Tiana, la gualchiera. Waterways
Access
From the centre of Tiana, continue in the direction of Tonara on the SS 128, slightly downhill and high above the wooded valley. You soon reach a small rocky lay-by where, on the right, you will find the signs for reaching the Gualchiera, sa cracchera de tziu Bellu, which is today a museum of industrial archaeology.
La Gualchiera - The Fullers
Tiana is the symbolic village of orbace (rough wool), the fabric obtained by a mechanical process of felting wool. For the energy required in this proto-industrial process, there were the Fullers, structures similar to hydraulic mills that used by the power of water to drive the machinery. The one in Tiana has been beautifully restored, unique among the many once present in the area, and is located in an area surrounded by greenery, on the terraces suspended around the Tino stream at the point it merges with the Torrei. It can be visited only by appointment.
Il Rio Torrei - The Torrei Stream
Once you have visited the river, you can continue along a short nature trail along the hazel groves bordering the river, or take a route through the heart of the area. You then return to route 128 for a few hundred metres where, before a bridge turn left onto a cobbled road and then a dirt road, following the signs for the Ospitone path. The road runs along the hydrographic right bank of the Rio Torrei, in a mountainous environment, overhung by large rocks and often flanked by dense woodland. On the right, some rocks allow splendid panoramic views of the surroundings.
The Path
As you continue, you gain altitude, temporarily moving away from the river bed and then returning to it near a spring. The road becomes a narrow path that cuts through the vegetation, immersed in a beautiful forest broken only by sudden scree and rocks. At an altitude of 750 metres, you come to a ford on the right, after which you follow a dirt road uphill that soon leads back to the asphalt road serving the dam on the Rio Torrei, located a few kilometres further upstream. From here it is possible to retrace your steps or, especially if equipped with a mountain bike, to return by road to the village, taking a right and then another right once one reaches the public road.
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