Should nature be a knowledge or rather a sensorial experience ?
I have to confess: I walked many tens of time through the glacial troughs of the Apennine. In the beginning I had a merely knowledge approach, a bit detached and cool-hearted; nevertheless, these valleys  were there since tens of centuries, and refused speaking to me.  Then, Ok, I knew what these rounded valleys were, but the sensorial part, the one making feel ourselves inside things, started coming to the surface. Gradually, almost as a miracle, I felt really immersed in these places, and started having different sight and better perception of them.

A few days ago, starting from Civago, I took a path going to a glacial trough  where I had never been before, to pass della Volpe (1); I enjoyed this ascent very much so, since the weather was encouraging me, I descended along another path, from pass Vallestrina (2), then up again, through another U-shaped valley, to Passone (3).

From there I started watching the ridge in front of me, with plenty of other glacial circles (4, 5, as examples, but they were many more): small, bigger, of different generations.

I met horses (6), grazing on a glacial step; I tried to tell them of this fact, but they watched me somewhat puzzled… well, the sensorial part was definitely dominant for them.

Further on, I also realised to be walking along a tiny relict glacial step (7); but it was already a purely sensorial perception, simply a different ground shape on which I was walking. Looking up, I saw this forested valley on the sides of mount Giovarello (magnified in 8); it is more difficult to notice these valleys, when they are now coated with forest; but it came very easy to recognise its shape; from another point of view, I realised that this big circle in reality contained three smaller ones (9).

In another place along my way, I also saw a rhododendron (10) and thought about its definition of “glacial relict”. And he replied to me: “A relict is you!” This reply finally convinced me that it is better to leave space to the sensorial dimension, that is the only one progressively leading to a complete nature immersion, at the same level with all the other beings. But this require time, patience and a bit of knowledge, without overdoing.

Glacial immersion. Filippo D’Antuono. Piudimille.com. All rights reserve