01. Explore on foot in winter
Savour the silence and the purity of the snow, treat yourself to the pleasure of walking through fields and forests on snowshoes!
Pracorno (851 m), or Pracòrn in the local dialect, is the first village you reach as you come up the valley from Malè, the main town in the neighbouring Val di Sole.
On the eastern bank of the Rabbies river, Pracorno immediately catches the eye with its terraced fields. The village, which has around 200 inhabitants, is the third largest in the Val di Rabbi and it is surrounded by a number of tiny scattered settlements, such as Favari, Ingegna, Dadi, Cagliàri, Tomasi, Pozze, Scolari, Citoi and Parolotti. The valley’s main businesses are sawmills and cattle farming.
ART
The church was built between 1846 and 1850, replacing the former building which was less than 50 years old. “It is a building of necessity, with no artistic pretensions, which is only concerned with the comfort of worshippers” (Simone Weber, 1936). The apse was decorated with frescoes, with scenes from the life of Mary, by Mantua-based artist Agostino Aldi (1860-1939) in around 1937. The wooden statues of the Virgin Mary are from the Garda school in the first half of the 20th century. It also houses an 18th century painting, depicting the Our Lady of Caravaggio.
MUST SEE
In Pracorno, there is the Molino Ruatti, a 19th century mill which now houses a museum of mountain life. Although it has been extensively restored, it is one of just a handful of remaining examples of a working water mill. For at least seven centuries, the waters of the Rabbies river and its tributaries have driven these huge wheels. The first records date back to the 13th century, when mills like this one were controlled by the Prince Bishops because of their economic importance. Flour was still being milled here in the last century but now only memories remain. A few residential rooms are connected to the mill itself. Above the mill wheels there is a painting from 1830 depicting Our Lady of Caravaggio. The local government restored the mill while retaining its original appearance, converting it into a museum where you can see how a miller would have lived in the Val di Rabbi.
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