The total length of the roads in the mountain valleys of Ticino is about 5,000 kilometers. Most of them were built 300 years ago to drive cattle from the villages in the valley to the alpine pastures in summer,... Today the alpine pastures are seldom farmed, at most a few goats or sheep are kept to collect the subsidies of the Confederation. ... Some of the forgotten paths may still exist in the memory of an old man who, .... one cannot reach these alpine pastures without great physical effort, has finally led to their abandonment and assures these silent witnesses of human efforts the necessary peace for a slow but dignified death