Visitors can really delve into the past for an unforgettable experience
The Cludinico mining complex, in the municipality of Ovaro, included a total of
150 kilometres of tunnels and comprised three mining sites: Creta d’Oro, Vareton and Rio Malon. Coal mining activities, which had begun back in the last decades of the 18th century, continued in alternating phases until the late 1950s.
The importance of the deposit (one of the largest in Friuli Venezia Giulia) attracted workers from all over Italy and Cludinico was transformed into a mining village, with the characteristics of a company town: the buildings for workers (dormitories and canteens) were located next to the workshops, carpentries and the cable way for transporting coal. In the late1950s, mining activities came to a halt due to the depletion of coal and the high costs of extraction and transport.
Today, thanks to skilful redevelopment work,
you can walk for about 1 kilometre through the tunnels of the former Crete d'Oro mine, accompanied by a guide. Visitors can really delve into the past for an unforgettable experience: walking through the maze of galleries, now lit and made safe, they can observe the existing veins of coal, understand the various stages of the mining process, admire the surprising concretions and imagine how people worked and stayed underground, without seeing daylight for most of the day.
The
starting point for visits is the museum, located in the former warehouse of the mining village, hosting a vast collection of exhibits donated by miners and their families.
Guided tours for groups are available upon booking. Please contact the Associazione Pro Ovaro. The museum can be visited at other times of the year but only on request.
Guided tours
Closed on winter season
Opening time, info and reservations
www.minieradicludinico.it
IAT Ovaro
Tel. +39 0433 678028
info.ovaro@gmail.com
