Melle lies in the Varaita valley and its name has no single explanation: some trace it to honey, since the flowering ground was thought good for beekeeping, some to the apple tree, as other villages in the valley were named after trees, and some to the Celtic Mell, meaning height. The village began at the Borgo Vecchio and spread towards Paschero and Chesta; its craftsmen worked with power drawn from the Varaita and from the bedale di Boschirolo, the channel crossing the village.
In 1368 Melle was granted the exclusive market for the whole Varaita valley, and being the valley's only market made it its service centre. The privilege, long defended, fell in 1528, when Venasca and Sampeyre got markets of their own; decline followed, sealed by the plague of 1630, which killed 60% of the population. The village gives its name to the toumin dal Mel, a tomino listed among Piedmont's traditional food products.
Straight-line distances from the town centre. Tap a point to open its page.
Near Melle
The closest destinations covered by our editors, with straight-line distance.
Places to see within 25 km
Outside Melle, but an easy day trip away.