Valleve is an Italian town of 140 inhabitants in the province of Bergamo, in Lombardy. Once you pass the narrow slate overhanging slates of Branzi, where you can see the ploughmen at work, the valley softens again and opens up into pastures and fir woods. This is the area of Valleve, whose Latin name means open valley (levis). In feudal times it depended on the monasteries of Astino and Pontida, to which the "Capitanei" of Valleve (the Cattaneo of today) had to pay an annual tribute for the income of the "piode" quarries and the iron, copper and silver mines. In this regard, it is curious to note that the abbots thought well to supplement the percentage of iron due to them with as many weights of cheese, knowing that in the summer, when it was not possible to work in the mines because of the high humidity, the valley people did not remain inoperative, but dedicated themselves to the mountain pasture. The valley overlooks the Valtellina from the Tartano Pass, where the Cattaneo family had equal interests in the use of pastures and mines. Even today, at the Tartano Pass, where, among other things, a defensive line was set up during the First World War, on the day of San Rocco, a meeting of the valley inhabitants and the mountain pastures on both sides is celebrated. The inhabitants of Valleve also participate in the feast of the Madonna della Neve, whose protection is invoked to safeguard the avalanches that in the past (there were no avalanches yet) caused serious mourning and ruins.
Italian