Educational Path/Travelling Exhibition

The travelling exhibition proposes the contents of the educational path organized at the Stava 1985 Information Centre.

By means of short texts and pictures, the following aspects are shown:

  • the history of the Prestavèl mine and the fluorite ore dressing plant;
  • the fluorite froth flotation process and construction and growth of the Stava tailings dams;
  • the collapse of the dams, which on 19th July 1985 caused the loss of 268 human lives and very serious environmental and material damage;
  • the causes and responsibilities of the disaster, as established at the criminal trial which ended with the sentence of 10 defendants found guilty of the crime of culpable disaster and multiple manslaughter;
  • the years following the catastrophe, with the visit of Pope John Paul II at Tesero and Stava on 17th July 1988, and the long reconstruction phase in the Stava Valley.

The travelling exhibition/educational path was created under the patronage of the National Group for the Defence against Hydrogeological Disasters of the Italian National Research Council and the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia (Department of Earth Sciences), with the support of the Autonomous Province of Trento, the Emilia-Romagna Region, the Lombardy Region and the Municipality of Tesero.

The travelling exhibition consists of 15 self-winding panels with texts in Italian and 15 self-winding panels with texts in English. Each panel is 80 cm-long.

The Stava 1985 Foundation takes care of the elements of the travelling exhibition and organizes the transport, setting up and dismantling of the panels (sometimes by using an express courier).

Lectures and debates

To complete the information provided by the travelling exhibition it is possible to organize other events such as:

  • showing the short film “Stava 19th July” (25 minutes). This film tells the story of the Prestavèl mine and the fluorite ore dressing plant. By using special shooting techniques and filming effects, the mining activities have been reconstructed, showing the growth of the tailings dams from the early 1960s up to their catastrophic failure. Boys and girls from Tesero, accompanied by actor Andrea Castelli, are the main characters of the film. This short film, which was made thanks also to the funds from the Autonomous Province of Trento and the Municipality of Tesero, is available in three languages: English, German and Italian.
  • lectures on the origin, causes and responsibilities of the Stava disaster, during which the goals, purposes and activities of our Foundation are explained and the topics illustrated in the educational travelling exhibition and in the film are discussed in depth. The lecture, which is followed by a debate with the public, can be held in English, Italian or German.