The Valtellina is a valley in the Central Alps that lies just south of the Swiss border, in the province of Sondrio. It is and always has been a relatively hot, wet and green gash in the middle of two relatively dry, cool and barren mountain ranges, the Rhaetian to the north and the Orobic to the south.

At the eastern end of the valley lies Lake Como, which helps keep the valley’s climate moist, moderate and stable. That the orientation of the valley is almost perfectly parallel to the equator ensures that it receives the maximum amount of sunlight for its latitude, at least on its Rhaetian slope, equaling that of Pantelleria, an Italian island that lies so far to the south that it actually is closer to Africa than to Europe. For these and many other reasons, the Valtellina is an ideal place to live.