The Zorzone Mineral Museum, inaugurated in 1994 and housed in the former village elementary school, was created to commemorate Oltre il Colle's long mining tradition, which ended in 1980 with the closure of local mines.
The exhibition is spread over three floors: on the ground floor, the section dedicated to the mine retraces mining activity from the time of Leonardo da Vinci to the 20th century, with panels, original equipment, and a life-size reconstruction of a tunnel entrance.
The first floor houses the vast mineralogical and paleontological collection, with over 2,000 minerals – including many local specimens of great scientific interest – and 450 fossils from the Brembana Valley and from around the world.
Alongside local minerals like galena, blende, and wulfenite, you'll find Brazilian agates and amethysts, African and American quartz, desert roses, and numerous Italian specimens, as well as a striking display of fluorescent minerals.
The second floor is dedicated to multimedia materials and educational activities.
The entire route highlights the history of mining work through machinery, tools, period documents, photographs, and panels that illustrate extraction techniques, the daily lives of miners, and the evolution of the Arera mines, offering a rich picture of industrial archaeology and local heritage.
