Fornace
Fornace is a small municipality in Trentino, set on the north-eastern slope of Monte Calisio a few kilometres from Trento, at the...
Updated 21 July 2026
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The story
The story of Fornace
Fornace Between the Piné Plateau and the Cembra Valley, Near Trento
Fornace stands at around 740 metres above sea level on the north-eastern slope of Monte Calisio, not far from Trento, at the point where the Piné plateau slopes down toward the Cembra Valley. With just over seven square kilometres of surface area, the small municipality borders Albiano, Baselga di Piné, Civezzano, Lona-Lases and Pergine Valsugana, occupying a hinge position between the Trentino capital and the hilly valleys to the north-east. The landscape alternates conifer woods, terraced meadows and porphyry rock outcrops, while the village gathers around the square dominated by Castel Roccabruna. The municipal territory includes, besides the main village, the hamlets of Santo Stefano, Valle and Pian del Gač, each with its own rural character that preserves the imprint of a community historically tied to quarrying and stone working.
Porphyry and the Quarries: Heart of the Trentino Quadrilateral
Today the economy of Fornace revolves largely around the extraction and processing of porphyry, the reddish-purple volcanic rock that has made the Cembra Valley famous worldwide. Together with the neighbouring municipalities of Albiano and Lona-Lases and the hamlet of San Mauro, Fornace is part of the so-called quadrilatero del porfido, the porphyry district that, in the decades after the Second World War, saw an ancient extractive activity turn into a genuine industry, with dozens of quarries and processing firms. Cubes, slabs and setts of Trentino porphyry, often still cut and squared by hand according to artisan techniques passed down through generations, have paved squares and streets not only in Trentino but in many Italian and European cities. In the landscape of Fornace, traces of this vocation are everywhere, from quarry faces to houses built with the same local stone.
The Furnaces, Craftsmanship and Historic Heritage
The very name of Fornace tells an older chapter of its history: it derives from the medieval furnaces where silver extracted from galleries, known as canope, dug into Monte Calisio since the Middle Ages, was smelted. Before porphyry became the village's main resource, for centuries it was silver mining that gave the community its work and its identity. Traces of this past survive in the landscape and architecture, as in the Cortiveder district, which preserves portals, courtyards, barns and stables typical of Trentino rural building. Castel Roccabruna, a medieval fortress restored in 1992 and today home to the town hall, overlooks the village from above. The churches of San Martino, the parish church of the main village, and of Santo Stefano, in the hamlet of the same name, hold a religious heritage joined by those of San Rocco and Sant'Antonio, evidence of devotion spread across all the hamlets of the municipality.
Woods, Trails and Nature Between Pian del Gač and Monte Calisio
The territory of Fornace also has a natural side, made of conifer woods and areas equipped for rest and leisure. The Pian del Gač pine wood, in the hamlet of the same name, is one of the most popular spots among residents and visitors, with green spaces suited to picnics and walks in the shade of the trees. The municipality is also part of the Ecomuseo dell'Argentario, the open-air diffuse museum that spreads across Monte Calisio and highlights the mining memory of the area through waymarked trails, information panels and old gallery entrances. Among the most significant routes is the Sentiero di Monte Piano, a cultural trail that retraces the history of medieval silver extraction and lends itself to walks through woods and clearings with views over the Adige Valley, the Piné plateau and, on the clearest days, the mountains that close the horizon.
History and Experiences Between Mining Memory and Village Life
The origins of Fornace are documented as far back as 845, when the territory already appears in historical sources linked to the Monte Calisio area. For centuries the life of the village was marked by silver extraction in the galleries dug into the mountain, an activity that left its mark on the municipality's name and traditions, before gradually giving way, in modern times, to the porphyry industry. The discovery, near the church of Santo Stefano, of ancient tombs and Roman-era coins dating back to the emperors Domitian, Trajan and Titus also testifies to a much older presence in the area than the medieval founding of the village. Today, visitors to Fornace can alternate discovering this past, between the castle, the churches and the trails of the Ecomuseo dell'Argentario, with a present made of small artisan businesses, still-active porphyry quarries and village life gathered around its hamlets.
Not to be missed
- Castel Roccabruna, home to the town hall and symbol of the village
- The Pian del Gač pine wood for picnics and shaded walks
- The Sentiero di Monte Piano and the trails of the Ecomuseo dell'Argentario
- The Church of Santo Stefano with its Roman-era finds
- The quarries and artisan workshops of the porphyry district
To see
What to see in Fornace
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Routes in Fornace
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