The best road cycling routes in Bosco Di Castaneda

The old track bed is now a very beautiful cycle path.

At the bridge in Roveredo you have a beautiful view of the Moesa, which flows calmly through the valley here. All around, historical buildings, churches and towers shape the townscape. Everything framed by the mountains.

Station, Grono - (1907-2013) History of the BM With the inauguration of the new San Bernardino motorway (1970), the small, narrow-gauge Mesolcina railway, with no direct connection to the nearby Gotthard railway, appeared obsolete. Starting in 1972—amidst lively protests from the Moesa population—passenger service was discontinued and replaced by P.T.T. buses. After the loss of three out of five electric locomotives due to serious accidents (1969) and the damage to the Soazza-Mesocco section in the 1978 flood, the length of the railway line was significantly reduced on the Castione-Cama stretch. The Rhaetian Railway (which had absorbed the BM between 1942 and 1943 during the severe economic crisis) decided to store its rolling stock in a disused factory in the Grono industrial area, which became a large depot and workshop for overhauling the bogies. This space will be the starting point for the redevelopment of what remains of the Bellinzona-Mesocco electric railway for tourism. In 1985, the Friends of the Mesolcinese Railway Association (AAFM) was founded, and in the summer of 1995 the first Sunday passenger service was inaugurated, a service that continued every summer for the next 18 years. In 2000, the Association transformed into the Tourist Railway Operations Company (SEFT) and recovered an original BM electric locomotive (purchased by the Gotthard Railway Club in 1980), built in Prague in 1909 before being sold to France. In 2003, the Rhaetian Railway also discontinued its freight service, and SEFT was granted another decade of passenger transport. On October 27, 2013, the last tourist run between Castione and Cama took place, definitively ending railway operations in Mesolcina. Since 2020, a Swiss electric locomotive with first and second class seats (1933) and a Belgian freight car (1889) used by the BM have been on public display in the Al Pascolet industrial area on the site of Fratelli Censi SA Tecnica Ferroviaria, not far from the former SEFT depot-workshop. Text / Source: visit-moesano.ch https://www.visit-moesano.ch/sites/moesano/files/2024-04/Storia%20BM.pdf

A curve segment of the Via Froda road / cycling path from this point (about 200 meters) heading west and north is still completely blocked by the recent landslide. If riding north, take left here and take a short gravel detour to merge back to Via Froda in the next highway underpass.

Torre di Santa Maria The medieval residential tower was built in the 13th/14th century by the Counts of Sax. Overlooking the valley floor of the Misox, it was part of a territorial control system. The pentagonal tower is inspired by architectural models from central France. Text / Source: Raetia Association, grisun & romanisch https://www.visit-moesano.ch/de/chiesa-parrocchiale-santa-maria-assunta

Chiesa di Sant'Antonio Abate, Roveredo The church of Sant'Antonio Abate was first mentioned in 1419 and is a late Gothic religious building with baroque fittings. The church of Saint Anthony was built in the 14th century. Inside there is a fragmentary fresco with a figure of a saint, dating from the 14th century and in a style vaguely reminiscent of Giotto. Between 1630 and 1640 the church was heavily rebuilt and enlarged by extending the nave and building a portico on the outside. Between 1647 and 1648 the bell tower was built and a side chapel was added in 1733. Text / Source: Raetia Association, grisun & romanisch https://www.visit-moesano.ch/de/chiesa-santantonio-abate

Chiesa San Rocco e San Sebastiano, Grono The church of San Rocco and San Sebastiano, decorated with colourful frescoes, is located in a small square in the centre of Grono. The church, originally dedicated to Saint Bernardine, was a modest chapel probably built at the beginning of the 16th century. In 1660 it was restored and enlarged and dedicated to Saint Bernardine of Siena and Saint Charles Borromeo. Later, in 1690, the sacristy was added and at the beginning of the 19th century the bell tower was built. The nave is characterised by a barrel vault, while the chancel has a cross vault decorated with beautiful baroque stuccoes dating from 1715. The main façade of the church is characterized by colorful frescoes depicting Our Lady of Milk and the patron saints of the church. In 1660 it was restored and enlarged and dedicated to Saint Bernardine of Siena and Saint Charles Borromeo. Later, in 1690, the sacristy was added and at the beginning of the 19th century the bell tower was built. The nave is characterized by a barrel vault, while in the choir there is a cross vault decorated with beautiful baroque stuccoes dating from 1715. The main façade of the church is characterized by colorful frescoes depicting Our Lady of Milk and the patron saints of the church. Text / Source: Raetia Association, grisun & romanisch https://www.visit-moesano.ch/de/chiesa-san-rocco-san-sebastiano

The village of Santa Maria, with its parish church mentioned as early as 1219, was the religious and political capital of the Calanca Valley. The church's current appearance dates back to the early seventeenth century, a time when Capuchin monks settled in the adjacent hospice. The church of Santa Maria Assunta is a Romanesque religious building. Text / Source: Raetia Association, grisun & romanisch https://www.visit-moesano.ch/de/chiesa-parrocchiale-santa-maria-assunta