Sellero ( Camunian: ; locally ) is a ''

comune A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the City status in Italy, titl ...

'' of 1,503 people in the

province of Brescia The province of Brescia (; Brescian: ) is a Provinces of Italy, province in the Lombardy region of Italy. It has a population of some 1,265,964 (as of January 2019) and its capital is the city of Brescia.With an area of 4,785 km2, it is the ...

(far 83 km from

Brescia Brescia (, ; ; or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the region of Lombardy, in Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Lake Garda, Garda and Lake Iseo, Iseo. With a population of 199,949, it is the se ...

) in the middle

Val Camonica Val Camonica or Valcamonica (), also Valle Camonica and anglicized as Camonica Valley, is one of the largest valleys of the central Alps, in eastern Lombardy, Italy. It extends about from the Tonale Pass to Corna Trentapassi, in the c ...

. In its territory there are thousands of rock engravings, including the "Rosa camuna" in Carpene (which is the symbol of

Lombardy The Lombardy Region (; ) is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in northern Italy and has a population of about 10 million people, constituting more than one-sixth of Italy's population. Lombardy is ...

region). In the comune's territory there are also examples of energy excellence, such as the San Fiorano's underground hydroelectric power (in Scianica) and a biomass tele-heating power. The comune consists of the settlements of Sellero (the most important of the comune) and the

frazione A ''frazione'' (: ''frazioni'') is a type of subdivision of a ''comune'' ('municipality') in Italy, often a small village or hamlet outside the main town. Most ''frazioni'' were created during the Fascist era (1922–1943) as a way to consolidat ...

of Novelle. Another settlement is Scianica, situated in the valley floor and developed in the 1970s and 1980s.

Geography

The commune is situated in the middle

, on the right bank of the river

Oglio The Oglio (; or ; , ) is a left-side tributary of the river Po in Lombardy, Italy. It is long. In the hierarchy of the Po's tributaries, with its of length, it occupies the 2nd place per length (after the river Adda), while it is the 4th pe ...

. Neighbouring communes are Berzo Demo,

Capo di Ponte Capo di Ponte ( Camunian: ) is an Italian comune in Val Camonica, province of Brescia, in Lombardy. Located above sea level, Capo di Ponte (en. "Head of Bridge") owes its name to an ancient settlement to the west of a bridge over the River Ogl ...

Cedegolo Cedegolo ( Camunian: ) is an Italian ''comune'' of 1,258 inhabitants in Val Camonica, province of Brescia, in Lombardy, northern Italy. Geography The village of Cedegolo is located in a narrow gorge formed by Oglio river, on its eastern side. I ...

and Paisco Loveno. The highest point is Monte Elto, which is 2,145 metres high.

History

There are traces of

Camunni The Camuni or Camunni were an ancient population located in Val Camonica during the Iron Age (1st millennium BC); the Latin name ''Camunni'' was attributed to them by the authors of the 1st century. They are also called ancient Camuni, to disting ...

c settlements around Sellero, dating back to the Bronze Age. During the Roman era, the area was sparsely populated. It was repopulated during the Middle Ages. Recently, from 1927 to 1948 the commune joined with

, a neighbouring commune.

Population trends, 1861–2001

Source:

ISTAT The Italian National Institute of Statistics (; Istat) is the primary source of official statistics in Italy. The institute conducts a variety of activities, including the census of population, economic censuses, and numerous social, economic, a ...

Interesting places

The two churches of the town, the parish church (Saint Mary) and the ancient church (Saint Desiderio) present some interesting artistic works. The parish church, finished in 1785, presents an interesting altar in

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

's and

Verona Verona ( ; ; or ) is a city on the Adige, River Adige in Veneto, Italy, with 255,131 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region, and is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and in Northeast Italy, nor ...

's marble and a portal in

Vezza d'Oglio Vezza d'Oglio (Camunian dialect, Camunian: ) is a ''comune'' in the province of Brescia, in Lombardy, northern Italy. It is located in the upper Val Camonica, Camonica Valley. Origins of the name Legend has it that a flood destroyed the ancien ...

's marble. Also the ancient church, erected by Frankish, can be visited and presents some Pietro di Cemmo's frescos. Near the ''

'' of Novelle there are the Carona's mines, which can be visited with equipment for speleology.

Economy

Sellero, from 1950 to 1980, was an important industrial town in

Valle Camonica Val Camonica or Valcamonica (), also Valle Camonica and anglicized as Camonica Valley, is one of the largest valleys of the central Alps, in eastern Lombardy, Italy. It extends about from the Tonale Pass to Corna Trentapassi, in the c ...

, thank to the Scianica's little plain. The first activity started in 1907 when the Curletti company began the utilization of Carona's mine for the

sulphur Sulfur (American spelling and the preferred IUPAC name) or sulphur (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth spelling) is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol S and atomic number 16. It is abundance of the chemical ...

's mining, and finished in 1951. With the mines' utilization some people founded the SEFE (', in English ''Society for the management of electric furnaces'') which built three furnaces for the

calcium carbide Calcium carbide, also known as calcium acetylide, is a chemical compound with the chemical formula of . Its main use industrially is in the production of acetylene and calcium cyanamide. The pure material is colorless, while pieces of technica ...

's production. Now the first activity is an iron factory, Riva Acciaio (''Riva Iron'').

References

Cities and towns in Lombardy {{Brescia-geo-stub