International Youth Camp Revitalizes Historic Paper Mill Site in Garda Valley
Half of Europe’s idioms resonate these days along the Valle delle Cartiere, where the Toscolano flows. This site holds immense archaeological and industrial interest and, after decades of neglect, is slowly returning to life.
Fifteen young people aged 18 to 23 from Poland, France, Russia, Denmark, Greece, and even Lithuania have arrived here in this corner of Garda, creating an international work camp organized by the Legambiente Atlante circle of Milan.
This is the first initiative of its kind in the territory of the Parco naturale dell’Alto Garda bresciano, but more are already being planned, thanks to a special agreement that is about to be signed between Legambiente and the Community.
Conclusion of the camp and youth activities
The experience of the young participants, coordinated by Giorgio Ricchiuti, concludes today after 10 days of intense activity that allowed them to connect with the environmental and natural values of the Park.
This activity will also benefit the community, as the young people dedicated a significant part of their holiday-work to cleaning the trails and undergrowth along the Toscolano River.
The base camp was set up at the Luseti house, a building used for hosting scouts and summer camps.
Luseti is a location of notable importance within the valley’s overall industrial system.
Records of the first productive settlements here date back to 1471, but it is certain that by then, other paper mills had already been active in Luseti (the earliest confirmed record, an arbitrary ruling on water division affecting the industry in Toscolano, is from 1381).
The first document specifically mentioning Luseti, as we mentioned, dates to 1471, when Pasino Bertolazza opened a «new fold in the district of Lusedo», adjacent to other existing ones in the area.
Thus, Luseti appears as a chosen site for pulp mills and is likely to have been one of the valley’s earliest «industrial embryos».
According to research by P. Guerrini (author of the volume «Cartiere, librerie e stamperie bresciane»), in 1496 «five facilities related to the benefice of S. Nicolò di Cecina were present in the district of Lusedo».
Luseti was the site of paper production for a long time, as demonstrated by documents from later centuries.
For example, that of 1605, which records that Camillo Sgraffignoli leased to Faustino Calappo «more brick houses, cap houses, and shed structures with two wheels from fold to duck of nine piles in total, with his kettle and tenter», which were «located towards Lusedo».
In 1720, the valuation cataloged, scattered along the Toscolano valley, 29 paper mills operated by 21 different companies: as many as 6 were located in Luseti.
In the future, Legambiente will promote other work camps in the Park. To obtain information about this, you can contact the offices of Legambiente Lombardia (tel. 02/70632885) and ask for the responsible person, Gianpietro Tentori.