The centres of Pieve di Soligo and Solighetto are linked by a cycling and walking route, known as Via dei Troi, which runs along the left side of the Soligo River, an emissary of the two lakes of Revine that reaches Pieve di Soligo after crossing the whole of the Valmareno. Along the way, right from the Middle Ages, there were seven hydraulic mills, of which only the one belonging to the Fiorin family remains intact, with the weir and the wheel still visible. This mill, together with the nearby Pradella press, are crossed by the irrigation channel that takes off from the Soligo, just upstream from Solighetto. Around the sixteenth century, the press, which remained in operation until 1984, was used to process metal tools and objects, including all the agricultural tools used by the farm labourers who worked in the fields belonging to the Counts Brandolini. This huge press is built on three levels, with characteristic round windows on the top floor; the mill, built on a single level, has a masonry structure, partly in open stone and partly covered with plaster. Both buildings are private property.

Located between Pieve di Soligo and Solighetto, the press can be reached by going along one of the branches along the Soligo on a convenient, flat road. There are clear tourist signs here. From Pieve di Soligo, head for the parking area near the bridge over the Soligo (Via A. Moro - Via Refrontolo) and head up along the flow of the river. From Solighetto park along via B. Brandolini and then go onto the route.

ACCESSIBLE: outside
MUNICIPALITY: Pieve di Soligo
PLACE: Solighetto
GEOGRAPHICAL COORDINATES: X 1745778 - Y 5089339
PROVINCE: TV

FILE COMPILED BY: Bonato/Vallerani

The water that comes down from the hills runs also close by the Soligo dairy (191 IA), which began working in 1884, using the energy supplied by the river of the same name. The original building was later joined by other parts, thus extending and consolidating the dairy complex. The renovation and extension work continued each time the complex was damaged by wartime or other events, and this process of updating and modernisation continues to this day. Despite the intense industrial activity carried out in these areas, the hills so dear to the poet Andrea Zanzotto (199 NS/ES) still hold a particular fascination: “the wine-growing culture affords an even rhythm to these steep slopes, conveying a pleasant sense of harmony between Man and his surroundings, with a vaguely old-fashioned air; while on the hilltops, the vegetation becomes wild and overgrown once more, with mixed woodland occupying the lion’s share”. The Prosecco Route that runs across these hills is the oldest wine route in Italy; a number of maps are available to guide visitors along it.

E. Dell’Anese, Le vie della Pieve: Pieve di Soligo, Solighetto, Barbisano, Conegliano, 2003
C. Rubini, E. Cipriani, escursioni alto trevigiano, Verona, 2003