Panorama Photo

The lower Primiero valley is curiously warded, from opposite sides, by two scenically placed monuments. On the NE side one finds Castel Pietra, the stronghold of the Welsperg family, presented in N.20263. On the SW side one finds the little white church of San Silvestro, perched above a vertical cliff of Monte Totoga. It seems to have been built well before the XIV century. Since it is nearly impossibile to find it open, I never saw its interior, featuring several frescoes. But for once I wanted to see the sunrise from here, and that is why one sees the sleeping bag laid down right in front of the church. I could not imagine that the sun would rise exactly from the point where the W bank of the Sass de Mura intersects the SW ridge: I had been there right three days before, and with the aid of Carl Zeiss I was even able to photograph the footsteps on the snow.
Unlike the Sass de Mura, or the neighbouring southern Pale, Totóga is a minor mountain, hardly noticed by tourists coming back from San Martino di Castrozza. Quite unexpectedly, however, it hides a lot of vertical rock, and actually it was the main playground of the mythical free-climber Maurizio Zanolla, also called "Manolo". His climbing life, from the walls of the Totoga walls to the attempt on Manaslu, is recounted in his recent autobiography "Eravamo immortali".
My "Tiefblick-oriented" panorama 22043 (see also Umgebung) could be helpful in decyphering this complex region. San Silvestro is marked in it, together with Passo Gobbera, from where the church can be reached by means of a 30 min walk (only 2/3 can be done by bicycle).

Location: 46.13931 11.76598
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