TRENTINO ALTO ADIGE

Trentino-Alto Adige is a region that evokes images of genuineness, naturalness and quiet. In the extreme north of Italy, it borders on Austria and Switzerland and is split into two distinct provinces, both endowed with a special statue: Trentino, around the city of Trento/ Trent to the south, is historically Italian in language and culture; Alto Adige, around the city of Bolzano/Bozen to the north, is known as Suedtirol to the prominent German-speaking population and is officially bilingual.

The Trentino Alto Adige is a region which, thanks to the the presence of a still virgin and uncontaminated - sometimes wild - nature, offers the opportunity to practice all kind of sports activities and can satisfy all the imaginable needs of the mountain-lovers.

Imposing mountain chains dominate the entire region: the Atesine Alps to the north, the Retiche Alps to the west, and the Dolomite mass to the east.

It possesses permanent snow, harsh dolomitic mountain passes, green meadows, unpolluted forests, but also gentle sunny slopes covered with vines, evocative medieval-looking villages, together with a large number of castles and towers dominating the valleys or mirrored in the waters of the lakes. All over Europe, the Trentino-Alto Adige is the area with the greatest number of castles. The reason why is that, for thousand years, the most important travel route between Germanic and Latin worlds passed right here. In fact both the Resia Pass route and the Brennero one meet in Bolzano and then continue southwards.

Alto Adige/Suedtirol/South Tyrol
South Tyrol lies in the heart of the Alpine arch, embedded by the primitive rock of the central Alps, to the east by the pale Dolomite range and to the west by the Ortler massif, which at 3,905 metres (13,175 ft), is South Tyrol's highest mountain. The rivers Isarco (Eisack), Adige (Etsch) and Rienza (Rienz) flow through the province and long ago formed the main valleys.

Many artistic and cultural monuments testimony the eventful history of Alto Adige. In this ancient land rich in culture, different populations such as Celts, Rhaeti, Romans and Longobards lived together and still today three different cultures live peacefully: they are the Germans, the Italians and the Ladins. Prehistoric settlements, castles, Roman ruins, Romanesque, Gothic and Baroque monuments, noble residences and farmers' houses testimony this exceptional past. Among the main sightseeings we can mention: Bolzano, Merano, Bressanone, Vipiteno, the numerous castles

In the north-west of Bolzano Province, where the Dolomites reign supreme, worth of mention are the so called Valli Ladine (Ladine Valleys), Gardena and Badia, where evocative alpine landscapes alternate with tick forests and wide meadows at the base of the high Dolomite peaks: Sasso della Croce, Sallolungo, Gruppo di Sella, etc. The most renowned tourist resorts of these valleys are Pedraces, La Villa and Corvara in Val Badia, Selva, Santa Cristina and Ortisei in Val Gardena. Strongly recommended is the ascent to the Alpe di Siusi plateau, dominated by the Sciliar (2,564 m.), Catinaccio (3,004 mm.) and Sassolungo (3,181 m.) groups.