Valcava
One of the first cable cars built in Italy, dating from 1928; it ran fitfully for half a century on a south-facing hillside that could not be relied on for snow, and was dismissed in 1977.
- Region
- Lombardy
- Country
- Italy
- Status
- abandoned
- Year opened
- 1928
- Year closed
- 1977
- Reason for closure
- A shortage of both snow and visitors. The cable car ran intermittently - 'a singhiozzo' in the survey's phrase - until 1977, when its concessions expired and it was dismissed.
History
Valcava, above Torre de' Busi on the Lecco and Bergamo border, holds the earliest date in this dataset's Italian records: its cable car was built in 1928, and the Mountain Wilderness surveyors describe it as one of the first in the country. It climbed a south-facing slope from around 900 m to 1,300 m, and was owned not by a company but by the comune of Torre de' Busi. South-facing ground at that altitude could never be relied on for snow, and the survey records a shortage of visitors alongside it, so the lift ran only in fits and starts - 'a singhiozzo' - until 1977, when the concessions came to an end and it was dismissed for good. Half a century later the upper station and the concrete pylons were still standing on the hillside. Note that the comune's province has changed over the years, which is why the site appears under both Lecco and Bergamo in different sources. Course names are not compiled in accessible sources and no later assessment of the structures has been found; the coordinates mark the Valcava hamlet.
Lifts
| Name | Type | Manufacturer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unnamed lift | Gondola | A funivia built in 1928, described by the survey as one of the first in Italy, running from about 900 m to 1,300 m. The upper station and the concrete pylons were still standing in 2006-07 |
Sources and further reading
More in Italy
Location
45.7850, 9.5109