Sellero ( Camunian: ; locally ) is a ''

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...

'' of 1,503 people in the province of Brescia (far 83 km from

Brescia Brescia (, locally ; lmo, link=no, label= Lombard, Brèsa ; lat, Brixia; vec, Bressa) is a city and ''comune'' in the region of Lombardy, Northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Garda and Iseo. ...

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

Lombardy Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...

region). In the commune'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 commune consists of the settlements of Sellero (the most important of the commune) and the

frazione A ''frazione'' (plural: ) 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 consolidate territ ...

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 Val Camonica, on the right bank of the river

Oglio The Oglio (; Latin ''Ollius'', or ''Olius''; Lombard ''Òi''; Cremonese ''Ùi'') 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 pla ...

. Neighbouring communes are Berzo Demo, Capo di Ponte,

Cedegolo Cedegolo (Camunian dialect, 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 ...

and

Paisco Loveno Paisco Loveno ( Camunian: ) is a ''comune'' in the province of Brescia, in Lombardy, northern Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the mid ...

. The highest point is

Monte Elto Monte may refer to: Places Argentina * Argentine Monte, an ecoregion * Monte Desert * Monte Partido, a ''partido'' in Buenos Aires Province Italy * Monte Bregagno * Monte Cassino * Montecorvino (disambiguation) * Montefalcione Portugal * Mont ...

, which is 2,145 metres high.

History

There are traces of Camunnic 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 ( it, Istituto nazionale di statistica; Istat) is the main producer of official statistics in Italy. Its activities include the census of population, economic censuses and a number of social, economic ...

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 (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

's and

Verona Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Northern Italy, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and the ...

's marble and a portal in

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

'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, 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 (or sulphur in British English) is a chemical element with the symbol S and atomic number 16. It is abundant, multivalent and nonmetallic. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms form cyclic octatomic molecules with a chemical formula ...

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

References

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