The best way to get to know the history of a village, of a valley and its inhabitants is to walk in the footsteps of the ancestors, through the narrow streets, brushing against centuries-old walls and looking up at balconies that recall past events. In Valpelline, Alpine architecture reveals a past of hard work, adaptation and human ingenuity.

Villages generally had their houses built against the mountain, taking advantage of the difference in height to move from one floor to another. Each house had an open courtyard and, near a stream, a vegetable garden: to facilitate irrigation, the dry cereal crops were placed to the side or at the top of the village, while at the bottom was the land that needed to be irrigated and fertilised, using manure from the stables at the top.

The houses were built with local materials, mainly stone and larch wood. The stones were bound together with clay or lime mortar. The oldest houses in Valpelline date from before the 16th century and only a few are still preserved in their entirety, because in many cases they have been enlarged according to family size and modernised. The 15th-century houses had a stable on the ground floor, where men lived together with animals, and a barn. Separately, there were barns and granaries built of wood on a masonry base.

These were used for threshing, drying and storing grain. Later, around 1800, houses were built in one block, developed in height. On the ground floor there were one or two vaulted stables, on the first floor the family dwelling, while the second floor and the attic were often used as a pantry to store the necessary food reserves to face the long winter months.

In the feudal period, however, the houses were divided into two parts: the first was used as a dwelling, the second for rural use. The houses often bore the signature of their builders or symbols used to implore divine protection. Inscriptions were made where they were easily visible: on the lintel of the entrance, on the ridge of the roof, on the base of the chimney. Among the protective signs used were the monogram of Christ, the cross in its various forms, wolf's teeth, lozenges, sun symbols and stars. Houses of historical importance during the period of feudalism often bear the coat of arms of the House of Savoy.

Other typical dwellings in Valpelline are the mayen, i.e. the alpine pasture station, which almost always consist of a stable and a dairy, often also used as a dwelling. When it came to large alpine pastures, the buildings often reached a length of around 20 metres. Because of the danger posed by avalanches, the stables were often located underground and resembled long, narrow tunnels.