Figure 3. — Panoras 



village of Mechel 



valley of the Non, birthplace of Father Borghesi. 



the Tridentina was under Austrian domination. 



Deep within this mountainous district is the roman- 

 tic valley of the Non, or Anauni, with its great forests 

 and ancient castles. Most maps do not mark it, and 

 the tourist guides ignore it. 7 One of the chief com- 

 munities is Cles, with its historic Renaissance build- 

 ings. The major city of the region is Trent on the 

 Adige River, with its surviving Roman relics and 

 Romanesque and Renaissance architecture. 



The little villages scattered throughout the valley 

 of the Non played no part in history, but such names 

 as Mechel and Mocenigo di Rumo reflect the inter- 

 change of sovereignty. It was in the little village of 

 Mechel that Francesco Borghesi was born in 1723. 8 

 Local records are meager and inadequate, and many 

 of the details of Borghesi's life must be assumed. 

 Inasmuch as the village was in a rural, agricultural 

 district, Borghesi may have come from a family of 

 farmers, vintners, or village tradesmen. Borghesi 



sought an education by entering the priesthood and 

 was ordained a secular priest in Salzburg. He was 

 first assigned as curate to the village parish of Rumo 

 in the valley of the Non, a short distance from his 

 birthplace. 9 Later, he was transferred to his native 

 Mechel. He was inherently a man of simple tastes 

 and of great piety. He tended to the needs of his 

 mountain villagers and attended the births, weddings 

 and deaths of his parishioners. It was during his 

 assignment in this tiny community that Father Borghesi 

 met and became friendly with the clockmaker, 

 Bartolomeo Antonio Bertolla of nearby Mocenigo 

 di Rumo. 



Clockmaker Bertolla 



Bartolomeo Antonio Bertolla was born in Mocenigo 

 di Rumo, a short distance from Mechel, in 1702. 10 

 Nothing is known of his boyhood, other than the 

 fact that he was mechanically inclined. At the age of 



7 Franch, La Valle di Non. 



• Bonomi, Naturalist!, Medici e '/'rerun Trentini, p. 16 



9 Ambrosi, Scrittori ed Artisti Trentini, pp. 132, 525. 

 1° Ibid. 



34 



BULLETIN 240: CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE MUSEUM OF HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY 



