The ancient Trades Path
Mountain tour
The ancient Trades Path
<p>The 'Sentiero dei Vecchi Mestieri' (Old Trades Trail) follows ancient paths that have linked the two sides of Valle di Cembra from time immemorial.</p>
<p>Whereas the existence of such paths helps explain, for instance, why in the past young people from Sover frequently ended up marrying young people from Grauno or Grumes, the presence of paths across the 'Dossone di Cembra' (i.e. the ridge separating Valle di Cembra from Valle dell'Adige) paved the way for seasonal workers to descend to the Unterland/Bassa Atesina (the area around Auer/Ora, Neumarkt/Egna and Salurn/Salorno). A road system that seemed irretrievably lost following the 1966 flood and is now the focus of a comprehensive recovery programme. The walk restores the ethnographic fabric of the upper valley through artefacts and factories that in some cases remained in operation until the 1950s: the lime kilns, certainly not easy to find in a geological framework dominated at all levels by Permian porphyry, the mills driven by the diversion of important watercourses, and the forges where metal and textiles were worked. The naturalistic component is equally noteworthy. The Avisio gorge in this section has a high degree of naturalness.</p>
