The Old Craftsmen's Path leads to the discovery of the ancient historic route that has connected the two banks of the Cembra Valley since time immemorial.
Due to this connection, marriages were frequent, for example, between families from the Municipality of Sover and others originally from Grauno and Grumes, while the trails leading to the Lower Adige (area of Salorno, Egna, and Ora) allowed seasonal labor transfer through the Dossone di Cembra. A route that seemed irretrievably lost following the 1966 flood and is now the focus of a comprehensive recovery program. The walk restores the ethnographic fabric of the upper valley through artifacts and workshops that in some cases operated until the 1950s: kilns for lime burning, which is not easy to find in a geological framework dominated at all levels by Permian porphyry, mills powered by the diversion of important watercourses, and forges where metal and fabrics were worked. The natural component is equally noteworthy. The Avisio Gorge in this stretch presents a high naturalness index.
THE 10 RULES FOR HIKERS
As you can imagine, the passability of routes in a mountain environment is strictly linked to current conditions and therefore depends on natural phenomena, environmental changes, and weather conditions. For this reason, the information contained in this leaflet may have changed. Before setting out, check the route status by contacting the refuge managers along your route, alpine guides, nature park visitor centers, and tourist offices.
From Grauno you descend to the Avisio stream, first on comfortable roads, then on paths immersed in a wild and charming landscape. This road was traveled in past years by the inhabitants of Grauno to cultivate the land almost up to the banks of the Avisio stream. Notable were also the passages for small commercial exchanges with Sover, Montesover, and Piscine or purely for visits of friendship or kinship. These contacts were interrupted in 1966 when a flood swept away the bridge connecting the two banks of the Avisio, and only in 2009, with its reconstruction, were they able to resume (Pont da la Rio). From the small Maso dei Molini, just on the opposite side of the Avisio stream, turning left you can thus follow the “Old Craftsmen’s Path.” It is a very suggestive route, which runs alongside the stream for a long stretch, arriving at Maso Pianacci; from here a steep narrow road climbs up to Piscine. From here you reach Sover by following the dirt road (fitness trail) branching out in the lower part of the village, or following the provincial road, then descending again to Molini. Crossing the bridge over the Avisio again, you reach Maso La Rio, and continuing, you follow another stretch of the “Old Craftsmen’s Path” that allows you to climb back up to Grauno. From Maso La Rio you encounter the ruins of mills out of use since the 1960s; the “blacksmith’s forge” recently restored as well as the “Venetian sawmill” located beside the old state road. Further up there is the “Cristofori mill,” from where you return to Grauno in a few minutes. Unforgettable are the landscape views you can admire while walking this itinerary.
Trekking shoes, waterproof jacket, trekking poles, water, snacks, and sunscreen.
