Traveling in the heart of Trentino, among villages, history and viticulture

Consorzio Turistico Piana Rotaliana Konigsberg

Roveré della Luna, panoramica sui vigneti

The Piana Rotaliana Königsberg is a small area in the heart of Trentino strategically located in the center of one of the largest valleys in the entire Alpine arc, the Adige Valley. This has been in history one of the main routes between Italy and the center of Europe, across the Alps. The presence of a continuous flow of people moving from north to south and vice versa, yesterday as today, has determined the birth and development, along the valley, of many towns devoted to commerce, agriculture and hospitality. This is evident from many historical architectures, sometimes conceived as real scenographies to strike the attention of travelers. These elements are still clearly visible today and characterize the appearance of the villages of the Piana Rotaliana Königsberg and the landscape that surrounds them, telling a very rich story that culminates in the thriving wine identity of today.

Discover with us the hamlets of this area, for a journey of history, traditions and viticulture!

Lavis

Lavis, the main center of this territory, is also the one that more than others represents this history of transits and exchanges between different populations. It develops on the north bank of the Avisio stream, which, because of its conformation, has been a natural barrier between north and south for centuries. The only bridge that crossed it in the past was an obligatory crossing point for all travelers. In 1850 a toll was paid here, and right in front of the bridge, the visionary Tommaso Bortolotti built a unique scenic hanging garden. The garden became known as the Ciucioi Garden (from the German zum Zoll = at the customs house) and finally, after long years of restoration, it has now returned to its original splendor. It is an incredible place because of its many faces: it is an interesting botanical garden but also an eclectic architecture full of symbolic references. Among the various visit possibilities, we recommend the theatricalized ones, with live or headset performances, and the guided ones, where you will walk an evocative ascending path among various terraces, discovering a greenhouse that smells of lemons, the loggia, an ingenious heating and irrigation system, and other mysterious environments such as churches, castles and caves.

Ciucioi – Ph. Nicola Cagol

Today Lavis is a very active center in the commercial sphere, but the main vocation remains viticulture. This area has an exceptional vocation for growing white grapes, particularly Chardonnay and Nosiola. The picturesque Avisian Hills are the focus of this production: their landscape is characterized by the typical geometries of vines and rural roads that connect the various masi, typical farm buildings of the area. In spring, every April 25, don’t miss the wine and food event “Di maso in maso, di vino in vino.”

OUR ADVICE:
– Culture: Giardino dei Ciucioi
– Wine: Maso Poli, LaVis, Monfort, Klinger, Maso Grener, Vindimian Rudi
– Gastronomy: Vecchia Sorni, Maso Tratta, Krügel, La Piazzetta, Buongiorno Lavis, Gelateria Serafini, Apicoltura Facchinelli, Troier Carni, La Mela Vispa, Torrefazione Caffè Adler

Lavis – Ph. Nicola Cagol

San Michele all’Adige

San Michele all’Adige is a small town that has been of considerable importance throughout history due to the presence of the Adige River and the large Augustinian monastery founded there in 1145. The monumental complex today no longer houses a monastery but remains one of the most distinctive buildings in the region, home to true excellence: in the center stands the spectacular Baroque church of St. Michael the Archangel, rich in paintings and fine decorations. The north wing of the complex, on the other hand, houses the Edmund Mach Foundation, one of the most important agronomic and environmental research institutions in the Alps.

Museo San Michele – Ph. Nicola Cagol

Finally, the south wing is used as a museum: this is the METS – Museo etnografico trentino San Michele, dedicated to popular culture, customs and the many traditions of the Trentino valleys. It is one of the most important of its kind in Italy, with as many as 12,000 objects on display through 43 different rooms: the visit is a fascinating journey through a myriad of stories that range from past viticulture to traditional carnivals, from the ancient practice of weaving to religious rituals, from agriculture to handicrafts. All of this enclosed in a wonderful building.

San Michele all’Adige is also a flagship area for the production of Trento Doc, one of the most awarded classic method sparkling wines, with the highest concentration of producers in all of Trentino.

OUR ADVICE:
– Culture: METS – Trentino Ethnographic Museum San Michele and Church of San Michele Arcangelo
– Wine: Zeni Roberto, Endrizzi, Ress, Rechof
– Gastronomy: Da Pino, Da Silvio, 905 Wine Bar, Bike Break Bicigrill, Aquila Nera

Museo San Michele – Ph. Nicola Cagol

Faedo

Climbing the scenic hills above San Michele, one reaches, in a few minutes, first the castle of Monreale-Königsberg, and then the small village of Faedo, in an elevated position overlooking the valley. The former, dating back to the 1300s, has long been the administrative seat of the territory; even today it is a true landmark that stands out for its elegant battlements, but unfortunately it cannot be visited.

The village of Faedo is particularly pretty because it is small and compact; it has preserved intact its medieval structure and historic architecture, which is characterized above all by the numerous windings at the base of the houses. Characteristic is the entrance to the village, enveloped by two splendid churches: that of S. Agata, a real jewel dating back to the early 1200s, and that of SS. Redentore, from 1900. It is a hamlet nestled in the green, surrounded by vineyards and woods that for centuries were affected by the activity of miners in search of silver: the surprising remains of some ancient mines are still visible through an easy nature trekking trail.

Castello di Monreale-Königsberg – Ph. Federico Graziati

Faedo’s soils make it possible to grow vines even at medium-high altitudes (650-750 m.a.s.l.): at high altitudes we find grape varieties such as Müller Thurgau, and at lower altitudes varieties such as Chardonnay, Traminer Aromatico, Lagrein and Schiava. The Faedo conoid is also suitable for the production of sparkling wine-based grapes of the Chardonnay and Pinot noir types.

OUR ADVICE:
– Culture: Church of St. Agatha and Monreale-Königsberg Castle (admirable from the outside)
– Wine: Pojer e Sandri, Graziano Fontana, Sandri Arcangelo, Bellaveder, Villa Piccola
– Gastronomy: Locanda Al Minatore, Ai Molini, Maso Nello

Faedo – Ph. Nicola Cagol

Mezzolombardo

The township of Mezzolombardo, like Lavis, was also strongly characterized by its location. Again, it was an almost obligatory point of passage for all those who wanted to reach the Non and Sole valleys from the south and eventually continue to Austria and Germany, even further north. This is why it developed over the centuries as an important center of commerce, especially along its elegant main street, which is still embellished by the stuccoes and friezes on the facades of period buildings and villas and by the store windows of high-end stores.

Mezzolombardo, however, is also distinguished by its historic architecture located in the highest part of the town, in a prominent position: starting from the south, the Church of San Pietro, the oldest religious building in the area, dating back to the 12th century, stands out. From here, moving northward on foot, in a few steps across a striking new 130m-long suspension bridge, it is possible to reach the Toresela, a panoramic turret built on the remains of an old defensive building. Continuing further north with your gaze, you finally reach the 16th-century Castello della Torre, the only one in the area that can be partially visited during the many events hosted in its scenic gardens.

Castello della Torre – Ph. Elisa Fedrizzi

Finding itself in the Campo Rotaliano, the broad alluvial cone of the Noce stream that stretches between three towns, Mezzolombardo is highly suited to viticulture. Teroldego, raised with the characteristic double pergola, is the native grape variety that finds its best oenological expression here.

OUR ADVICE:
– Culture: Castello della Torre (open during events)
– Wine and Grappa: De Vigili, Fedrizzi Cipriano, Foradori, Redondel, Rotaliana, Zanini Luigi, Distilleria Villa de Varda
– Gastronomy: Ai Piani, Perbacco, Al Corso, Al Duomo

Mezzolombardo – Ph. Elisa Fedrizzi

Mezzocorona

The village of Mezzocorona enjoys a sunny location in the center of the Piana Rotaliana, at the foot of the Monte di Mezzocorona, in a green triangle bounded by the Noce stream and the Adige River. Here, too, we find some remarkable historical architecture, starting with two castles. The first, Castel San Gottardo, dates back to 1100 and was built in an incredible location, inside a cleft in the middle of a very large rock face. Today it is an inaccessible ruin because since the 1400s its owners moved to a new, more comfortable dwelling, Firmian Castle, built just below the previous one and still inhabited by descendants. The town’s most sumptuous aristocratic residence, however, is Palazzo Martini, with its original courtyards, furnishings and decorations. It is here that prestigious events in the area are held, such as the “Mostra del Teroldego Rotaliano,” Trentino’s most important native red wine. Another former residence of great value is Palazzo Firmian: today it houses the town hall but still preserves in all their splendor some of the very first frescoes by the great eighteenth-century painter Paul Troger. Guided tours of the two palaces are organized by the town library during major events in the township.

Palazzo Martini – Ph. Alfredo Croce

The alluvial soil and characteristic vertical mountain walls, shaped by the action of glaciers over millennia, allow the cultivation of various grape varieties, most notably Teroldego. An important distillery activity has then been handed down here for centuries, with the production of refined grappas.

OUR ADVICE:
– Culture: Palazzo Martini, Palazzo Firmian (open during events) and Castel San Gottardo (can be admired from the outside)
– Wine and Grappa: Breccia, Dorigati, Donati Marco, De Vescovi Ulzbach, Endrizzi Elio, Martinelli, Distillerie Trentine, Distilleria Bertagnolli, Mezzacorona-Rotari
– Gastronomy: La Cacciatora, Elementi, Dolce Spina, Da Demetrio, Tre Cime, Drago, Bar Franco, Hop’s Café

Mezzocorona – Ph. Visit Trentino

Zambana

The village of Zambana, in the municipality of Terre d’Adige, is best known for the production of a very special vegetable: the white asparagus, cultivated in an artisanal way and celebrated in the great “White Asparagus Festival” held every year between the end of April and May 1. However, this village has a very special history, evidenced by a beautiful church, that of Saints Philip and James, also known as the church of Zambana Vecchia: it is the only building left standing after a large landslide hit the village in 1954, destroying it entirely.

Today the village has come back to life, preserving a strong memory of early 20th-century agricultural life, which is re-enacted every year in the “Antiche Terre” event in early October.

OUR ADVICE:
– Culture: Church of Sts. Philip and James (open during events)
– Gastronomy: Maso del Gusto, Apple Blood Cider, Maso Rosabel, Asparagus Deco, Asparagus Asta, Aneghe Taneghe

Ph. Alfredo Croce

Roverè della Luna

Even in Roverè della Luna, although this is the smallest municipality in the territory, one can find valuable historic buildings such as the small Chapel of St. Anne, frescoed with a peculiar “macabre dance,” and the Palazzo de Kreutzenberg, a noble residence still inhabited.

However, the strongest peculiarity of this small town, which appears suspended above an immense vineyard, as if floating on a sea of vine leaves, is its being on the cultural-linguistic border with the Germanic world: here everyone speaks Italian, but it is enough to take just a few steps northward, entering South Tyrol, to immerse oneself in a different cultural context, of Austro-Hungarian stamp, and to hear some German and South Tyrolean spoken in the streets.

Roverè della Luna – Ph. Nicola Cagol

The conoid of Roverè della Luna has an excellent southern exposure, which, combined with a deep and fresh soil of limestone origin, allows excellent expression of various grape varieties such as Schiava, Traminer Aromatico and, above all, Pinot Grigio.

OUR ADVICE:
– Culture: St. Anne’s Chapel, de Kreutzenberg Palace (open for events)
– Wine: Zehnhof, Roverè della Luna Aichholz
– Gastronomy: Mito, Ferrari Chain