Quartz Quarry Ruins on Monte Piottino

Now a ruin, it was once a customs house that brought great income to those who managed it.
With the opening of the new road around 1350, which replaced the path that led from Dazio Antico and Piana Selva, a building with a gate was built to control the passages and the transport of goods. Customs duties were levied on goods and duties on the number of pack animals or people in transit. Of these revenues, a portion called “Forletto” covered the maintenance costs of the road.
In 1441, the Canton of Uri built another building with a recreational and hospice function. The income from the Old Tax and, from 1561, that from the Dazio Grande were very important for the Canton of Uri: in 1790, around ⅓ of this canton's income came from the Dazio Grande.

Apart from natural quarries, mining is little known in Ticino.
On Monte Piottino there is a testimony of mining archaeology related to the extraction and exploitation of quartz ore.
The Offi cine del Gottardo, still active today in Bodio, used the quartz ore from this quarry to produce pure silicon and obtain alloys useful for the production of special steels. The exploitation of the vein began in the early 1900s.
The cable car was later added to the warehouse to transport the mineral to the Rodi-Fiesso station, which was previously done by wagon, horses and sledges. The main building of the quarry is still walkable, while the other structures can only be recognized by the remains on the ground. The business was abandoned in 1943 when competition from higher quality and purer quartz from abroad took over.
Geology distinguishes rocks according to hardness, composition and origin. The same mineral, such as quartz, can be found in very different rocks. The ability to extract the riches of the soil depends on the concentration of the mineral to be used and its accessibility.