The Sentiero delle Fornaci is a twelve-kilometer path that passes through charming villages and breathtaking landscapes, connecting ancient abandoned furnaces, fundamental testimony of the past and true works of industrial archaeology.

Il sentiero è parte del Cammino della Brigantessa, che si ricollega al più ampio
Cammino dei Briganti, attraversando il Borgo Poggetello e di San Giovanni fino a Sante Marie.

The elders of the place remember the presence of numerous brick kilns, called “fornache”, scattered between the municipalities of Sante Marie and Tagliacozzo. Some of these kilns were located above Sante Marie, near the Civitella pass, while others were in Scanzano, near the road to Tubione. However, the most important nucleus of kilns was located near Poggetello, along the road that runs along the river, in the place known as Fornaca

In this area, until the early 1950s, at least four kilns were active, producing bricks and brickworks for the surrounding area.

Today, many of these structures have been destroyed or converted into woodsheds and storage facilities, but some ruins remain visible among the fields and bush.

The first furnace encountered along the path belonged to cousins Francesco and Armando Grossi and is known as Pippitto’s furnace, from the nickname of the grandfather of one of the current owners. Although used as a warehouse, this furnace is still well preserved, with its walls standing almost intac

A little further on are the remains of the furnace where Antonio Grossi’s five sons, known as “Le Marocche”, worked. Continuing for about 130 meters, you reach Sabatino Grossi’s furnace, covered by the modern roof of the Grossi sawmill, where the cooking chamber and the corner pillars are still clearly visible.

In addition to the kilns, the area preserves historical traces such as a small circular basin for collecting rainwater and the spring called Fonte di Santa Lucia, places that recall the importance of these structures for the local community and for the economic landscape of the past.