Guided tours of the mill

In the Orobie pre-Alps of Val Brembana, there is a mill dating back to 1672 that also served as a bakery, a cheese-making facility, and a blacksmith's shop. Voted “Place of the Heart” by residents of the local community in 2003, it was purchased by the FAI (Fondo Ambiente Italiano) thanks to a donation.

Situated in a unique landscape setting, in the territory of the small mountain village of Bàresi, in the Brembana Valley, the rural stone building dates back to the 17th century and still preserves a walnut press, a flour mill (dated 1672) and some evidence of an ancient bread oven. From the activity of these mills dozens of communities in the valley have for centuries derived the goods necessary for their subsistence: flour, bread and oil for food and lighting. Above the entrance a fresco depicts a Madonna and Child, while to the right is a walnut tree. Home to ancient trades and traditions, because of its historical, ethnographic and even anthropological significance (the entire area, in fact, bears traces of habitation settlements dating back to the Bronze Age), the mill has been listed by the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities. In 2003 it was also the second most voted property in the census, announced by the FAI, entitled “I Luoghi del Cuore.” Thanks to a donation from Intesa Sanpaolo, the Foundation in 2005 was able to purchase the mill from the Gervasoni family. The FAI project included a recovery and restoration of the building and its mechanisms, so that the invaluable historical memory preserved in it would not be lost. The management of the mill was then entrusted to the local community.

Guided tours are held every Saturday afternoon from May to October from 2:30 PM to 5:30 PM, and in June, July, and August also on Sundays, always from 2:30 PM to 5:30 PM.