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Ferromin Mine in Malonno and surroundings (BS)
In Malonno, the mountain preserves a story made of iron, work and community.
The Ferromin Mine is the starting point to discover it: entering tunnels carved into the rock and following the traces of an activity that shaped the life of the village for centuries.
But the story does not end once you return to the surface. Around the mine, the landscape of Upper Valle Camonica preserves evidence of ancient iron processing, historic buildings and villages, rock art sites and mining heritage, together with woods, alpine lakes and high-altitude landscapes.
A territory to explore following a path that connects nature, work and memory.
The mining tradition of Malonno has deep roots. Iron extraction and processing played a central role in the local economy from at least the 15th and 16th centuries onwards, involving miners, charcoal makers, transport workers and craftsmen.
Visiting the Ferromin Mine means opening the door to a much wider territory.
In Malonno and the surrounding villages, iron and water, engraved rocks and mining tunnels, ancient furnaces and industrial architecture tell different stories of how people have lived in and transformed the mountain. Around them, woods, alpine lakes and peaks constantly bring visitors back to the natural dimension of the Valley of Signs.
A journey that begins underground and continues towards the horizon.
Mostra cosa c'è nelle vicinanze:
The Ferromin Mine (BS)
The Ferromin Mine, reopened after the restoration project completed in 2025, now allows visitors to step directly into this past.
The guided tour leads through tunnels and underground passages where generations of miners worked until mining activities permanently ended in 1953.
It is an experience that also helps visitors look at the surrounding landscape differently: because in Malonno, the history of iron has not remained only underground.
From ore to iron: the Malonno smelting furnace
In the town centre, the ancient Malonno iron smelting furnace completes the story that began inside the mine.
Dating back approximately to the 16th century, it is considered by local tourism sources one of the best-preserved smelting furnaces in Europe and represents the next stage after extraction: the transformation of the mineral taken from the mountains into iron, becoming part of the economic development of the valley.
The mine and the furnace therefore tell two moments of the same production process: extracting resources from the mountain and transforming them.
Palazzo Martinengo
The visit can continue through the historic centre of Malonno, where the identity of the village emerges among ancient streets, religious buildings and examples of civil architecture.
Among these is Palazzo Martinengo, originally built by the noble Celeri family and located next to the tower that bears the same name.
Nearby, historic towers and villages tell the story of a community that developed over the centuries together with its productive activities. The local historical and cultural route connects the mining complex, Palazzo Martinengo and the ancient smelting furnace, showing how these places are part of a single territorial story.
Higher up, towards the Piz Tri alpine lakes
From mining heritage to open mountain landscapes.
The Piz Tri, reaching 2,308 metres, is one of Malonno’s most representative hiking destinations.
The CAI 95a trail starts from the Fletta area, crossing conifer woods and traces of the First World War, before reaching the Piz Tri alpine lakes, small mountain lakes along the route to the summit.
From the top, visitors can enjoy a 360-degree view over Valle Camonica and the surrounding mountains, from Adamello and Baitone to Concarena, Bernina and the Valtellina peaks.
It is the natural side of the same territory seen from another perspective: first inside the mountain, then above its peaks.
Coren delle fate
A few kilometres from Malonno, the relationship between humans and mountains continues in Sonico, along the Coren delle Fate thematic archaeological route.
Among the woods of Adamello Park, engraved rock surfaces emerge, studied since the mid-20th century and characterised by Edolo schists: hard, rough stones different from the sandstone rocks found in central Valle Camonica.
Here, the rock becomes the protagonist once again: no longer as a resource to extract, but as a surface where past communities left their signs.
Sellero Archaeological and Mining Park
To further explore the connection between archaeology and mining activity, visitors can reach the Sellero Archaeological and Mining Park.
The park includes four rock art sites and the Carona mining area. Here, mining activity has been documented since the Iron Age and continued to shape the local economy over the centuries; the Carona mines preserve tunnels, underground passages and remains of structures once used by workers.
Its thematic connection with the Ferromin Mine makes Sellero one of the most interesting extensions for those wishing to explore the mining history of Valle Camonica.
Musil – Museum of Hydroelectric Energy
The journey through Valle Camonica’s industrial heritage can end in Cedegolo, at musil – Museum of Hydroelectric Energy of Valle Camonica.
Located inside a former early 20th-century hydroelectric power plant designed by Egidio Dabbeni, the museum tells the story of the relationship between water, energy, technology and industrial development through the original spaces of the plant and an interactive exhibition route.
From the mine to the hydroelectric plant, the source of energy changes, but the common thread remains the same: the relationship between mountain resources, human work and the transformation of the landscape.
