10 Pathways to Discover the Avisio

10 PATHWAYS TO DISCOVER THE AVISIO edited by Alessandro Ghezzer Rete di Riserve Val di Cembra-Avisio has been estab- lished in 2011 thanks to a voluntary agreement be- introduction tween the Autonomous Province of Trento and some local authorities. Today it involves the municipalities of This guide contains 10 pathways on the Avisio to dis- It was not easy to identify and define them, because Altavalle, Capriana, Segonzano, Cembra Lisignago, Lona Lases, Albiano and Valfloriana as well as the Comunità di cover the beautiful landscapes of the Cembra Valley there are few official paths and it’s necessary to valle della Val di Cembra (the lead body of the network) and its magnificent fluvial environment. The itineraries connect, in the dense network of alternative roads, and Val di Fiemme, the BIM Adige municipal consorti- start from the centre of the villages that are part of the forest and country paths, old roads, ancient mule um, the Magnifica Comunità di Fiemme and the ASUC Rete di Riserve Rete di Riserve Val di Cembra-Avisio (Altavalle, Segon- tracks, traces. of Rover Carbonare, Lases and Lona. zano, Cembra Lisignago, Lona Lases, Albiano, Capria- This requires a little adventurous effort in orienta- Val di Cembra Avisio na, Valfloriana) and take us to the wild Avisio creek. tion, even if the paths are quite easy, suitable also for There are quite varied routes, which allow you to cap- families with children, and do not require particular Rete di Riserve Val di Cembra-Avisio carries ture the essence of the Cembra Valley: the small vil- athletic skills. For the most part, half a day or a whole out active nature protection measures, envi- lages, the terraced fields with dry stone walls, the an- day is enough to take your time: there are many things ronmental education activities and projects cient rural farmsteads, the wild beauty of the Avisio. to see and it is absolutely worth doing things without for the sustainable development of the terri- In short, the rural civilization that lived in symbiosis hurry. It is advisable to bring something to eat and Provincia Autonoma di Trento tory, with particular attention to habitats of with the landscape, with its mills, sawmills, forges, enough drinking water. the highest naturalistic value: among these, the hard work in the fields. Avisio creek represents a still uncontaminat- ed and wild environment, a treasure trove of plant and animal biodiversity and undisputed SOME USEFUL ADVICE excellence of the Cembra Valley. The Avisio can be visited all year round. In winter it of water. The best periods for excursions are spring rarely snows and it’s never too cold, the average altitude and autumn, while summer can be very hot, although is about 500-700 meters: with a minimum of atten- you can often find fantastic natural pools where you tion to the possible presence of ice, perhaps bringing can swim and cool off. crampons, you can make beautiful winter excursions. Specific attention should be paid to weather con- Each period actually has its charm, the Avisio chang- ditions. The Avisio is a raging creek which, in case es appearance with the passing seasons and it’s never of heavy rainfall, can reach very high flow rates. It Albiano Altavalle Capriana the same, each time it reserves some surprises. In late is therefore necessary to approach this environment Rete di Riserve Val di Cembra-Avisio spring, nature “explodes”, growing wild and making it only when conditions allow us to do so in total safety, presso Comunità della Valle di Cembra harder to walk where there is thick vegetation. while in periods of flooding we can limit ourselves to piazza San Rocco 9, 38034 Cembra Lisignago (TN) On the Avisian slopes there is little drinking water: observe it from a distance, listening to the sound of there are many streams, of modest flow, but you water and stones slamming in the current. Tel. 392 6161830 - 0461 680032 [email protected] must consider that all villages are higher up and so it Cembra Lona Lases Segonzano Valfloriana is good not to trust: you must bring adequate supplies Alessandro Ghezzer Lisignago www.reteriservevaldicembra.tn.it Vehicular passages were rare on the creek: lo- OLD TRADES The mill, the sawmill, the forge cal people often used rudimentary walkways or From the centre of Grumes towards the north ropeways. For centuries the Pont de la Rio has take the slightly uphill road in front of the gro- been one of the strategic links between northern TRAIL cery store in Via Fontana. Once you have reached Europe and Italy. At Mas de la Rio there were an the SS 612, cross it to take the road that goes up inn and a customs house. The Avisio was also Discovering the rural Start: Grumes exploited to transport the wood from the Fassa history of the valley into the wood and takes you to the valley of the Lenght: 7,5 km Molini Stream. During the 1800s, many factories and Fiemme valleys until the Adige river: in this and its watermills along stretch the “flowability” workers regulated the the Rio dei Molini. Height diff.: 450 m were built along the stream, exploiting the power Time: 4 HOURS of water. They remained in use for about a cen- passage of the logs in the water. tury until the middle of the 20th century. Some have been preserved to the present day, restored CRISTOFORI MILL and reopened to maintain their historical mem- The Castelét gorge ory and for educational purposes. Walking down La Val and the village of Molini SS612 the path along the stream you can see the Molino Cristofori, the “Venetian” Pojer-Valentini saw- At the confluence with the Rio Brusago, the Avi- mill, the Cristofori forge, the Molino Nones, as sio turns into the gorge of the Castelét, a rocky well as numerous ruins that testify the presence ridge that can be reached with a short detour: it VENETIAN SAWMILL grauno of twenty productive factories along the stream. seems that there was an ancient fortification on Avisio Creek CRISTOFORI FORGE Just after Molino Nones, a short detour on the the summit, guarding the area. Near the south Sp71 left takes you to the organic farm “GioVe Offic- side of the Pont de la Rio, some traces of foot- inali” which grows officinal herbs. path descend to the creek bank, at the spectacular mouth of the gorge. Not far away, along the nones MILL Rio Brusago, the charming village of Molini di Sover, no longer active. SS612 Pont de la Rio ORGANIC FARM giove officinali The Avisio creek in the Cembran stretch flows through deep rocky gorges: the passage from BACK TO Grumes pont de la rio one bank to the other was once particularly diffi- Go back up to Maso La Rio: just upstream, on Molini Stream MOLINI cult due to the considerable flow of water (today sover very reduced because of the hydroelectric dams). the left, an old mule track leads back to Grumes. grumes castelét GORGE castelét Brusago Stream The plain of Ischia The village of Valda The wild Avisio Valda is situated at 795 mt. above sea level on From the plain of Ischia you descend westwards the steep slopes of Mount Novaline. The area to the last rural houses to take a paved mule track and the gorges of was probably inhabited since ancient times, but that descends towards the creek. A branch-off it was in the Middle Ages that the first settlers on the right allows you to enter the floodplain wild Avisio of Germanic origin took residence permanent- covered with lush vegetation. In this stretch the ly. The village maintains the typical architectural Avisio offers itself in all its magnificence. It is Descent from Valda in Start: valda structure of the ancient Cembran villages, with advisable to go and see the gorge, following the spectacular canyons Lenght: 4,5 km small neighbourhoods (“cormèl”) connected vague traces in the bush, until you reach a widen- along the creek. Height diff.: 250 m by arcades and narrow streets, houses leaning ing where the creek forms a bend of calm water Time: 3,30 HOURS against each other and several fountains in stra- between vertical rock walls. Then you go back tegic points. In 1855 Valda escaped the terrible following the shore and walking among stones, scourge of cholera which caused more than 6000 large boulders and small sandy beaches for about deaths in Trentino: a votive chapel was erected 400 meters, until you reach some sheer cliffs in the woods of the Novàl in thanksgiving. The that can be circumvented upstream. You then village clinges to the mountain, surrounded by continue along the shore until you reach anoth- cultivated fields obtained with the ancient tech- er beautiful gorge, where there is an old ruined nique of terracing supported by dry stone walls, farmstead: outside you can see an old millstone SS612 built by skilfully fitting porphyry stones without on the ground. Here, too, people inhabited the using any kind of mortar. river territory on a permanent basis. VALDA SS612 GORGE 2 The plain of Ischia BACK TO valda Via Busna From Valda, follow Via Busna eastwards, taking From the cottage you continue along the bank a country road that descends among crops and for about 100 metres, where the creek curves to ISCHIA OLD RUINED vineyards to Ischia, a large flat area used by farm- the left: here you leave the bank and turn up- FARMSTEAD ers for various cultivations. There are still old hill, following the track in the woods that leads farmsteads among large centuries-old chestnut back to Valda along the same path as the outward trees and even a small settlement unfortunately route.

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