A trail to discover the industrial activities along the San Michele stream.
Set off from the car park in Prabione, next to via Anita Garibaldi, and walk towards the centre of the hamlet. Once you reach the square, you will see the signs to trail 204, also called the Puntisel trail (the trail “of the tiny bridge”). Go down the valley, past the mill area and cross the bridge connecting the two sides of the gorge. Then walk uphill up to the first crossroads, where the wood clears up.
Follow trail 243 to Cadignano and then via XXV Aprile for about 1,5 km, till you arrive in Pregasio. Once you’ve reached St. Mark’s church, follow trail 267 on your right up to the iron bridge. From there, you can choose either to continue towards the lake and up to Campione, or to walk uphill towards Prabione on trail 266. If you choose the latter option, you will have to walk about 700 m before you reach your starting point. You will walk through the hamlet of Quader to reach your destination.
 

1 - THE MILL AREA
Trail 204 used to be the first road connecting Tignale and Tremosine. The hamlet of Mulini was traditionally used as a pasture and farming land. The hay harvest also took place there. Its favourable position near the lake greatly contributed to the spread of handicraft businesses. Although it is almost entirely covered with vegetation, you can still see the system of sluices which used to power the mills to grind grains. In the same area were also forges, calchere and giàl, which we will talk about in the paragraphs about trails 2 and 9. The path narrows right past an old mill, which today is a private house. Few hundreds of metres ahead you will reach the Puntisel (the “tiny bridge”).

2 - Puntešèl - the tiny bridge
As the path narrows, you will be entering the “dark valley”, situated 500 metres before the puntešèl. The view of the tiny bridge is breath-taking: its two double arches connect the two sides of the valley right above a 40-metre-deep dark gorge. Unfortunately, there are no reliable sources by which we can date the bridge.
A stone lies on one side of the gorge in memory of a buttons and threads merchant. The man was robbed from two bandits right by the bridge and was then pushed down the gorge.

3 - THE COTTON MILL OF CAMPIONE
The cotton mill of Campione was in business from 1896 to 1981. It was powered through a system of sluices which you can still see today on the valley floor between trails 266 and 267. The manpower was mostly made up of women, who had to walk to work from the villages between Tignale and Tremosine. In the picture you can see the workers driving to work on the Strada Gardesana, after it was inaugurated in 1931.