Dimaro forge

The ancient forge in Val Meledrio gives visitors the opportunity to come into contact with an industrial reality dating back to the 16th century where, thanks to these giant mallets, agricultural and forestry utensils were produced. For example, nails, spades and shovels. A mallet is a huge water-powered hammer which was used to beat and flatten iron (the iron used here was mainly mined in the village of Comasine located in Val di Peio).
Today you can still see the “prède” or the granite supports inserted deep into the ground on which the large mallets swung. In this forge there were three mallets. The ovens were located closeby and they were used to heat the metal, the forges, the anvils, the grindstones and any other tools associated with metalwork. The large number of mallets which can be seen prove that this was an important local industry at the time, mainly due to the fact that the site was located along the only road which linked Val Rendena to Val di Sole, in addition to the abundance of timber and water.