Discover Sant'Erasmo

In Sant'Erasmo, church and settlement history meet named trails and old trade routes. During your stay, you can explore these themes individually: the parish church of St. Erasmus, bishop and martyr; the settlement history of Trafficanti; or the Sentiero del Sole e dei Sensi between Trafficanti and Nespello.

Parish Church and Art History

The parish church of St. Erasmus, bishop and martyr, was built in the 19th century on the site of a 16th-century oratory. In 1943, it was decorated with new frescoes by Celestino Ghislandi. On July 15, 1944, it was consecrated under the full title “Sant'Erasmo vescovo e martire.” The sequence of the older oratory, church building, frescoes, and consecration provides a clear timeline for the local architectural and art history. If you are interested in historic churches, you will find several specific points of interest here, rather than just a name or a single date.

The Sentiero del Sole e dei Sensi

The Sentiero del Sole e dei Sensi starts in Trafficanti and leads to Nespello. Along the trail are the old springs known as “Leamàgn.” The start, destination, and location of the springs help you place the route on a map. The Municipality of Costa Serina provides files in PDF, GPX, and KML formats. These formats offer different ways to view a route or use it for your own navigation. If you like to trace your routes on a map in advance, you can compare the stated route with the files provided.

Traces of the Via Mercatorum

The Via Mercatorum offers another perspective. It was a historic merchants' route used in the Middle Ages. The Via Priula was built in 1593 under Venetian rule. A more recent, higher branch of the Via Mercatorum ran from Selvino through Aviatico, Trafficanti, and Nespello di Costa Serina to Cornalba and onward to Serina. The two route references tell different stories: for the Sentiero del Sole e dei Sensi, the specific starting point in Trafficanti and destination in Nespello are the focus; the Via Mercatorum places towns within a historic connection. This lets you distinguish a named trail route from the history of a merchants' route.

Trafficanti: Settlements and Local History

Trafficanti consists of two settlement centers that were once separate villages: Pompiallo and Tassone. Tassone itself was divided into Tassone Alto and Tassone Basso. These names make the town's former divisions tangible and add a local settlement history to the story of its routes. As you explore the town's history, you can use the different names as a guide to its former hamlets.

The history of polenta is also tied to a specific place. The Cortinovis brothers specialized in reselling flour used to make polenta. The contrada where they lived and worked is still called “Cà di Farine” today. The name and the recorded activity point to a former connection between trade, flour, and a local staple food. This offers a historical glimpse into local food culture, not a claim about any current dining options.

For the broader travel overview: Bergamo.