The Venetian Sawmill

In Cola, in the municipality of Valvestino, there is the “Venetian” sawmill: the first plant of an industrial nature where logs were reduced to a table. Stefano Viani built it in 1913, until then the logs were still processed manually.
In 1934 ownership passed to the Feltrinelli Company. In the same year, the isolation of Val Vestino ended thanks to the construction of the road that connected the area to Navazzo di Gargnano. A statue was erected to Giuseppe Zanardelli in memory of and as thanks for this work of great importance for the inhabitants in the locality of Bersaglio.
The sawmill was connected to the locality of Cassanega, near Cadria, by a cableway, traces of which can be found in the project drawings.
It functioned thanks to the water-powered mill wheel. With the transfer of ownership to Bruno Donati in the 1950s, it was converted to use electricity.
The restoration was carried out by ERSAF, while the management is entrusted to the Valvestino Ecomuseum.