Parco Naturale del Ticino

Mulino Vecchio of Bellinzago is one of the watermills which were built in the valley of the river Ticino. At the moment it is the only one working. In 1985 the mill was bought by Ticino Park which restored it. Thanks to the contribution of Regione Piemonte, the Mulino became a Regional Center of Environmental Education and acquired a very important social function.
Parco del Ticino has begun an intense collaboration with the world of school. The proposal and the instruments used work as a support to the didactic programs dealing with environmental education issues. The aim of the Park is to create, through these interventions, a greater sensitization towards nature which might lead to a more correct management of the territory and a better relationship between man and environment.
Among the various proposals, the didactic structure of the Mulino Vecchio acquires a particular importance.
At the Mill it is possible to exploit various didactic opportunities, increasing in this way the learning possibilities also through the direct contact with a reality which bring us back in time.

The Head Office of Ticino Piemontese Park is situated in the main building of Cascina Picchetta, acquired in 1989 by Regione Piemonte, which currently owns the estate.
The architectural complex of Cascina Picchetta is made by country buildings and a Palace situated in the middle of the settlement: the Palace is characterized by noble architectural features, and since January 2001 it houses the administrative and technical offices of Ticino Park.

Industrial Archeology along Roggia Molinara
It once represented a precious motive-power because it set in motion not only the grindstones of the mills but also mechanisms of several machinery used in craftsmanship or in the early industrial activities. Activities were always linked with the exploitation of resources coming from the valley, such as timber (used for sawmill activities) and quartz (crushers for the production of metal and quartz powder). This kind of machine was known even in ancient times but began to be used only at the end of Middle Ages.

The Gold Diggers
(Bonini), The beds of the river Ticino (in the district Loreto) were combed by gold diggers from Oleggio till a few decades ago. Among them: the "Bulchét""Mapézi" (Bolamperti), "Cucui" (Colombo), "Mainìt" (Mainini), "Sicurìt" (Zuccherini) and many others, generally called by nicknames. Nowadays, still a few of them are looking for gold with the "trula", the board and other means used in this activity.