Alta Valtellina is a land rich in history. It can be seen as an
extraordinary adventure arts and culture by visiting its beautiful
old towns, the rural dwellings and archaeological sites, the
towers, the churches and the castles. They are all signs of past
that over the years have retained their charm.
The metallurgy was one of the main activities of the area around
Bormio. Between 1200 and 1300 it is well documented the presence in
the high valley of three furnaces for the production of pig iron,
the last of which was dismantled in 1548 to create a new one that
has remained in operation until 1830.
The "
Ferriere of Premadio" was built in 1852 by the company
Corneliani and was the first establishment in the area to
abandon the traditional working methods. beside the blast furnace,
the establishment was made up by 6 other buildings which, in 1895,
was added a small power plant that was providing power to the
"
Old" and "
New"
Baths.
The plant was in operation for 8 months a year and employed 400-500
people, most of theme were used for cutting trees, packaging and
transport of coal. Fewer workers were working on extracting and
transporting ore, which took place through the galleries (in
baskets and
galeote), on the surface (with
benole and
slides) and in recent years with two
cable cars.
The furnaces were using wood, while the blast furnace was using and
wood and coal. In the more prosperous years (1856 to 1859) the
plant could produce up to 6-7 tons of material, the result of
processing over 15 tonnes of ore per day. The iron produced was
directed primarily in the area of Milan and, to a lesser extent, in
the Tyrol.
In 1875 the plant ceased to function as the opposition of the
municipalities in the area who wanted to preserve the area by the
massive deforestation, as well as the rising price of
transportation, which made it very uncompetitive.
As for today the "
Ferriere of Premadio" are an example of
industrial archeology, and it is the
only furnace of the
eighteenth century which has not undergone any
conversion.
In the area you can find a nice playground.
Notes regarding the cache:
We are talking of a waterproof
Lock'n'Lock container, that
includes a logbook and a pencil.
We kindly ask you to pay
attention and to put the cache back exactly as you've found it.
Thanks.