Culture, traditions and ancient ways to use the Alpine resources emerge during a visit to the ancient Venetian Tajalacqua Sawmill, in Molveno, in the Brenta Dolomites.
If you are interested in the old professions, the ways to exploit the scarce water resources of the Alps, before the tourism started, to get to know the hidden soul of the local inhabitants, you cannot miss a visit to the ancient Tajalacqua Sawmill, in Molveno, in the Brenta Dolomites.
The ancient Tajalacqua Sawmill (Via Lungolago, in front of the campsite) was built in the 16th century, as a consortium, by the inhabitants of Molveno, supported and incited by the then priest, Don Tajalacqua, who wanted to improve the economic, agricultural and cattle-breeding conditions of the population. Afterwards, other sawmills were built on “Rio Molini”, a conveyance stream of Massò, but they have now disappeared.
The valley where the sawmills were built, goes from the “Ischia” plain towards the heart of the Dolomites and it is called nowadays too “Val delle Seghe” (Valley of the Sawmills). The sawmill was, and still is, water-driven.
The water of “Rio Molini” moves a mill blade, whose gear moves a rod. The rod transforms the rotating movement into the vertical movement of a blade, which cuts the logs. The final product were the wooden boards, called “Molvene”, 6 to 10 mm thick, which were traded in the area around the Garda Lake. The then owners of the sawmill divided in a just manner the days of work, according to their ownership shares.
A Visitor Centre, located just out of the sawmill, can provide you with information on how the sawmill works and on the economic chain connected with wood in Trentino. The Tajalacqua sawmill was inserted in the Trentino Ethnographic Catalogue, because of its historical and social importance, as well as its good condition.
You can visit the internal parts only during the summer, between mid-June and mid-September, or upon request during the remaining months.
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