Valle Vigezzo (Vigezzo Valley) is a valley in the

Lepontine Alps , topo_map= Swiss Federal Office of Topography swisstopo , photo=MonteLeone0001.jpg , photo_caption=Monte Leone , country_type= Countries , country= , subdivision1_type= Cantons, Regions , subdivision1= , parent= Western Alps , borders ...

in northwestern Italy on the border with

Canton Ticino Ticino (), sometimes Tessin (), officially the Republic and Canton of Ticino or less formally the Canton of Ticino,, informally ''Canton Ticino'' ; lmo, Canton Tesin ; german: Kanton Tessin ; french: Canton du Tessin ; rm, Chantun dal Tessin . ...

of Switzerland. It forms the eastern branch of the Ossola valley. It is also called the Valle dei Pittori (Valley of the Painters) due to the large number of painters over the centuries such as Giuseppe Mattia Borgnis, Lorenzo Peretti, Bernardino Peretti, Enrico Cavalli, Carlo Fornara, Giovanni Battista Ciolina, Gian Maria Rastellini, Maurizio Borgnis, Lorenzo Peretti Junior. It is remembered for its " spazzacamini" or chimney-sweepers who brought their trade around Europe. It is connected with the

Eau de Cologne Eau de Cologne (; German: ''Kölnisch Wasser'' ; meaning "Water from Cologne"), or simply cologne, is a perfume originating from Cologne, Germany. Originally mixed by Johann Maria Farina (Giovanni Maria Farina) in 1709, it has since come to be a ge ...

, invented over 300 years ago by

Giovanni Maria Farina Johann Maria Farina 1685–1766 Giovanni Maria Farina (born 8 December 1685, Santa Maria Maggiore; Germanized name: Johann Maria Farina, Francized: Jean Marie Farina – 25 November 1766, Cologne) was an Italian-born perfumier in Germany ...

using, among other ingredients flowers and oils from plants from Vigezzo. Another man from Vigezzo,

Giovan Maria Salati Giovan Maria Salati (1796-1879) was a Napoleonic soldier. Biography Giovan Maria Salati was born to Domenico and Anna Maria Salati of Malesco, Piedmont, Italy in 1796. Giovan initially worked in Malesco as a chimney sweep, but enlisted with t ...

is credited to be the first recorded person swimming across the English Channel over 200 years ago, after having been taken prisoner by the British after Waterloo. The valley itself is unusual for not having a single river running along it, but two, one towards the Toce river (Melezzo Occidentale) and the other (Melezzo Orientale) to the Swiss side towards

Lake Maggiore Lake Maggiore (, ; it, Lago Maggiore ; lmo, label=Western Lombard, Lagh Maggior; pms, Lagh Magior; literally 'Greater Lake') or Verbano (; la, Lacus Verbanus) is a large lake located on the south side of the Alps. It is the second largest la ...

. The Swiss side of the valley is called Centovalli.

Inhabited centers

In the valley there are many beautiful villages:

Druogno Druogno is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola in the Italian region Piedmont, located about northeast of Turin and about north of Verbania. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 955 and an area of .All d ...

Santa Maria Maggiore The Basilica of Saint Mary Major ( it, Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, ; la, Basilica Sanctae Mariae Maioris), or church of Santa Maria Maggiore, is a Major papal basilica as well as one of the Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome and the larges ...

Malesco Malesco is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola in the Italian region Piedmont, located about northeast of Turin and about north of Verbania, the provincial capital. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population o ...

and Re at the valley floor;

Toceno Toceno is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola in the Italian region Piedmont, located about northeast of Turin and about north of Verbania. Toceno borders the following municipalities: Craveggia, Santa Maria Magg ...

Craveggia Craveggia is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola in the Italian region Piedmont, located about northeast of Turin and about north of Domodossola, on the border with Switzerland. As of 31 December 2004, it had a pop ...

and Villette on the slopes.

Main peaks

* Pizzo la Scheggia (2466 m) * Pioda di Crana (2430 m) * Pizzo Ragno (2289 m) * Cima della Laurasca (2193 m) * Monte Gridone (2167 m) Valleys of Piedmont Lepontine Alps {{Piedmont-geo-stub