High in the Val Seriana, where the valley narrows between steep, wooded mountainsides and the river Serio runs fast and green over grey stones, Ardesio is a mountain village of about two thousand people, with stone houses, a parish church and the Sanctuary of the Madonna delle Grazie, built after a reported apparition of the Virgin in the early seventeenth century. Every June the anniversary is celebrated with a procession and festivities that draw people from all over the valley.
The village has an old mining history. Iron and other metals were extracted from the mountains around Ardesio for centuries, and some of the old mines can now be visited. Further up the valley, at Valbondione, the Serio Falls are among the highest in Italy, a series of cascades dropping more than three hundred metres, but since the river is dammed upstream for hydroelectric power, the falls only flow on a few days each summer, when the water is released for the spectacle. If you happen to be here on one of those days, it is unforgettable.
For riders, the Val Seriana is a gateway to the high mountains. The road up the valley is pleasant, winding along the river through villages and forests, and from Clusone, just down the valley, the road climbs east over the Passo della Presolana, a beautiful pass beneath the limestone walls of the Presolana massif, with tight hairpins and views over the Dolomites of Bergamo. From there, the route continues into the Val Camonica and north towards the Stelvio, the destination of the ride.
Ardesio is small, so services are limited, and if you need fuel, Clusone, about six kilometres away, is the better bet. The village has bars and a few restaurants serving mountain food, including polenta, game and the local cheeses, such as Branzi and Formai de Mut. The roads in the valley can be busy on summer weekends, with day-trippers from Bergamo and Milan, and they can be slippery in the shade after rain.