Molino di Mezzo

The Molino di Mezzo stands on the Roggia di Spilimbergo, where it is documented by 1391. It ground grain for generations, closed in 1995, and later reopened as an exhibition centre devoted to milling within the Ecomuseo Lis Aganis.

Why it matters

The mill connects the town's history to the water-driven economy of the surrounding countryside. Its long working life is recorded through successive miller families, remembered locally in the names Molino Prussia and Molino Gridello. Its later interpretation preserves the craft and machinery of milling as part of the region's industrial and rural heritage.

What to notice

Three external wooden wheels and their transmission shafts powered the mill until 1947, when they were replaced by a single iron wheel and shaft. The equipment documents the processing of corn, barley, oats and wheat; a hammer used to pound stockfish adds an unusual trace of the mill's wider commercial connections. The building began with one or two millstones on a single floor, with an upper room later added for the miller and family.

Context and history

Earthquakes between 1510 and 1544 prompted repairs, and a late-eighteenth-century earthquake was followed by a substantial rebuilding and upward extension. Ownership passed from Alessandro Mongiat, who bought the mill in 1885, through later local millers. The business closed on 30 December 1995. Following restoration with contributions from the Regione Friuli Venezia Giulia and Fondazione Friuli, the mill reopened in 2017 under the Comune di Spilimbergo's management within the ecomuseum.