Maso Corto

Maso Corto, whose name dates back to a monastery founded in 1326 by Carthusian monks, lies at 1,323 m a.s.l. and is the administrative centre of the Senales valley. The eremitical order chose the region because it was peaceful and isolated. Nevertheless, the monks, as the curtain wall of the monastery structure attests, were often subjected to attacks by the farmers in protest against the taxes levied.

In 1782 the monastic community was dissolved and the buildings were sold to the farmers and tradesmen of the valley. In 1924 a fire swept through the buildings and destroyed almost all the monastery. Only one portion of the curtain wall, the cloisters, the burial grotto and the monastery church remained.

Maso Corto is a popular holiday area, not least because it lies near the Senales valley skiing resort and the Tessa Group Nature Park.