For centuries the Germanasca valley has been a site of the extraction of stone materials such as marble, but above all there are many talc quarries, some of them still active. The proposed excursion winds along one of the roads leading to two of these quarries, continuing up to a marble quarry and finally to Colletta Sellar.
Road access: From Turin’s ring road, near the Orbassano exit, take the expressway to Pinerolo. At Pinerolo, turn right towards val Chisone-Sestriere, once you reach the village of Perosa Argentina, turn left towards Val Germanasca - Ghigo. When you reach the village of Ghigo, cross the bridge over the Germanasca torrent and, turning left before the village, follow the signs for Agape and then for Indiritti. Once you reach your destination, leave the car at the entrance to the hamlet.
Route: After leaving the car, go back on the road to intercept a dirt road on the right that goes up among larches, continue avoiding the deviation to the Grange Sapatlè and shortly after another detour. Continue following the main road that in some sections becomes a little steeper, until reaching the abandoned talc mines of Pleinet and Sapatlè: these are the oldest mines in the valley, as well as the most important in the area up to 1800, as they were very advanced in terms of transport downstream of the extracted materials, managing to transport more than 600 quintals of talc per day to Perrero. After the mines, continue on the road until you reach a marble quarry, where you leave the road to climb vertically on the old extraction front, where you need to be careful in case of heavy snow or frozen crust. This way, you reach Colletta Sellar, where today you can still see a building which was part of the cableway that carried the talc downstream. Nearby there are still buildings reserved for the Company's managers and the ruined barracks hosting the miners.
