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oltre il colle
The snow-capped peaks above the Oltre il Colle basin in spring, with green meadows and woods in the foreground

Itineraries · Half a day or a day

Mines and history: a day between Zorzone and the main village

The mineral and mining museum, the frescoes on Zorzone's houses, Caniana's church and the parish church of San Bartolomeo: the history of Oltre il Colle.

DurationHalf a day or a day
Stops4
SeasonsSpring, Summer, Autumn, Winter
Photo: Alberto Restifo · CC0

Oltre il Colle was a zinc and lead mining village, and Zorzone, the hamlet above the Val Vedra, is the one that still shows it: the museum in the old school, the houses with frescoes, the church rebuilt in the mid-18th century to a design by Giovan Battista Caniana. In the main village, on the other side of the Parina valley, stands the parish church of San Bartolomeo.

The museum opens mainly on public-holiday afternoons and the sources on its hours do not agree: it is the stop to fix first, with a phone call.

Stops

The plan

  1. Holiday afternoon, or by appointment

    The Museum of Minerals and the Mine

    Three floors in Zorzone's former primary school: miners' tools, a reconstructed tunnel, minerals and, since 2016, the memorial to the B-24 Lady Irene that crashed on the Cima di Menna in 1944. The hours and ticket prices published by the municipality, the Mountain Community and the Ministry do not agree: phone first.

    The houses of Zorzone, a hamlet of Oltre il Colle, lined up among the meadows and woods of the slope
    Open the page →

  2. After the museum

    The village and the frescoes on the houses

    On foot through the streets of Zorzone, at 1,019 metres: 23 frescoes on the façades and the chapels of San Rocco and of the Beata Vergine del Miracolo. The CAI trails to the Val Vedra and Monte Menna also start here.

    The houses of Zorzone, a hamlet of Oltre il Colle, lined up among the meadows and woods of the slope
    Open the page →

  3. A few hundred metres away

    The church of the Santissima Trinità

    A parish since 1636, rebuilt between 1745 and 1755 to a design by Giovan Battista Caniana, with its dome, stuccoes and a canvas dated 1628. Mass times are not published: to visit, it is best to ask at the parish.

    The houses of Zorzone, a hamlet of Oltre il Colle, lined up among the meadows and woods of the slope
    Open the page →

  4. Later, in the main village

    The parish church of San Bartolomeo

    A parish since 1449, with the portico on three sides designed by Luigi Angelini in 1935, frescoes by Orelli, a canvas by Scuri and the Bossi organ. The patron saint's feast is on 24 August.

    The parish church of San Bartolomeo in Oltre il Colle on its arched embankment, with the Alben in the background
    Open the page →

Practical tips

Before you set off

  • For the museum phone 0345 95313: according to the municipality it opens on Sunday and public-holiday afternoons and every day in the first half of August, but the sources do not agree.
  • If you want to walk, the Val Parina page describes the descent from Zorzone to Scalvino, between gorges and the rails of the old timber and marble railway: 4.5-5 hours, one way, with a second car at the finish.
  • The history of the municipality, from the earliest records to the closure of the mines, is told on the History and mines page.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions: Mines and history: a day between Zorzone and the main village

When is the Zorzone museum open?

According to the municipality on Sundays and public holidays from 15.00 to 17.00 from November to March and from 15.00 to 18.00 from April to October, and every day from 1 August to the third Sunday of August; the other sources do not agree and none is recent, so it is best to phone 0345 95313.

What is there to see in Zorzone?

The Museum of Minerals and the Mine in the former school, the church of the Santissima Trinità rebuilt to a design by Giovan Battista Caniana, 23 frescoes on the house fronts and the chapels of San Rocco and of the Beata Vergine del Miracolo.

Times and elevation gains come from the linked pages, which list their sources and the date they were checked.

Sources

Page verified on

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