Brescia. Environment. and nature

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1 2 3 Brescia

2 4 01 Brescia - The old town centre

3 Brescia 5 The evidences that the human being has left in the course of time characterize the history of Brescia. Brescia is one of the strongest historical productive and dynamic realities in Italy and this characteristic is well testified by a massive presence of industrial and productive resources; at present, in a worldwide position, one of the oldest industries in the world is still operating in Brescia. 02 Nevertheless, we are surprised by discovering that the real heart of Brescia lays in its nature, sometimes definitely pure, and in its environment and localities beauty, which, even though subject to a natural process of urbanization, have well kept their own uniqueness and value. Let's imagine the white sea of a glacier, or the deep blue colour of a lake, and let's surround them with colourful flowers, bushes and natural woods; let's open our eyes and look at the wide green plane, the hills, the crystal mirror of the mountain lakes, where the rocks and snowy peaks reflect their shapes, or the large Iseo and Garda lakes, that delighted poets and dreamers.

4 Brescia This variety is present in the area of Brescia, and the small distance separating its cosy villages, well identified for their touristy feature, from the most industrialized towns, should be surprising for everybody; the clear landscapes, as well as the wild and silent paths, that lead to true fascinating and harmonic environmental jewels. The hill countryside is mainly expressing itself in the fertile Franciacorta, located in the west of Brescia, as well as in the area costing the low and middle part of the lake of Garda. Austere abbeys and silent towers survey and protect from the top of the Franciacorta hills the precious vines; ancient buildings, where local nobles once lived during summertime, have been accurately recovered and are nowadays offering hospitality to important wine producers or restaurants, where everyone can taste typical and high quality wine and food. The blue line, marking the horizon of those green vines, is the lake of Iseo. The lake brings a mite and temperate climate, which, favouring the vine growth, gifts the visitor of always different landscapes in all seasons. The small distance in Franciacorta to several cycling tracks allows pleasant bike ridings. Also the Garda hills are presenting a colourful triumphant and always changing landscape, reflecting in the famous lake. 03 The Garda lake is well developed from the touristy point of view and well known for its production of excellent olive oil and wines; the vineyards are together with an amazing variety of palms, bougainvillea, olive trees and a typical Mediterranean flora: this is indeed one of the main characteristics of the lake of Garda: to be the north-most Mediterranean lake. The Valtenesi area draws a green scenario of sweet slopes, where small agricultural villages lay, as well as elegant buildings hidden in a luxuriant vegetation. 9 - Air view of the vineyards in Franciacorta, of the Torbiere (peat-bog) and the lake of Iseo, with, on the background, Montisola and the Guglielmo Mountain.

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7 Brescia Close to the lake of Iseo, there is the enchanted landscape of the valley of the stone fairies. While costing the lake of Iseo from south to north and after passing some animated villages, you can reach the Zone area, where lays the Pyramids valley. This is one of the most suggestive natural phenomenons, where spires arrive at a height of 30 meters and are covered by a rocky hat ; they are the result of the water erosion of the earth. Thanks to natural atmosphere agents, the luckiest visitors can often see the unique phenomenon of the fall and the rebirth of new pyramids. Owing to its typical shape of a canyon, the Pyramids Valley is a suggestive witness of the ancient glacier that was once covering the entire area; the entrance to this natural park, delimiting its territory, is free and the visit requests a short itinerary, easily reachable by foot. The Pyramids in Zone are introducing the visitor to the close CamonicaValley and to its history of man's work, represented by the Magli Valley. In the small village of Bienno and its surrounding area old seventeen-century workshops and ancient water powered mills were used for the iron working. Still functioning, they represent the main attraction for tourists and scientists, and gather the historical memory of an old age, in which the whole economy was based on workshops and hard man's work; the technical particularity of these instruments is so engineering qualified that sometimes these systems are still proposed nowadays. In the Iron Ethnographic Museum the visitor can be guided to an historic and economic deepening, testifying the relationship between natural elements and man's work Air view of Iseo old town centre. 11/12 - Zone and the Pyramids Valley The Maglio

8 Brescia On the background of the Camonica Valley, the Adamello peaks track the typical Alpine landscape, which characterises the north side of the Brescia area. Entering the Valley, the visitor has the feeling that these huge mountains have an ancestral meaning. They give a mysterious sensation, that makes the atmosphere of those places like magic: the unique and universal enchantment of the regional park of Capo di Ponte Incisioni Rupestri is meeting the visitor with its more than human drawings, rites and scenes of daily life, engraved on more than one hundred flat and smooth rocks; the artistic man's sense and the hardness of the rock are bringing to us the history, the rites, the daily life of the Camuni people. UNESCO has declared the entire area a world humanity patrimony. Here, where the main part of the Palaeolithic heritage is concentrated, the youngest explorers participate to guided researches, that allow recognizing their many symbols and interpreting their meaning, in an educative experience. Proceeding towards north, the visitor reaches perfect places for gathering the direct contact with nature. The Brescia area is also known for having two of the most famous protected and large territories in Italy: the National Park of Stelvio and the Regional Park of Adamello. They are the true expression of the respect and love for nature, and give protection to a rich fauna and a varied and rare flora. Schools and environmental education centres promote education and respect for nature, while professional guides lead groups of sportsmen to mountain and glacier tracks. In this place, days are passing fast, rich in sports and naturalistic activities, with hikes in mountain footpaths and pauses at the several streams, where the animals of the park go to water. This pleasant effort asks for the right refreshment offered by the many mountain nuts and the many inns of the Valley, where, with the highest joy of taste, everyone can enjoy delicious kinds of cheese, or typical food of the gastronomic Brescia tradition The Incisioni Rupestri, country engravings, in Capo di Ponte in Camonica Valley (Brescia) The high Camonica Valley (Brescia)

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11 Brescia The Trompia Valley Pezzaze (Brescia) - The small train of the mines The furnace in Tavernole. The areas of the most environmental value in the green are composed of conifers woods and wide valleys, drawn by easy tracks perfect for summer excursions. There are also surprising views of snowy peaks, with their half hidden mountain inns, or intimate landscapes, which reveal an unexpected environment and gift with intense feelings. The Trompia Valley is located in the middle of Sabbia, Camonica and Sebino valleys, and presents different and sometimes contrasting features: the urbanisation and the large industries in the south towards the town of Brescia are slowly decreasing and like transforming themselves in large woods of oaks, chestnut-trees and rich vegetation, protecting the ski areas. The beauties of the natural environment and the strong traces left by man's activity have gathered together in the spectacular iron valley. The visit is going through the ancient mines, once wide-spread in the valley, and the furnaces and forges, once used for the manufacturing of guns, weapons and work tools. What is left of this old manufacturing tradition is the important furnace in Tavernole, close to the Mella River, which gave the necessary productive energy; the furnace has been recently restored to its original beauty, for the people and scientists' joy. In the near Pezzaze village, it is possible to enter in the heart of these old activities; some iron mines, where the extractive production is nowadays finished, were recently restored for an interesting touristy use. Here the visitor can see and understand the working techniques, as well as the hard work of miners and the many stratifications of the rock; the visit inside the iron mines is possible thanks to a safe small train together with professional guides and represents the meeting element between industrial archaeology and touristy interest of an area, whose potentialities are still unexploited

12 Brescia There are many interesting natural resources in the wood areas of the Sabbia valley, with a unique fauna. The high mountains sign one of the valley borders, while the blue Garda Lake signs the east side border. The central mountain landscape of the valley is reflected in the clear Idro Lake, which represents a starting point for many hikes or by mountain bike. This lake is situated at a height of 300 meters and is the highest alpine lake of this region, with its relaxing and beautiful ambience. The high-plane of Cariadeghe is situated in the small village of Serle and gifts the visitor of natural springs and falls, like a protected oasis for the main kinds of alpine fauna. Sportsmen coming from all Europe are very attracted by the hills countryside, with its many paths, levelled country roads, hollows called doline, and caves and underground passages of different depth. The underground net is winding for about 10 kilometres at a depth of about 400 metres, and represents the favoured ambiance for professional speleologists. It is not easy to tell al the natural beauties of the Brescia areas. For example, another emotional beauty is surely the Valvestino, rich green area, with its small typical villages, which still resist to touristy development call. With its simple hospitality and unspoilt nature, this area, hidden in the High Garda Park, offers surprising landscapes of flowers and trees, shining stars, lighting the old buildings with their straw roofs. Magic, it is pure magic Serle (Brescia) - Landscape of the Cariadeghe Air view of Valvestino

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14 Brescia The water represented the course and rhythms of time of this land, both for protecting castles or fortified suburbs, and for feeding the wide cultivated fields. The Torbiera, peat-bog, of Sebino is an important wet area close to the Iseo Lake, where the ecosystem is still unspoilt; its natural conformation is well drawn by the human extractive activity of the peat, used as fuel and agricultural activities. The banks of the Oglio River touch many villages, whose main economy aspect is represented by agriculture, and show wonderful country residences and farmstead, perfectly inserted in this harmonic landscape. 13 The history of the soft colours of these residences is simple and however definitely controversial: maybe their colours tonalities were to soothe the winter rigour and the autumn fogs; maybe those colours were the result of the usage of local rivers sands; maybe these tonalities are simply the results of the harmonic and delicate chromatic scale. All along the Oglio River that the Regional Park has been founded, offering the visit to many old churches, architectural rests and pieces of popular art for those interested and passionate ones, cycling itineraries, quiet places for fishermen, beaches for bathers. These different aspects are melting together and give life to a suggestive environmental attraction The Torbiera peat-bog, of Sebino. 25/26 - The Oglio River.

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16 BRESCIATOURISM Initiative of: PRO-BRIXIA Azienda Speciale della CAMERA DI COMMERCIO di Brescia Provincia di BRESCIA In co-operation with: Ascom e Confesercenti di Brescia Graphic design: Clerici & Associati (Brescia) Pictures: Archivio Riserva di Cariadeghe (22) Archivio Valle Sabbia (13, 19, 20, 21) Archivio Zone (11, 12) Paletti (3, 5, 14, 15, 18) Pini (1, 2, 6, 8, 9, 10, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26) Rapuzzi (4, 16, 17) Translations: Work Media (Brescia) Printing: Staged (Brescia) - June 2002 Brescia info@bresciatourism.it