18km

Total length

2km

Visitable

8-10

Temperature in °C

90%

Humidity

THE MINES OF DOSSENA

A small corner of the world ready to unveil a great chapter of history

Dossena boasts a respectable mining past that is said to date back to Etruscan times. During the Roman period, Dossena was an important mining centre of the empire. Within the ancient mines, slaves of Rome were condemned Ad Metalla. It is perhaps for this reason that the first church in the Brembana valley was built in this small mountain village.

Generations of inhabitants have worked in the mines of the village, creating an incredible system of tunnels, with only the strength of their arms and pickaxes. Their toil has become our wonder today. But it remains a rare example of dedication and sacrifice. Today Dossena has 930 inhabitants, and is the 190th municipality in the Bergamo area in terms of population, but in the 1920s (at the height of mining activity) there were around 1,200, and almost all of them worked in the mines. The mines continued their activity for centuries, until the final closure in the second half of the last century.

From the past to the present

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A shared asset

34 years after the definitive cessation of mining activities, the ancient Dossena mines have finally been reopened to the public, after a long period of restoration and safety work made possible thanks to the cooperation of many volunteers.

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Fluorite

The fluorite deposits in the area of Mount Vaccareggio have always made it a precious land. The origin of the name of this metal is curious: in Latin fluere means ‘to flow, to flow’, because this mineral melted (becoming liquid and flowing quickly) at very low temperatures!

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NASA

With the launch of space activity in the mid-1950s and the subsequent developments, fluorite was sent in large quantities to America, where it was used as one of the main fuel components of NASA’s carrier rockets (the Atlas and Saturn) for lunar missions

REDISCOVERING THE ORIGINS OF AN ENTIRE REGION

REDISCOVERING THE ORIGINS OF AN ENTIRE REGION

A journey through the rock and time meanders, thanks to the memories preserved in a small village.

A journey through the rock and time meanders, thanks to the memories preserved in a small village.

Leonardo Da Vinci

Leonardo Da Vinci’s presence in this area dates back to the early 16th century. On behalf of the governor of Milan, Charles d’Ambroyse, Leonardo drew schematic maps of the Val Brembana and Val Seriana dating from 1509 and preserved at the Royal Library in Windsor, London.

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Extreme Sports Jet Skiing
The visit

Works on the restoration of the Dossena mines in Paglio began in September 2014, thanks to the work of 80 volunteers coordinated by the municipality of Dossena. The cleaning of the old debris, lighting and securing of the pre-established tunnels made possible the inauguration on 6th December 2014, and the subsequent opening on 2nd May 2015, along a relatively short route through ancient mining excavations. Now that the extension work is complete, we are able to offer a longer lasting journey deep into the mountains and to relive the stories of those who lived them.