Director: Luigi Cinalli, Production: Montebianco Droni, Language: Italian, Italy, 2020, 10×25′, Rights: World
ALPAGES explores the region of Aosta Valley. It is one of the smallest of the Italian regions and is situated in its extreme northwest, on the border with France and Switzerland. Its landscape It is strewn with majestic peaks, among them we find the highest in the Alps such as the Matterhorn, Monte Rosa, Gran Paradiso and its majesty the Monte Bianco that with its 4,810 meters of the sea.
It has someone who can equal it in Europe: it is the roof of the old continent. The jewel of the region is Courmayeur, considered one of the most important ski resorts in the world and cradle of mountaineering, the first alpine guide school was born here. Historically, Valle d’Aosta is considered a land of contact and fusion between Italy and France, a characteristic that is reflected in the two official languages, it is the crossroads between Italy and the rest of Europe.
Summary of Episodes
Episode 1
The first episode discusses how the Aosta Valley has become a fundamental economic resource due to its vast grazing land and meadows, how history, transhumance and local dialect all have a part to play.
Episode 2
Episode 2 explores the historical relationship between the shepherd and the cattle and what relevance it still holds today, how different breeds bring value to the economic fabric of the territory.
Episode 3
The landscape has conformed to the breeding needs of the cattle and sheep, this episode discusses the importance of architectural structures, built at high altitudes and how they have been preserved and protected through the years.
Episode 4
Discusses the preservation of high altitude breeds due to their importance in the wool and textile market.
Episode 5
What makes Fontina so unique? Episode 5 looks into how altitude, production methods and floristic variety creates a cheese like no other.
Episode 6
The vitality of water – Shepherds of the Aosta Valley use unique irrigation methods to allow this area to flourish.
Episode 7
Here we take a look at how the shepherds have managed the area – dividing the areas between them and how their management of the land changes over time.
Episode 8
In this episode we will understand the importance of farms in Aosta Valley through time and how they’re taken steps into modern farming.
Episode 9
In the last episode we will focus on the naturalistic and environmental value of high altitude mountain pastures, how important it is to keep them active and how more and more young people return to their roots by promoting biodiversity and tourism in nature.
About Montebianco Droni
Their drone footage is often used by RAI and for National Geographic they recently made the doc Europe from above, their other titles include The Flight Of Anouk also in our catalogue.