In the heart of the hamlet of Ponte, in the Formazza Valley, the state road literally divides the urban structure into two parts: on one side there are typical Walser houses and stables, where larch wood predominates over any other material, on the other side there are two masonry buildings in a completely different style. In this part of Ponte sits the Casa Forte, built in 1569 by Antonio Zur Schmitten, a wealthy transporter of goods by pack animals and notary in the Formazza Valley. Outside you can still see the iron rings to which animals carrying wine, salt and grains across the border were attached.
Today, the Schtei Hüs (Stone House), so called because it was built entirely of masonry and stone, is an ethnographic museum that collects traditional artefacts related to the activity of merchants in these valleys and displays photographic and documentary collections on the rich and centuries-old history of the Formazza Valley.
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