Like all the mountain huts in the area, what was then known as Releccio and is now Bietti Buzzi became the headquarters of a detachment of partisans, Cacciatori delle Grigne (later 89th Poletti Brigade) in 1943. Made up of a dozen men, it provided the patrol for Bocchetta di Prada to watch over the valley of the same name and the Vò di Moncodeno which looks towards Valsassina.
Built to accommodate mountaineers heading for the summit of the Northern Grigna (Grignone), far from the trails which connect the different valleys, it was destroyed by the Nazi-Fascists in Octoberl 1944.
It was rebuilt in 1950 and renovated in 2008 by the CAI Sezione Grigne of Mandello del Lario.
The mountain hut today
It was in 1886 that the mountain hut was built, a time when mountaineers were already in the habit of sleeping in a small stable in the area. The inauguration took place on October 3rd. The men whose idea it was and who directed the work were Carlo Magnaghi, Tranquillo Magriglio and Piero Fontana and the name they chose was Capanna Releccio. It had two separate entrances: one opened onto a room which was always open and anyone was free to enter, whereas the other led into two rooms reserved for CAI members only. Restoration work carried out in 1904 led to the closure of the public room and expanded the capacity of the other two. It was on this occasion that it was decided to find a full-time manager, and the choice was the alpine guide from Mandello Carlo Rompani. Other slight modifications were carried out in 1913 and 1914, but in 1922 the mountain hut was modernised completely. The name was changed to “Bietti” on June 12th 1938 in memory of the man who for 30 years had been secretary of the CAI branch which owned the building. Raised and enlarged in 1950, the hut remained the same size until 2006. In 2005 in fact, thanks to generous donations made by the Buzzi family, the hut was taken over by Sezione Grigne and was inaugurated the next year with the name “Bietti-Buzzi”. After a complete overhaul, completed thanks to major donations and workmen who generously volunteered their services, by 2019 the hut had the form we see today.
