Top 10 Gorges around San Nazario

A simply wonderful place, easy to reach from the Carpanè-Valstagna station, following a well-marked path along the Brenta River. The staff was equally fantastic, allowing us to follow the cave tour in both Italian and English (part of my group didn't speak Italian). I recommend going in spring; it's cooler and there's usually less traffic, so you can enjoy it all better. ;)

The Corlo lake dam blocks the Cismon stream which flows towards the Brenta river.

The Calieroni are a series of natural pools with crystal-clear, exotic-looking water, connected by lively waterfalls: a small and charming hidden treasure nestled among the tightly packed houses of Valstagna overlooking the eponymous stream. The circular potholes have been shaped over millennia by two phenomena: mechanical action, in which rocks and pebbles carried by the swollen river swirl, creating a centrifugal effect that erodes the surrounding rock; and chemical action, in which the carbonic acid in the water dissolves the calcium in the limestone, eroding it. The Calieroni take their name from rural Venetian tradition: the dialect word 'caliera' refers to a large pot (usually made of beaten copper) used to make polenta for the whole family... the shape of the round cavity resembles a cauldron filled with water! When water levels are low, you can reach the Calieroni by abseiling down into the stream bed, either from the mountain or from the small bridge downstream. This route requires caution due to the smooth, wet rock. In the summer, they become a natural swimming pool with icy waters, popular with the young people of Valstagna.

Suggestive passage in the tunnel

Dam immersed in the narrow gorge of the Cismon torrent, completed in 1953. Crossable, cycle/pedestrian. Pleasant walk with a view and the peculiarity of ending right inside a small tunnel in the rock, which then connects to the road to Corlo, very steep!

The Corlo dam (which takes its name from the village above) was built in the years 1951-53 to dam the Cismon stream and form the artificial lake, for hydroelectric use. The area occupied today by the basin was once known as the 'Ligònt plain': a fertile area, almost entirely cultivated with corn cobs and tobacco, with several inhabited hamlets. With the construction of the dam, many towns were forcibly abandoned, demolished and submerged; others, on the eastern side, found themselves isolated from the world and soon depopulated too. This civil engineering work amazes for its dizzying height of 71m, for the construction expertise thanks to which it slips into the mountain and for the view of the very narrow Cismon canyon. The crown of the dam can also be explored by car: after the tunnel, a very narrow and winding asphalt road ends in Contrà Corlo. When the bulkheads are raised, the power of the waterfall coming down the discharge chute is impressive and spectacular! https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lago_del_Corlo

The Oliero caves are a complex of caverns located on the slopes of the Sette Comuni plateau, near the hamlet of Oliero (municipality of Valbrenta). Much of the water that penetrates through the plateau above flows from the caves, a classic example of karst phenomena. There are four caves currently open to the public: Covol dei Veci and Covol dei Siori from which the Oliero river flows; while the two upper ones, Covol dei Assassini and Covol dee Soree, are now dry. To visit the caves it is necessary to have a ticket and entry is allowed only with a guide. In the park of the caves it is also possible to visit the museum of speleology and karst phenomena and relax at the bike grill bar.

The "Sanctuary of the Madonna del Caravaggio al Buso" is so named because it is dedicated to the Madonna del Caravaggio (not the painter, but the town in the province of Bergamo where the Virgin appeared in 1432); and because it is built above a high natural gorge (the "Buso Vecio")... however, it is commonly referred to as "the Madonna del Buso." What is striking about this humble little temple and its bell tower is their secluded and solitary location, hidden and almost forgotten: they emerge unexpectedly at the bottom of the narrow and shady Val Frenzèla, immersed in coniferous forests, along the old and obsolete road connecting Gallio and Stoccareddo, used until the construction of the more convenient and faster metal overpass at the end of the 20th century, which now overlooks the shrine at a height of 70 meters! History. Here, in 1830, Fra Giovanni Battista Casera, a Franciscan hermit, returning from one of his many pilgrimages, found himself stranded by a severe spring storm and the resulting "brentana" (river flood), which prevented him from crossing the ravine. He therefore sought shelter among these rocks. As an act of faith for having escaped danger, in accordance with his own wishes, the bridge connecting the two banks and the chapel were built in the years immediately following, serving as a rest stop for travelers and a place of worship. He himself spent the rest of his days as a hermit in that building. The site quickly became a pilgrimage destination. It was destroyed by bombing during World War I and rebuilt in 1927. https://www.vaticano.com/turismo/scheda_1251_il-santuario-del-buso.html