Malesco, the last village in the Vigezzo Valley just before it joins the Cannobina Valley, is a perfect destination for nature lovers and anyone interested in traditional architecture.

The nearby Loana Valley is one of the access points to the Val Grande National Park, the largest national wilderness reserve in Italy.

A walk through the village reveals a variety of interesting things to see. The parish church of Santi Pietro e Paolo has a wealth of paintings and 18th century decorations, the most important of which are by Giovanni Valtorta. Don’t miss the statue of the chimney sweep: a metre and a half tall, surmounting a boulder quarried in the Loana Valley, the statue is of a young chimney sweep called Faustino Cappino, killed while cleaning a chimney in Milan. Like the rest of the Vigezzo Valley, Malesco was home to many chimney sweeps who left the village to work in far-off places.

A memorial recalls the sacrifice of 15 partisans who were captured and brutally shot in the Vigezzo Valley and Valgrande during the Resistance movement of the Second World War, in which Malesco played a major role.

Every August Malesco hosts film directors from all over the world on the occasion of the Malescorto film festival, which specialises in short films on mountain themes. Open to all, filmgoers as well as directors.