Volltext Seite (XML)
468 THE PHOTOGRAPHIC NEWS [July 27, 1883. the South, you take the steamer to the northern point of Lake Como — Colico— and carriage or diligence thence through the sultry valley of Valteline to Bormio at the foot of the Pass. We crossed the Stelvio with a knapsack, but we did not foot it through the Valteline. The damp heat of this Italian valley in summer is well-nigh insup portable, and therefore we recommend a conveyance through it under any circumstances. A generous red wine grows here that will bear comparison with any vintage, and we advise tourists in the neighbourhood to call for Valteline or Veltner, generally the cheapest and best liquor on the carte. We have specified Bormio as a good starting-point for the Stelvio, but Bormio Bath, or Bagni di Bormio, a couple of miles above the town, is better still, for the little j Italian town affords but poor accommodation. You won’t, however, hear much about Bormio if you start from the ' Austrian side, for the German for Bormio is Worms, a free translation, truly. But really one musn’t mind what foreigners say. For instance, these same Austrians speak of the Stilfser’s Joch instead of Stelvio; the Italians call Florence Firenze; the Danish say Kjbenhavn for Copen hagen, and we have even heard of benighted Dutchmen who persisted in speaking of the Hague as ‘sGravenhage. The hostelry built against the mountain at Bormio Baths will make a good subject for No. 1 plate ; and another plate । should be employed to depict the smooth ascending road, for the great highway is a marvel of construction, and is I perhaps seen at its best rising from the valley. A wild j background should be chosen—it is easy enough to find— ' for the finished piece of engineering appears to more advan tage in its rugged setting of big grey cliffs and hoary- headed mountains. Take care that your equipment is in good order before setting out, for it will be some time ere you reach another hotel like that at the Baths,—or, indeed, any houses worthy of the name. If you cannot foot it over the Stelvio, and are not inclined.to go to the expense of a private vehicle, there is a conveyance that traverses the Pass every other day, or twice a week, that will aid the traveller materially. This is the Stellwagen, a sort of second-class stage coach, that moves too slowly for ordinary travelling, but is handy to give an occasional lift or for carrying luggage. The Baths of Bormio are already at an elevation of 4,000 feet—we have ascended a good deal on our way from Como lake—so that there is a climb of 5,000 feet to the summit of the Pass. But the road is very good the whole way, and a steady walk of three or four hours will bring you to the top. There is no lack of subjects for pictures. The smoot highway ascends gradually by desolate mountain ravine now running along a mere shelf hewn out of the precipito clifF, now through tunnels pieced into the solid rock. At dangerous parts, the road is roofed over with strong masonry, t o protect the traveller from falling avalanches, which come thrndering down from the cliffs above in early spring, and, passing harmlessly overhead, tumble into the abyss below. As in the case of most Alpine highways, there are refuges at every few miles—stone-built tenements—for the protection of storm-bound travellers and of the road-menders, who are continually at work during the summer months effacing the ravages of wind and weather, Here is a sketch of a photograph taken by our friend, Herr Priimm, of Berlin, from under one of the arched stone refuges on the road. There is the road winding in front round the shoulder of the mountain, with another avalanche shed just before us. The picture brings to mind vividly the up-hill climb to the summit of the Pass, and also serves to recall a joke perpetrated by our travelling companion. While we were busy focussing the camera at one of these tunnel outlets, we remember on one occasion that, uncovering our heads for the moment, and looking back