Chiesa di Santa Barbara

High on the cliffs of Monte Rocchetta, directly above the Bastione, stands the little church of Santa Barbara, built in 1927 by miners who worked on the Ponale hydroelectric plant conduits.

Why it matters

Dedicated to the patron saint of miners, the chapel links the mountain’s religious tradition with the early-twentieth-century engineering that carried Lake Ledro’s water to Riva’s turbines. Miners excavating the Ponale power-plant conduits built it in 1927.

What to notice

The simple white chapel stands on the Rocchetta rock above the conduits’ intake works, where water entered the mountain on its descent to the valley. Riva del Garda’s rooftops and the Bastione lie below, with the northern basin of the lake beyond.

Context and history

The chapel belongs to the era of the Ponale hydroelectric scheme, whose conduits carried water from Lake Ledro to Riva’s turbines. Its inauguration is traditionally dated to December 1927, and it passed to the SAT mountain association in 1928. A miners’ Mass on Saint Barbara’s feast day is a local tradition. The chapel is visible above the Bastione in the skyline of the town below.