Thanks to the picturesque landscape and to the evidence that prove the production of paper, the Valle delle Cartiere, in Toscolano Maderno, is one of the most original and most interesting archaeological-industrial areas in Italy . The valley covered an important rule in the Venetian period from a manufatcuring point of view. It took its industrial appearance in the second part of the nineteenth century, when a new road was built and their technology upgraded. However, starting from the twentieth century, there is the progressive abandonment of the valley.The paper production moves to a new establishment and from the 1930 the paper firms reduce their activities and to stop for ever three decades later. The small building in Maina Inferiore has been identified as the most appropriate site for a "Museum of the Paper".
After the restoration it has been devided into different areas, which collect documents materials, photographs, artefacts and reconstructions that illustrate the cycle of manufacture, specimens and instruments of the watermark.