Vrù is a small alpine village in the Lanzo Valleys, specifically in Val Grande, near the municipality of Cantoira.
The origins of the village are very ancient, it is thought that the first settlements date back to the early Middle Ages. Over the years, the population made use of local resources and began to make a living from trade, crafts, agriculture and sheep farming. At the beginning of the 1900s, the population began to utilise the talc deposits upstream from the village. The most important was located at Alpe Brunetta. Around the 1940s there were about 12 miners working there.
Today, visiting this place is like entering another era: every nook and cranny tells the story of the inhabitants who populated this part of the valley.
At the end of the village, following a road through wide clearings, you reach the Rivirin hamlet in about 15 minutes. Here you can admire some beautiful stone sculptures. They are faithful miniature reproductions of the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Mole Antonelliana (about 3 metres high), and the summit of Rocciamelone.
These sculptures were made by Francesco Berta, known as “Cichin”
Cichin also created the mechanical nativity scene inside a building in Vrù.
This nativity scene faithfully reproduces the mountain life of the past with huts made of stone and wooden characters, carved and painted by hand and dressed in little cloth dresses. A true work of art!
