Orrido di Bellano

The narrow spaces, the particular play of light reflected on the rocky walls and on the water, the vegetation that recalls more tropical environments and the noise of the waterfalls crashing on the stone have always inspired many writers who have told of its beauty or have created some legends such as that of Taino or those linked to the Cà del Diavol.

It happened to Stendhal who mentioned it in his Italian Journey, it happened to Johann Jakob Wetzel who described it as “a theatre of beauty and frights, [from which] one hears a noise similar to that of thunder” and it happened again to the Bellano poet Sigismondo Boldoni who defined it as “Gorge of a horrendous hideousness”.

Bellano has always been linked to water: not only to the water of the lake but also to that of the Orrido because, with its power, it has guaranteed the necessary strength to move the machines in its numerous factories and consequently to guarantee work and well-being to its citizens for centuries. From the primitive system of canals and tunnels to the more modern system of penstocks, in fact, the waters of the Pioverna were first exploited by the ironworks, the spinning mills and the cotton mill and then by the more recent hydroelectric power station; all these activities have in common the place where they arise or were born: the mouth of the Orrido, the best point to exploit the natural waterfall.

An unconfirmed story, but certainly more plausible than the legends handed down, is the one in which, during Austrian domination, the house was a point of access to numerous tunnels that branched off under the old town in which the Bellanesi people hid to avoid the patrols during the curfew.

Work is currently underway on its complete recovery and its transformation into a very modern multimedia museum which, thanks to special technological devices, will present visitors with stories and legends linked to the area, as well as historical and naturalistic information and some suggestions for excursions to discover the lake and mountains.