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  • Entrance to the Unitą Operativa Complessa Vigilanza sulle Attivitą Minerarie, Mining District of Florencezoom in altra finestra
  • Entrance to the Unitą Operativa Complessa Vigilanza sulle Attivitą Minerarie, Mining District of Florencezoom in altra finestra

Unitą Operativa Complessa Vigilanza sulle Attivitą Minerarie - Area Miniere, Distretto Minerario di Firenze [Mining Activities Surveillance Unit - Mines Area, Mining District of Florence]

The corporation is heir of the Florentine headquarters of the Mines Authority, which came under the Ministry of Industry and, in 2001, passed under the regional administration. It is today a sector of the Department of Territorial and Environmental Policies of the Environment Department of the Regione Toscana (regional government of Tuscany). In 1863, the unified state instituted the Mines Authority, dividing it into mining districts with responsibilities of surveillance, discipline, study, organisation and mining consultancy. Still today, the activities are regulated by the foundational principles of the 1927 Royal Decree, which instituted in Tuscany the three mining districts of Florence, Carrara and Grosseto.

The corporation possesses a collection of mining tools and finds, consisting in surveying instruments, chemical apparatuses, most of which date to the early 20th century, and many mineral finds. Following its recent transfer to the Regione Toscana (the regional administration), the collection is housed at the State Property and Heritage Service, inside the Regional Warehouse on via Tagliaferri.

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Texts by Carlo Triarico

English translation by Victor Beard

Last update 05/feb/2008