Emilio Questa Hut

The Emilio Questa Hut (Rifugio Emilio Questa) is a mountain hut perched at 2,388 metres on the northern shore of Lake Portette, in the municipality of Valdieri, Province of Cuneo, in Italy's Piedmont region. It sits within the Maritime Alps Natural Park, surrounded by the peaks of Portette, Claus and Prefouns, and overlooking the Valasco Valley, where the former hunting lodge of the Italian royal family stands. The hut is a traditional base for hikers, climbers and nature lovers exploring the heart of the Maritime Alps, and is reachable after a few hours' walk from the end of the road at Terme di Valdieri. The building began as a military barrack. In 1925 it was handed over for use to the Genoa section of the Italian Alpine Club (CAI), which inaugurated it as a hut on 28 June 1925 and named it after Emilio Questa (1878–1906), a Genoese mountaineer and scholar. The CAI managed the hut until 2018. After a long legal dispute over ownership between the Military Property Office and the Stella Alpina agricultural company, court rulings between 2017 and 2018 transferred the property to Stella Alpina, ending CAI management. Today the hut is entirely privately owned and operated. The hut offers a café-restaurant serving traditional Piedmontese meals, a bar for shorter stops, and sleeping accommodations in three shared dormitories with 6, 14 and 10 beds, plus additional options such as a yurt and small wooden huts nearby. A winter room with mattresses and blankets remains open when the hut is unattended, providing 8 places. The hut is a stage on several local and international hiking trails, including the Grande Traversata delle Alpi, the Via Alpina (red route) and the Maritime Alps Natural Park traverse. It is also a starting point for ascents of surrounding peaks such as Testa Malinvern, Testa del Claus and Testa di Tablasses. Since June 2021 the hut has been run by a manager. The official website notes that the hut is closed and will reopen in 2027, while the unattended winter room is open from 21 September. The hut participates in the Progetto Margreen environmental sustainability project, offering refills of drinking water for reusable bottles at €0.50 per half-litre to discourage plastic water bottles.

The Emilio Questa Hut has its origins in a military installation. In 1880, the Royal Italian Army built a semi-buried shelter near Lake Portette in the upper Valasco valley, part of a series of works guarding the nearby border between Italy and France. Between 1902 and 1903, a single-storey refuge capable of housing 10 men was developed from this installation. After World War I, it was named after Captain Eugenio Cappa (born 1891), an officer of the "Mondovì" battalion, 1st Alpini Regiment, who died at the Battle of Ortigara on 10 June 1917 while trying to save his men and was posthumously awarded the Silver Medal of Military Valour. The original dedication plaque, placed during the Fascist era, contains a typographical error in the place name of his death ("Campigoletto") and has been preserved. In 1925, the structure, while remaining the property of the Military Property Office (Demanio Militare), was transferred for use to the Genoa section of the Italian Alpine Club (CAI), which inaugurated it as a hut on 28 June 1925. It was dedicated to the memory of Emilio Questa (1878–1906), a Genoese mountaineer and scholar, founding member of the Italian Academic Alpine Club, pioneer of the exploration and promotion of the Apuan Alps (for which he wrote the first guide and first ascended, with Bartolomeo Figari, the peak that later took his name, as well as Monte Contrario). He died on 8 September 1906 while attempting to climb the Aiguille Centrale d'Arves. In 1937, the addition of a second floor increased capacity to 25 beds. The hut was again requisitioned for military purposes during World War II, and in 1947 it was returned to the Genoa CAI, which began renovation works and reopened it to the public in 1950. Two years later, in 1952, a second building was added next to the original; further expansions followed between 1986 and 1993. Also in 1993, a legal dispute over ownership arose between the Military Property Office and the Stella Alpina agricultural company, which in 1970 had acquired the former Savoy properties around Valasco. In 2014, the Municipality of Valdieri, under the so-called "state property federalism" (regulated by Legislative Decree No. 85 of 28 May 2010, providing for the transfer of state-owned real estate to local authorities free of charge), attempted to obtain from the Military Property Office the transfer of former military structures in its territory, but again met opposition from Stella Alpina. The dispute ended between 2017 and 2018, when court rulings sanctioned the transfer of ownership from the Military Property Office to Stella Alpina, also marking the end of CAI management. Since then, the hut has been entirely privately owned and operated. Since June 2021, the hut has been run by a manager. The building is a masonry construction with a single storey plus attic, totalling 95 m² of floor space. On the ground floor are the kitchen, dining room, managers' quarters, a power plant (wind and solar panels with batteries) and two small rooms with 6 beds each; the attic houses collective dormitories and two additional double beds in the rear wing. Capacity is enhanced by makeshift structures (wooden huts and tents) nearby. Part of the hut remains open during unattended periods as a winter room, equipped with mattresses and blankets, with a capacity of 8 places.

• 2021

  A new manager takes over the hut in June.

• 2018

  Ownership transfer completed; CAI management ends.

• 2017

  Court rulings begin transferring ownership to Stella Alpina.

• 2014

  Municipality of Valdieri attempts to obtain transfer of former military structures, opposed by Stella Alpina.

• 1993

  Legal dispute over ownership arises between the Military Property Office and Stella Alpina.

• 1986

  Further expansions begin (until 1993).

• 1970

  Stella Alpina agricultural company acquires former Savoy properties around Valasco.

• 1952

  A second building is added next to the original.

• 1950

  The hut reopens to the public after renovation.

• 1947

  After WWII requisition, the hut is returned to the Genoa CAI.

• 1937

  A second floor is added, increasing capacity to 25 beds.

• 1925

  The structure is transferred to the Genoa section of the CAI and inaugurated as a hut on 28 June, named after Emilio Questa.

• 1917

  Captain Eugenio Cappa dies at the Battle of Ortigara; the refuge is later named after him.

• 1903

  Completion of the single-storey refuge.

• 1902

  A single-storey refuge for 10 men is developed from the military installation.

• 1880

  Royal Italian Army builds a semi-buried shelter near Lake Portette.

A historic, privately operated alpine hut in the Maritime Alps Natural Park, offering traditional hospitality and a base for hiking and climbing.

• Overnight stays in dormitories

• Café-restaurant meals

• Bar service

• Winter room access

• Camping and picnicking

• Water refill service (Progetto Margreen)

1. 1Rifugio Emilio Questa – Lago delle Portette, 2388 mrifugioquesta.it
2. 2The hut – Rifugio Emilio Questarifugioquesta.it
3. 3Emilio Questa Hut – Wikidatawikidata.org
4. 4Rifugio Emilio Questa – Wikipedia (Italian)it.wikipedia.org