A three-hour life-changing experience with Panoramica founders
Overview
Creative hike is a three-hour life-changing experience with the founders of Panoramica studio: Ivan Kuznetsov and Irina Kudres — outdoor journalists and photographers with 20 years of creative, professional, and travel background combined.
This is the quintessence of the studio and the most unique thing you can have with it. It contains everything we offer at once — creativity, sports, nature, and friendship. All this happens from March to December 2024 in Valle Imagna, the most non-touristy of the five major valleys north of Bergamo and an ecomuseum under the Resegone mountain, 1,815 m. During these three hours we will know each other, make an easy picturesque hike with panoramic views to all sides, and share creative experiences, while eating Italian food at the best local cafe in a historic building. You will see other locals and learn about their way of life in the nature. The total hiking distance is about 7–8 km.
The creative hike will appeal to anyone already familiar with Panoramica’s work, but wants to experience it in a direct way and to share their creative output. In one way or another, it will give a positive energy boost to all three parties — you, us, and other locals.
I want life to be different after the hike, because it just can’t be the same.
— Irina Kudres, photographer, Bergamo
Locals
Ivan Kuznetsov and Irina Kudres — co-founders of Panoramica creative studio in the Italian Alps.
They met during one of the first creative hikes that Ivan organized in the Italian Alps in September 2018. They moved to Italy together two years later, enrolling at the master’s degree course “Planning and management of tourism systems” at the University of Bergamo. They settled in the Valle Imagna from the day one rather than in the city, due to the remote education (and work), but more because of their love of nature. After the study, they stayed in the Bergamo Alps, where they found their second home. It inspired them to create Panoramica studio in the same year.
Since 2018, they have organised 11 creative hikes for 32 people from Russia, Israel, Mexico, Canada, Italy, and other countries in total. If you add to that Ivan’s work in a year-long volunteer project of Legambiente, the largest environmental association in Italy, in the Dolomites, in 2013, you get over 100 people who have already came to the Italy to meet us, and liked it.
Highlights
• Up to 5–8 people
• 3 hours
• 7–8 km
• 50 euros/person
• From March to December 2024
• Gift set
Contents
The creative hike lasts three hours or a bit more, where everything is mixed. But in general, the first hour is about meeting and knowing each other, the second hour is about hiking and learning about nature, and the third hour is about sharing creativity.
Part 1: Meeting with Panoramica
We propose to meet a few hours before lunch at about 10 am at the tourist information center IAT Valle Imagna in the center of Sant’Omobono Terme town 20 km north of Bergamo. To get here, you must take the B00a Arriva blue bus (plan online, PDF schedule) from the Bergamo bus station or GAMeC art museum bus stop in the city center. They go about every hour and cost 4,20 euro. Travel time is about 45 minutes.
You will learn about how we came to this place and started Panoramica studio inspired by the mountains. You will tell us about your place of origin and trip to Italy and about your creativity.
Part 2: Hiking in the mountains
From IAT Valle Imagna we will go on a simple hike with a total length of about 7–8 km. There are two variants of the route depending on the season: Spring-autumn and Summer.
Spring-autumn. When it is not hot, we will make a big circle over the valley. It’s a paved road, but you’ll forget about that after just five minutes enjoying your experience in the nature.
• We will circle near a small fishing lake, watching the local community of wild birds. Ducks, herons of two species — large gray and small white, and geese are permanent residents here.
• Further down the road, we will also pass through the old family quarters, which are called “cà” (for example, Cà Roncaglia) and climb up to the church in Cepino, which offers a panoramic view of the whole Sant’Omobono Terme town and the Imagna valley.
• On the way to the next village of Mazzoleni we will see even more panoramas. It also offers the best view of Resegone mountain.
Summer. In the second case of hot weather, we will go along the course of the Imagna River. In summer this river route it is a real salvation: it is shady and cool. You can even swim in it!
• We will follow a river that wiggles left and right until an ancient bridge over the beautiful rapids — one of the best examples of local rural architecture made with nature in mind.
• Another feature of the trail is the apple and other fruit and vegetable gardens of the local farmers such as azienda agricola “Il Giardino della Frutta“. Along the way, we will also see and meet many domestic animals: cows, goats, sheep, donkeys, horses, and others, which lives close to humans in the valley.
• From the bridge, we will continue further into the mountains until the end of the trail and return back the same way.
You’ll learn about nature, but also history, traditions, culture and other peculiarities of life in the Valle Imagna and about our experience of living and creating here.
Part 3: Sharing creative experiences
• After the hike, we will return to where it all began — the tourist information center. To finish the experience, from it, we will go the most creative local café — a pastry shop “Aquarium” (pasticceria “Acquario”) for a lunch. It’s called so because of the large windows — also with panoramic views. It has been in business since 1982. The locals modernized it a few years ago by renovating a historic building. We’ll try some specialties of the Imagna valley while we continue sharing creative experiences.
• This time, we will not only tell but also show and give you the results of our best or latest work. You will receive a small gift set with one of our books and other paper products, as well as some souvenir from Valle Imagna.
• At the end of the hike, we will guide you to the nearest bus stop, which is just next to the café.
You will learn how we write our books and get some tips. To make it real sharing, bring something from your creativity — even your best smartphone photo lately.
Reviews
This great journey has given me mountains of new things. I’ve learned a new side of myself that I’ve never seen before.
— Tanya, photographer, self-employed, Moscow, Russia
I don’t know how the hike would have turned out if Ivan hadn’t believed in us. But he did, and it was worth a lot. He blessed us to take the hard route instead of the easy one: “I can see that you will make it!”
— Natasha, manager in the game testing group at NVIDIA, San Diego, California, USA
The main impression is not even how beautiful the mountains it is, but understanding of what incredible heights you can climb.
— Katya, web data analyst at T-Bank, Moscow, Russia
Read more reviews from participants of creative hikes and get inspired for your life-changing journey to the Italian Alps.
All hike data
• Title: Creative hike: A three-hour life-changing experience with Panoramica studio founders
• Locals: Ivan Kuznetsov, Irina Kudres
• Languages: English, Italian, Russian
• Format: up to 5–8 people. We are friendly to couples, families and children
• Season: March to December 2024
• Dates: when it is a good weather
• Duration: 3 hours, it doesn’t have to be the weekends
• Start: Tourist information center IAT Valle Imagna, Piazza Nani Frosio, 1, Sant’Omobono Terme, Bergamo
• Finish: Pasticceria Acquario, Viale V. Veneto, 70, Sant’Omobono Terme, Bergamo
• Difficulty: easy
• Altitude gain: +100–200 m
• Distance: 6–7 km
• Food and drinks: typical Bergamo and Italian dishes with some local products from Valle Imagna
• Things to take: good walking shoes, jacket, raincoat or umbrella in the case of rainy weather
• Cost: 50 euro/person
• Gift set: one of Panoramica’s paper books, postcard, and some other paper products
If you have any questions, feel free to ask at ciao@panoramica.studio.
Impact
By participating in this creative hike you are not only discovering the Bergamo Alps through outdoor activity you like but becoming a part of Panoramica creative studio, a friend and a family member, as we say in Italy. Making this hike possible, we are helping to development of sustainable tourism in Valle Imagna and building a bridge between it and your place. This leads to positive changes both on a trail of your life and the life of a local community.
Go to Ivan’s and Irina’s profile pages or to the Panoramica Studio page.