The steel industry, in Valle Sabbia and its neighbouring valley Val Trompia,
from the mines to the furnaces (wood fired, for the production -yesterday and today- of special steels)
to the processing applied in Lavenone in industrial plants until 1797,
when it was reduced due to the belligerent presence of the French,
who followed Napoleon! to the nearby Austrian border (20 km).
The ruins of this plant can still only partially be found in the river basin:
the energy of water activated the machineries for the processing of iron:
useful primarily for Venice, lady governess of the territory since 1454,
who used the iron products for their ships and for the trade in the Mediterranean area:
"le ferrarezze" tools for domestic, agricultural and military use;
secondly useful to local people for their daily life and for their businesses.
The iron and steel activity in the two contiguous valleys remains substantial even today.
The tip of this activity, on a world-wide level, is that of firearms: Beretta in the first place.
Firearms were the natural evolution of the previous cutting tools and weapons.