Giacometti (1901-1966) sculptor, from Stampa.  
In 1922 he went to Paris, but he often spent the summer in 
Stampa where his father, Giovanni, also lived.  His statues, 
whose shapes are drawn to extreme length have made him famous, 
and are considered as his most original works.  He is regarded 
as the most important surrealistic sculptor, and even as one of 
the most imaginative artists of our time. (G. Peterli)

	District Coat of Arms: Silver, ibex erect sable with 
horns gules on foot sable in crenelle.  Blazonry:  The black 
base of the shield in the crenelle symbolises the former 
division of the valley into Sopra and Sotto Porta, and refers 
to one of the most noticeable feature of the valley, the 
"Müaia".  The ibex and the colours are those of the League of 
God's House, to which Bergell belonged.  District colours: 
black-white.