Albiano and Lake Santa Colomba
More than a walk, this is a real visit to the capital of ‘porphyry’. Direction Trento – Gardolo. Once in the centre, park near the Church of S. Biagio, an ancient building (1149 first mentioned) restored in the 15th century. The interior can be visited by asking at the town hall. Take the car and continue to the end of the village, where there is a large car park on the right in front of the headquarters of the ‘Consorzio dei produttori del porfido’ (porphyry producers’ association). Nearby is the ancient little church of St. Anthony with portico (17th century). From here there is a splendid view to the north over the Cembra Valley as far as the Fiemme Dolomites; to the west, the Brenta Dolomites. Opposite the car park is the road leading to Lake S.CoIomba, which is about 4 km away. Along the way, it is possible to admire the activity of the porphyry quarries of M. Gaggio.
Albiano and Lake Santa Colomba
Lake Santa Colomba is a delightful small lake in the middle of the forest (370 m long, 150 m wide, 9 m deep and located at 955 m asl), near fresh water springs.
PORPHYRY: the extraction of the layered material in different thicknesses is witnessed in the area of Albiano, Lases, Fornace, S. Mauro as early as the 18th century when the extracted slab was used for the roofs of houses. The worked material is represented by cubes, regular and irregular slabs, polished stones. It was used to beautify historic city centres, but also for private building use in individual homes. Since the 1960s, the business has developed into a full-fledged industrial activity. There are about 80 companies in the mining sector that export all over the world. About 2000 people are employed.
