Trentino-South Tyrol

Trentino and South Tyrol share the most spectacular part of the Dolomites, the pale mountains listed by UNESCO: the Sella group, the Tre Cime, the Brenta and the Val Gardena. In summer this is a paradise for hiking and cycling, in winter for skiing on the Dolomiti Superski network.

The region is bilingual in the north, where Bolzano and Merano mix Italian and Austrian traditions, and full of lakes such as Braies, Carezza and the northern tip of Garda at Riva. Trento has a beautiful Renaissance centre, and the apple orchards and vineyards produce excellent white wines.

Two provinces, three languages, the Dolomites

Trentino-Alto Adige is an autonomous region made up of two very different provinces: Trentino, Italian-speaking, with Trento as its capital, and Alto Adige or South Tyrol, where most people speak German and some valleys preserve Ladin, an ancient Rhaeto-Romance language. Both enjoy strong autonomy and an Alpine culture reflected in their architecture, cooking and the way the land is cared for. Above everything rise the Dolomites, a UNESCO site, pale rock mountains that glow pink at sunset in a phenomenon called enrosadira. Add glaciers, Alpine lakes, vineyards, apple orchards, castles and art cities, and you have one of the best-kept and most welcoming areas of the Alps.

Trento and Rovereto

Trento is a Renaissance city gathered around Piazza Duomo, with its Romanesque cathedral, the Fountain of Neptune and frescoed houses. The Council of Trent was held here, changing the history of the Church in the sixteenth century. The Buonconsiglio Castle, residence of the prince-bishops, holds the Cycle of the Months in the Torre Aquila, and MUSE, the science museum designed by Renzo Piano, is one of the most visited in Italy. A cable car climbs from the centre to Monte Bondone. To the south, Rovereto has the Mart, one of the most important modern and contemporary art museums in Italy, and the Bell of the Fallen, which rings every evening in memory of the victims of all wars.

Trentino's Lake Garda and the lakes

The northern tip of Lake Garda belongs to Trentino. Riva del Garda, with its harbour and fortress, and Arco, with its castle on the cliff and mild climate, have been holiday resorts since Habsburg times and are now European capitals of climbing, sailing and windsurfing, thanks to the lake's regular winds. Trentino also has many Alpine lakes: Lake Tovel, Lake Molveno at the foot of the Brenta Dolomites, the lakes of Levico and Caldonazzo, with water that is warm in summer, and, in South Tyrol, Lake Braies, one of the most photographed in Italy.

The Trentino Dolomites

Trentino includes famous Dolomite groups such as the Brenta Dolomites, the Catinaccio or Rosengarten, the Pale di San Martino and the Sella group. Madonna di Campiglio, part of the municipality of Pinzolo, is one of the most elegant ski resorts in the Alps. The Val di Fassa, with Canazei, gives access to the Sella Ronda, the ski circuit around the Sella massif, and to the Marmolada, queen of the Dolomites, with its glacier. San Martino di Castrozza, the Val di Fiemme with Cavalese and Predazzo, and the Val di Sole are other favourite destinations for skiing in winter and hiking in summer. The Adamello Brenta Nature Park is home to the brown bear.

Bolzano, Merano and the Adige valley

Bolzano, the capital of South Tyrol, blends Italian and Tyrolean atmospheres: medieval arcades, the market in Piazza delle Erbe, and the Gothic cathedral with its roof of coloured tiles. The Archaeological Museum holds Ötzi, the Iceman, the more than five-thousand-year-old mummy found in a glacier in the Senales valley. Three cable cars climb from the city to the plateaus of the Renon, San Genesio and Colle. Merano, a Belle Époque spa town, is surrounded by palm trees and vineyards; the Gardens of Trauttmansdorff Castle, where Empress Sisi stayed, are among the most beautiful in Italy. The Wine Road, between Bolzano and Salorno, passes villages such as Caldaro, with its lake, and Termeno.

The valleys of South Tyrol

Val Gardena, with Ortisei, Santa Cristina and Selva, is a Ladin valley famous for wood carving and skiing, at the foot of the Sassolungo and the Alpe di Siusi, the largest high-altitude meadow in Europe. Val Badia, with Corvara and San Cassiano, is another Ladin heartland, with celebrated gourmet mountain huts. Val Pusteria, with Brunico, Dobbiaco and San Candido, leads towards the Three Peaks of Lavaredo and Lake Braies. In Bressanone, an old bishop's city, the cathedral and its frescoed cloister are worth seeing; nearby, Novacella Abbey produces white wines. Val Venosta, towards the Resia Pass, is dotted with apple orchards, castles and the bell tower rising out of Lake Resia.

Castles, museums and Alpine culture

The region has hundreds of castles, many of which can be visited. In Val di Non, Castel Thun is one of the best preserved in Trentino, with original furnishings and views over the orchards. Near Bolzano, Castel Roncolo has the largest cycle of secular frescoes of the Middle Ages, with scenes of chivalry and court life, while Castel Firmiano houses one of the Messner Mountain Museums, the network of museums devoted to mountains created by the climber Reinhold Messner. Above Merano, Castel Tirolo, which gave its name to the whole historic region, tells the story of Tyrol. In Trento and Rovereto, many museums and forts recall the First World War, fought in these mountains between 1915 and 1918, and the Paths of Peace let you walk along the old front lines.

Food between two worlds

The region's cooking reflects its double soul. In South Tyrol people eat canederli, large bread dumplings with speck or cheese, speck itself, smoked and cured, schlutzkrapfen, half-moon pasta filled with spinach, apple strudel and kaiserschmarrn, a sweet shredded pancake. In Trentino you can enjoy polenta with mushrooms and cheese, strangolapreti spinach dumplings, Trentino-style canederli, carne salada, a cured beef, and crumbly fregolotti cake. Apples from Val di Non and Val Venosta, mountain pasture cheeses, Puzzone di Moena and Trentingrana are typical products. The wines are excellent: Trento DOC, a traditional-method sparkling wine, Teroldego Rotaliano and Marzemino, and in South Tyrol Gewürztraminer from Termeno, Lagrein, Schiava and mountain whites.

Traditions, markets and wellbeing

Advent is a magical time: the Christmas markets of Bolzano, Merano, Bressanone, Brunico and Trento are among the most famous in Europe, with wooden stalls, crafts, mulled wine and sweets. In autumn South Tyroleans celebrate Törggelen, the tradition of visiting farmsteads to taste new wine, chestnuts and farmhouse dishes. The region is also a wellness destination: the spas of Merano, Levico and Comano and many hotels with spas offer relaxation after a day in the mountains. In summer there are village festivals with brass bands in traditional dress and the return of the cattle from the high pastures.

When to go and how to get around

Winter, from December to April, is ski season, with the Dolomiti Superski area, one of the largest in the world. Summer, from June to September, is ideal for hiking, via ferrata routes, mountain biking and lakes; autumn brings splendid colours, the grape harvest and apple picking. Spring and late autumn are the quietest seasons. The Brenner railway links Verona, Trento, Bolzano and Bressanone with Innsbruck and Munich, and local trains reach Merano, Val Venosta and Val Pusteria. Buses serve the valleys thoroughly, and many resorts offer a guest card with free public transport. The nearest airports are Bolzano, Verona, Innsbruck and Venice.