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  • Itinerary of daily life. The Molino di Giamba e di Berto, Ecomuseo della Montagna Pistoiese, Pistoia.zoom in altra finestra
  • Itinerary of daily life. Via del Carbone dell'Orsigna: a charcoal burner's post, Ecomuseo della Montagna Pistoiese, Pistoia.zoom in altra finestra

Ecomuseo della Montagna Pistoiese - Molino di Giamba e di Berto e la Via del Carbone [Pistoia Mountains Ecological Museum - Mill of Giamba and Berto and the Charcoal Road]

The Mill of Giamba and Berto, situated in Val d'Orsigna, was built in 1820 and remained active until 1947. Restored in 2000 by the Val d'Orsigna Cooperative, it is included in the Itinerary of Daily Life of the Pistoia Mountains Ecological Museum. The entire process of making chestnut flour has been replicated, from gathering the nuts to drying them on the drying rack and then grinding them in a water-driven mill with two horizontal millwheels. For arriving at the mill and crossing the torrent, two self-bearing wooden bridges have been reconstructed on the basis of drawings by Leonardo da Vinci.

In Val d'Orsigna a Charcoal Road has also been created, for educational purposes. Along the road visitors can see a charcoal-burner's hut and a sectionised charcoal oven. On some occasions during the year, visitors can watch charcoal being produced in the charcoal oven.

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Texts by Graziano Magrini

English translation by Catherine Frost

Last update 13/feb/2008