Trentino - A Place For All Seasons

For centuries, Trentino has been criss-crossed by ancient trade routes, which helped the region to make contact with external cultures and influences, while at the same time working to preserve its own independence and love of tradition.

Well off the conventional tourist beat, Trentino is peaceful, relaxing, unhurried and unspoilt. The emphasis is very much on the healthy life, blending outdoor activities (walking, mountain biking, windsurfing) and adventure sports (rock climbing, skiing) with spa treatments, sumptuous food, glorious wine and just a little self-indulgence. Sport is a natural, almost instinctive thing to do in Trentino - though sitting about, eating and drinking is fashionable, too. The incredible versatility of Trentino embraces perennial glaciers, where skiing is possible even in summer, and the easy-going atmosphere around Lake Garda. Trekking and mountaineering account for numerous visits during the summer, but so, too, do sailing, windsurfing, canoeing and horse riding. But there are also opportunities here for minority sports like archery, orienteering and underwater diving.

Yet in spite of all this energetic activity, there's an acute sense of environmental awareness, too. And this had led to the setting up of 'provincial' nature parks: the Adamello-Brenta park (618 sq. miles) in western Trentino and the Paneveggio-Pale di S. Martino Park (190 sq. miles) in eastern Trentino. In addition, 190 sq. miles of the Stelvio National Park, extending into Lombardy and Alto Adige, also lies in Trentino.

The Nature Parks, which rise relentlessly to the towering pillars of the Dolomites, are home to deer, chamois, fox and brown bear, as well as a host of less intimidating animals -- and a floral display that is vividly colourful and truly breathtaking. Everywhere there are lakes, large and small, more than 300 that faithfully mirror the mountains and the great flowered swathes of surrounding meadowland, from Lake Garda northwards through the valleys of Caldonazzo, Valsugana, Val di Non and the Valle dei Laghi.

The north is a region of high mountains and beautiful valleys. Here, in the Valle di Fassa, the Valle di Rabbi, among the Brenta mountains and those of the Adamello range, the Dolomites rise to 12,000 feet, an awe-inspiring frieze of vertiginous rocky summits along the skyline. Networked by hundreds of paths, these impressive towers are festooned with via ferrate, literally 'iron ways' - like the stunning Sentiero delle Bocchette through the Brenta Dolomites - that take the intrepid walker into the most dramatic situations along routes that require the use of metal 'steps' up or across often dizzying cliff faces. Mountain refuges, almost 150 of them, provide a glorious excuse to stay up in the mountains for days and provide everything a visiting alpinist needs from superb scenery and stunning sunsets to convivial company and good food.

But, high and awesome as they are, the Dolomites are not exclusively the preserve of the hardened alpinist. People of all ages and levels of expertise find pleasure among the mountains. As many as one in twenty of Trentino's population are members of the Tridentine Alpinists Society, an organisation that waymarks over 6,000km of paths and underscores the commitment of Trentino to its mountain heritage. So don't be surprised to be overtaken by a lively octogenarian, heading for the hills.

To the south, in complete contrast, is Lake Garda, Italy's largest and loveliest lake, one of the cleanest in Europe. Its pebbly northern shores are hemmed in by steep-sided wooded mountainsides, and have a distinctly Norwegian 'fjord' appearance but with a balmy para-Mediterranean climate. The invigorating breeze, the Garda Ora, blows punctually every afternoon in summer bringing windsurfers by the score to dart across the lake. So unique is the climate here that it produces a rich and varied vegetation in which olive trees, oleander, palms, oak and citrus trees feature prominently.
Between the north and south of Trentino, lie beautiful valleys like Valsugana, where mountains, a mild climate, fresh air, lakes and spas all combine to invigorate and relax. So immersed is this region in its nature that it invests heavily in the provision of guided tours through nature, lasting seven days and available for groups as few as two in number.

Close by lie the spas of Levico, Vetriolo, Roncegno, which along with Comano, near Ponte Arche in the Valli Giudicarie Esteriori offer a range of treatments including mud baths, inhalation, hydromassage, mineral water cures and the sort of 'irrigations' one doesn't discuss in polite company.

At Comano Terme, the water has come from deep caverns, after a long journey from the Brenta Dolomites. But there are spa centres in alpine places, too, like Rabbi and Pejo, at an altitude of 1,200m, where the refreshing mineral water gushes from the rocks of Ortles and Cevedale, at almost 4,000m, the highest mountains here.

Besides the bizarre but therapeutic indulgences at the spas, Trentino has a catalogue of ancient manor houses, castles, frescoed churches, archaeological and lake dwelling sites. Valle di Non is in the north-west of Trentino, bordering on the province of Bolzano. Every town and village here has its own culture and identity, its own history and art. At Sanzeno, Iron Age village remains are a clue to earlier occupations from pre-Roman times. Castles abound, at Stenico, Arco, Avio, Pergine, Ivano, Riva, Toblino, Caldes, Beseno and Thun, and provide beautiful and inspiring links to another age that saw the skills of the building craftsmen soar to new heights. All are open to the public, but contact the ocal tourist board to check opening times.

Get to know Trentino
High in the summer pastures, cheese is still made by traditional methods in isolated malghe farmsteads, where the cows roam freely across the green mountain countryside, and time goes by in an unhurried way. At lower levels, the valleys produce delightfully heady wines, like Marzemino, supposedly Mozart's favourite tipple, produced in Vallagarina the southernmost part of Valle dell'Adige, or Teroldego, which comes from the most beautiful vineyard in Europe in the Piana Rotaliana. Among the whites is the indigenous Nosiola, unheard of in the UK, but light, refreshing and eminently palatable.

The simplest way of reaching Trentino from the UK is to fly and then hire a car for the duration. There are airports at Verona, Brescia, Venice, Treviso and Milan. The state railway and the A22 Brenner motorway run north to south through the fertile Valle dell'Adige, while travel within the region is made easy by a network of minor railway lines.

Since the 1980s, many of the hotels in Trentino have been completely renovated to bring them up to European standards. As a result, you get traditional architecture with modern fittings and services; finely decorated exteriors, but completely modernised inside. Around Campo di Lomaso, for example, there are classic examples of this. Elsewhere, Riva del Garda boasts eight four-star hotels and twelve three-star; adjacent Torbole has much the same.

Trento, the capital of the province, is no different, with a whole range of hotels and guests houses to suit everyone's requirements, and is regularly ranked in the top ten Italian cities for quality of life; it is a small-scale city with a historic centre and miles of healthy environment all around. Among its most charming parts are the piazza del Duomo with the Fountain of Neptune, the ornate streets of mansions - Palazzo Trentini, Palazzo Galasso, Palazzo Geremia and Palazzo Tabarelli. The lovely Buonconsiglio Castle has medieval origins, and used to be the home of the Prince Bishops.

With so much on offer, Trentino has much to sing about - and sing it does, each year in the 'Sounds of the Dolomites', a high altitude music festival, the only one of its kind, that brings musicians from all over the world to the most beautiful mountains in the Alps. Whether it is classical music, jazz, folk, ethnic or pop, the mountains of Trentino host them all. And if you enjoy a little wine with your music, then Vinum Bonum is made for you. Drink well and eat well during two months of concerts held in the most attractive wine cellars of Trentino, and each accompanied by the Trentino Table of Savouries on which the region's gastronomic specialities are set out for everyone to share.

Wherever you turn in Trentino there is a surprise awaiting; that and the certainty that wherever you go, whatever you do, you will not be disappointed.

FACT BOX
Additional information: Trentino Information Service at 39 Compton Road, Wimbledon, London SW19 7QA.
Tel/Fax: 020 8879 1405;
trentino.infoservice@virgin.net

Trentino Tourist Board, Via Romagnosi, 11, 38100 TRENTO, Italy. Tel: 0461 497 353; Fax: 0461 260 277; Website: www.trentino.to

Trentino is 90km from Verona airport. Venice and Milan airports are within driving distance. A vast network of bus and coach services link Trento with even the most remote and smallest of valleys.

5 July 2005