Category: Dove Stava una valle

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The real development of the Stava Valley for tourism began in the 1950s. Before that, the buildings available for tourists were very modest: only a few small hotels, inns and holiday homes for the summer. The oldest hotel, the “Albergo Stava”, was documented in 1896 and was classified as an inn. At the beginning of the 1900s, it took the name “Albergo Alpino” and during the First World War had to change its name to “Gasthof Stave”. In 1985, there were five hotels on the Via dei Mulini in Tesero and in Stava: Dolomiti, Rio Stava, Erica, Miramonti and, of

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Written evidence concerning the mining activity on Mount Prestavèl, to the north of the Stava basin, dates back to 1528, when the mine was used occasionally to extract modest quantities of silver. The extraction of fluorite began in 1934 in the neighbouring valley of Rio Gambìs and was transferred to the Stava Valley in 1960. During this period new tunnels were dug out, a new industrial processing plant was built as well as a cable car and a chairlift to transport the miners. The waste remaining after the mineral was processed was deposited as mud in two tailings dams. Over

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]In the past, there were many farmhouses in the Stava Valley. These were known as “Masi”, and apart from a few exceptions, were only used by the farmers of Tesero during the summer months, as they moved here from the village for haymaking and for grazing livestock. A typical farmstead was a modest construction consisting of two floors, of which one was usually a basement, covered by a large gable roof. The lower floor, of masonry, was used as the stables and the kitchen. The upper floor had walls made of logs and was usually used as the hayloft, also

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] The workshop where a smith works iron to make tools and other artefacts is commonly known as a forge. The smithy is the technical term used to indicate the workshop of a blacksmith who makes and fits shoes for horses and tow cattle. In fact, the blacksmiths of the Stava Valley also practiced the craft of horseshoeing. In their forges, the power created by water was used to move various kinds of machinery, especially hammers, used to beat the iron, and bellows used to keep the flame alive in the forge.[/vc_column_text][vc_separator color="black"][vc_masonry_media_grid grid_id="vc_gid:1621009797028-1d6836c8-9503-10" include="6271,6343,6346,6280"][vc_masonry_media_grid grid_id="vc_gid:1621009797028-e2f63933-1ea1-7" include="6355,6310,6361,6307,6337,6364,6262,6289,6295,6322"][vc_masonry_media_grid grid_id="vc_gid:1621009797029-bef4dcff-65fe-3" include="6301,6316,6325,6265,6340,6268,6286,6334,6367,6292,6313,6331,6358,6274,6349,6298,6277,6319,6304,6328,6352,6283"][/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]This was the drier for the production of conifer seeds. It was probably the most original building on the Mill Road in Tesero. The name "Chenara", derives from "cheni", the local word used to indicate cones or coniferous pine cones. The ovens and various machinery permitted the drying of cones, the extraction of seeds, their cleansing and conservation. The "Chenara" was built in 1860 in place of an old mill, and remained active until 1977. [/vc_column_text][vc_masonry_media_grid grid_id="vc_gid:1596100744186-e335ca1f-23f3-6" include="5272,5287,5275,5278,5269,5302,5290,5284,5281,5266"][vc_separator color="black"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Along the Rio Stava joiners’ workshops were specialised mostly in the production of indoor and outdoor doors and windows and also produced furniture. The set of gears, belts and reductions that led off the main shaft were very complex, having to power numerous mechanical instruments, circular saws, planes, lathes, sanders and others. During the second half of the 1900s, joiners progressively brought their machinery up to date with more modern equipment powered by electricity. [/vc_column_text][vc_separator color="black"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_masonry_media_grid grid_id="vc_gid:1621004432113-b00bfd5d-a78b-6" include="6212,6215,6252,6249,6243,6240,6237,6246"][/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The production of timber, destined to be used in building and carpentry was concentrated in the many sawmills on the Rio Stava. The distribution of sawmills in the Alpine region came about in the period of maximum expansion, (and the consequent request for timber) of the Republic of Venice. The so-called “Venetian sawmill” was equipped with a single saw blade which functioned by means of hydraulic energy and was used to slice the tree trunks, to obtain boards or beams of varying thickness.[/vc_column_text][vc_masonry_media_grid grid_id="vc_gid:1620911278625-08d45a77-1496-6" include="6162,6169,6159,6172,6165,6150,6147,6156,6153,6144"][vc_separator color="black"][/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Some of the buildings along the banks of the Rio Stava were used mainly during the second half of the 1800s as paper factories. By using the power of water from the torrent for their machinery, they used plant fibres to produce coarse paper of various sizes, generally for wrapping food. The period when there was a market for this product was quite limited and the buildings which were originally mills, sawmills or forges, were soon transformed for other purposes.[/vc_column_text][vc_masonry_media_grid grid_id="vc_gid:1620657707927-554814e6-35e1-1" include="6102,6096,6105,6111,6108,6114"][vc_separator color="black"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]It is impossible to establish with precision the exact era in which the first water mills of Rio Stava were built. However, their appearance dates back many centuries, as in 1378 already the Rio Stava was described as the “Torrent of Mills”, in a reference discovered in a parchment document preserved at Tesero Council Archives. The millstones moved by waterpower, transformed the cereals, harvested in the surrounding areas – wheat, barley, maize, rye and buckwheat – into various kinds of flour. As a result of economic and social growth, the watermills were gradually abandoned early in the twentieth century and

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The hydroelectric power station of Tesero was built in 1908 in a building which had previously been used as a forge. The Plant provided electricity for the whole village with exception of the Giovanelli hospital and a few other buildings, which were served by another small power station. Soon after, they were connected to the electricity network of Tesero and the houses of Masi di Cavalese. In February 1965, the Electricity Network of Tesero was taken over by ENEL Company and so was subsequently closed. The council of Tesero has recently created a new plant for the production of hydroelectric