There is a special place in the heart of the Scalve Valley (Bergamo) that, for all its inhabitants, represents a kind of dividing line between what the valley was before and after the “Gleno disaster.”
In a landscape of absolute beauty, a natural hollow surrounded by majestic peaks including Mt. Gleno.
On December 1, 1923, the Gleno Dam, a 260-meter man-made barrage failed to withstand the force of the 6 million cubic meters of water pressing behind it.
The central pylon of the dam collapsed and, in less than 15 minutes, the massive mass of water poured over the valley destroying everything in its path, aided in this terrible misfortune also by the frightening air displacement that preceded it.
The wave immediately hit the built-up area of Bueggio, razed the power plants of Povo and Valbona, the area of Ponte Formello, the Madonnina Sanctuary and then continued its course towards the Via Mala, a road connecting the Scalve Valley to Valcamonica.
Before entering the gorge of Via Mala it brought destruction to the village of Dezzo (a hamlet of 500 souls of which as many as 209 died), demolishing the power plant and the cemetery of Mazzunno and then continuing its course toward the urban agglomeration of Corna di Darfo; to reach the waters of Lake Iseo in 45 minutes, leaving behind more than 500 victims and a territory completely turned upside down.
The imposing ruins of the dam remain at that site.
They are a destination for many hikers who reach the lake of the same name to enjoy the breathtaking views (the Presolana massif towers in front of the lake) via two trails that connect the place to Pianezza and Nona di Vilminore di Scalve.
It is a place to immerse yourself in nature, between heaven and earth, suitable for spending carefree days, it is a place full of history but also of everything that makes nature precious.
To keep alive the memory of those tragic days in the center of Vilminore, the “Spazio Espositivo Gleno” has been opened on the initiative of Pro Loco Vilminore and with the contribution of Regione Lombardia.
It collects documents, photographs films and testimonies that describe what that dam represented in the 1920s for the industrialization of the Valley and its surroundings and what it still tells tourists who climb up there to be enveloped by the charm of the long row of arches that made up the dam.
In the summertime shuttle runs from Vilminore to Pianezza, from which a path branches off to reach the Dam.
Possibility of accompanying and guiding small groups of hikers.
Info at pro loco di Vilminore
tel. 0346 51002.