Alpine huts are a relatively new concept, stemming from the 19th-century novelty of mountain tourism. In the 1800s, in addition to traditional high-altitude shelters constructed by natives for agro-pastoral reasons, a new type of building started to appear, designed by city architects who created hotels either in the valley or halfway up the slopes, inspired by Savoy-Swiss chalets in the north-western Alps, and by Bavarian-Tyrolean chalets for the Eastern Alps.

Later, shelters started to "climb" higher and higher – and along their ascent started looking more austere and minimalist, turning into simple stations where alpinists could recover their strength before reaching the summit.

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Fonte: Italian Ways