Castaneda Gr: Necropolis, Church and Trails

Castaneda Gr is situated on terraces on the Mesolcina side. Its long settlement history, necropolis and parish church of Santo Stefano shape the cultural character of the village. Named trails offer further perspectives on the landscape and history of the region.

Terraces, Agriculture and Settlement History

The terrace of Castaneda lies at an altitude of 800 metres and bears witness to agricultural activity dating back more than 4,500 years. In a broader context, the terraces of Castaneda and Santa Maria have a settlement history stretching back thousands of years. These two time spans offer different insights: one relates to agriculture on Castaneda’s terrace, the other to settlement on the terraces of both villages.

Necropolis and Iron Age Finds

The necropolis of Castaneda comprises up to 250 stone burial chambers dating from the 6th to the 3rd century BC. The dead were buried with rich grave goods. Iron Age grave finds from Castaneda and Cama include fibulae, pendants, earrings and jade jewellery necklaces, as well as situlae, beaked jugs, iron swords, jugs and chalices. The finds reveal the variety of objects included in the burials.

The project for a new section of the permanent exhibition at the Museo Moesano focuses on death and related rites during the Iron Age. The initiative grew out of the results of archaeological excavations in Cama in 2019 and Castaneda in 2020; the exhibition project is dated 2024. The burial chambers and finds are thus placed in the broader context of the burial rites of this period.

Santo Stefano: Building Phases and Art

The Baroque parish church of Santo Stefano stands in the heart of Castaneda. It was first mentioned in 1544, then renovated and reconsecrated in 1633. A nave and bell tower were added over time. The building’s history can therefore be traced through several construction phases, rather than being limited to a single date of origin.

The choir contains a 1636 painting depicting Christ the Saviour, set in an original Renaissance frame. The church also preserves traces of several 17th-century decorations. At Santo Stefano, these different elements bring together the building’s history and furnishings from various periods of that century.

Mulini di Pisela and Historic Agriculture

The Mulini di Pisela complex is located just below the village and is one of Castaneda’s landscape features. The surviving remains include a stone millstone, part of the storage room and part of a room intended as living quarters. These limited structural remains provide concrete clues to the mill complex’s former use.

The fields by the mills were cultivated with potatoes, maize, millet, flax, rye, wheat and buckwheat. Chestnuts were also historically important: in Buseno, Castaneda and Santa Maria, chestnut trees were predominant; they were protected and used for food.

Trails on Foot and by Bike

An old mule track lined with dry-stone walls leads from Castaneda to Santa Maria. The Grono–Santa Maria stage of the ViaCalanca is listed as 4 kilometres, with a walking time of 2 hours. This walking time is a guideline and may vary depending on conditions. Route 26 is described as a cycle route between Grono and the villages of Castaneda and Santa Maria in the outer Calanca; the ride runs from Grono along the bends of the historic route to the villages.

Other trail descriptions mention historic stops along the way. The Historic Path from Grono passes the Capela del Pciüti and leads to the mills of Pisela; the Menö Trail also leads to the mills. From the Mulini di Pisela, the trail continues to the Mola forest and Santa Maria iC. From there, it leads to the Capela de Bolada at an altitude of 1,674 metres. When planning, you can therefore take different priorities into account: the historic route lined with dry-stone walls, a stage with a stated distance and walking time, or trails whose descriptions mention particular mills, chapels and landscape destinations.

Discover more destinations: Soazza, Santa Maria In Calanca, San Vittore Gr, Roveredo, Misox, Braggio, San Bernardino, Verdabbio.

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