The first construction on the rocky spur that divides the Garstelet glacier from the Lys glacier dates back to 1876.
The current structure was built in 1967 and named after Don Giovanni Gnifetti, pastor of Alagna Valsesia and great mountaineer: it was he who first reached in 1842, one of the highest peaks of Monte Rosa that today bears his name and that houses the highest refuge in Europe, the Margherita Hut.
The refuge is the starting point for ascents to the Piramide Vincent, the Cristo delle Vette, the Lyskamm, the Corno Nero, the Ludwishöhe, the Dufour, the Parrot, the Zumstein, the Nordend and the Margherita hut on Punta Gnifetti.
