Vandalino
A 1960s cabin chairlift above Torre Pellice, too low and too close to the plain to hold snow; it stopped in the early 1980s and its base station is now being converted into flats.
- Region
- Piedmont
- Country
- Italy
- Status
- abandoned
- Year opened
- 1960s
- Year closed
- early 1980s
- Reason for closure
- The area was simply too small, and there was not enough snow given its low altitude and its closeness to the plain.
History
The lifts at Sea di Torre climbed the flank of Monte Vandalino in the Valle Pellice, in the comune of Torre Pellice, reachable either from Torre Pellice itself or over from the Valle di Angrogna. The base station stood beside the provincial road, and the top of the access lift and a small skilift sat on the ridge dividing the main valley from the Angrogna at around 1,200 m. The access lift was an enclosed cabin type - 'a gabbiotti' in the survey's words - and had already been taken down by the time Pro Natura and Mountain Wilderness compiled the Piedmont census, leaving the pylons and the two stations behind. It was built in the 1960s, ran until the early 1980s, and belonged to a company named for it, the Societa Seggiovia Vandalino. The reasons recorded are the two that finish most pre-Alpine areas together: it was small, and at that altitude with the Po plain so close there was rarely enough snow. The survey graded the environmental damage three out of six but the feasibility of clearing the site five, and the base station was by then being converted into housing. Course names were never compiled; the coordinates mark Sea di Torre.
Lifts
| Name | Type | Manufacturer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unnamed lift | Gondola | A chairlift of the enclosed gabbiotti or cabin type, serving as the access lift. Dismantled, leaving only the pylons and the two stations; the base station was being rebuilt for residential use by 2010 | |
| Unnamed lift | Surface lift | A small skilift on the ridge at about 1,200 m. Its departure cabin was still standing |
Sources and further reading
More in Italy
Location
44.8411, 7.1927