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Carrello minerario. Foto in CC BY-SA 3.0

The massif of “Piano dei Resinelli” has been a place of mineral extraction for centuries. The mountain is crossed by kilometric tunnels where lead, zinc and calamine used to be extracted. Currently the mines have been restored and opened to the public.  They can be visited thanks to specialized tourist guides. In the past years, the conversion of the disused mines was coveted for the recovery of a cultural-historical heritage and to concerte the necessity of running the restoration and safety work. The park is composed of three old mines: Sottocavallo, Silvia, Anna.

  • SOTTOCAVALLO: Mine Sottocavallo is made up of seven levels, which can be visited through a central well. In the past,  in the quarry, miners  mainly extracted blende, a mineral with different shades, ranging from light yellow to dark brown / crimson, and zinc. Tetrahedral crystals of the same color as the Blende can be found along the mining route. The mine has a sharp sheen on different levels and a transparency that varies up to opaque.
  • MINE SILVIA: Mine Silvia is composed of a hall where there is a small stage for the performance of concerts.
  • MINE ANNA: Mine Anna, among the three, is the easiest to walk through and the most suitable for children and elderly. Its horizontal development creates a route not too difficult and, for its extension, it is fully illuminated. The mine is distributed on two levels, where there are ups and downs and large tunnels. Inside, you can admire cubic and octahedral crystals. The gallery is painted in lead grey which, reflected by light, gives a metallic effect to the mine corridors and an opaque transparency effect.

Author

adele.tantardini2@isgparinilecco.edu.it

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