I spent days and days dreaming of unspoiled nature, watching the sunsets follow from my window and the sky tinged with beautiful colors.
I dreamed immense expanses of greenery, the mountains acting as sentinels and really breathing.
When the opportunity arose to experience Trentino during summer, thanks to the local tourism agency, I was immediately enthusiastic.
I had been there as a child and had memories of painted landscapes that brought to mind the illustrations of the fairy tales that my parents read to me before going to sleep.
On a fiery morning in mid-August we find ourselves catapulted to the station in Rome waiting for a train that would take us to Trento with about 4.30.
We meet Giulio to welcome us and we immediately understand that it will be an experience to remember for a journey made of relationships and connections that are now more precious and rare than ever.
In just over half an hour we reach Valsugana, a valley in south-eastern Trentino.
True corner of paradise where the lakes draw beautiful scenery and the Lagorai mountain range rises solemnly.
Michele is waiting for us at the Hotel Sorriso. A welcome worthy of the name it bears.
We hear the voices of the guys who crowd the beach in front of the hotel, as if it were an Italian Riviera summer.
We are on Lake Levico, a natural basin divided only by a small promontory from the nearby Lake Caldonazzo.
Both these evocative bodies of water are suitable for swimming and we feel at first in a holiday dimension that smells of well-being.
In fact, thermal water also flows here and so we immediately opt for a trip to the hotel spa for a bit of relaxation.
A summer drizzle arrives but the climate is mild and the outdoor whirlpool overlooking the lake with expanses of green behind it is the perfection of moments that remain impressed over time.
The next morning there is a splendid sun to give us a good morning and the first stop is Pergine Castle.
From a height of 657 meters it dominates the Valsugana and stands with the majesty of its medieval origins.
It is a place where it becomes tangible to perceive the personalities who have followed one another over the years.
To date it is the only castle in Trentino where it is possible to stay (opening soon).
We visit it with Michele and Cristina who tells us about an ancient white lady who protects the castle as a positive presence.
They say that you sleep well here. A bulwark where you can unplug, admire the works of contemporary art installed inside and breathe the atmosphere of the past.
In the afternoon, one of the activities I most wanted to try is waiting for us: a sailing trip on the lake.
I admit that those at sea had given me a lot of stomach turners, instead on the waters of Lake Caldonazzo I seemed to float on the emerald water.
There are many activities that can be carried out and are often integrated into the training courses for children.
There is also a bau beach (for dogs) where you can spend time with your 4-legged friends admiring the shores of a peaceful lake not taken by storm by mass tourism.
With the eyes still full of blue and green, the aperitif time has come, I didn’t imagine it would have been so special.
Not many people know that the Valsugana area was full of many vineyards to diminish from the mountain to the lake.
Now there is only one left, historical and full of beautiful anecdotes to tell.
Cantina Romanese is the project of two brothers, Giorgio and Andrea, who have decided to carry on the family tradition; they preserved the ancient spirit and added all the love and passion of their modern era.
They illustrate the labels of their vineyards: Gabriella, Narciso, Laetitia, Fides are the names of their descendants.
But there is even more, just to reaffirm the link with the territory, the love for good wine and the desire to requalify viticulture in Valsugana.
Lagorai was born with this in mind, takes its name from the mountain range in the area and is a TRENTODOC sparkling wine with a truly incredible history; it is refined in the depths of Lake Levico, a very rare aging practice, true excellence worldwide.
We taste it and we are enchanted by the vineyards framed by the mountains and an environment that smells of perfection.
If you are in the area, a tasting here is a must, we would never have wanted to leave. Listening to Giorgio and Andrea was a real inspiration.
For dinner we return to the “long lake” of Levico ready for a super romantic experience: a candlelit dinner for two on the pier of the La Taverna restaurant (Parc Hotel Du Lac).
I recommend you to taste the typical local products: cold cuts and cheeses, lake fish … but in reality I pleasantly discovered that even the sea dishes are super!
We see the sky go out in preparation for the night, the lake waters change color and the sounds of nature act as the soundtrack to our super romantic dinner. A pier all to ourselves.
The next day we have the opportunity to discover the wildest and most unspoiled side of the lake. Among the luxuriant nature, small ravines and natural beaches are created where you can have all the privacy of the world and enjoy a day between one dive and another.
Arte Sella is one of the most photographed and visited places in Trentino, but it is not only this.
Do you know those unique places in the world where you can fill your eyes and heart with wonder?
Here, this is Arte Sella, the mountain of contemporary art.
Honestly, I was a little skeptical at first because I could not imagine a natural context to combine with contemporary art.
Instead, the experiment was so successful that it became a great success.
The works, made up mostly of natural materials, are in dialogue with nature and want to be a real creative process: every day they evolve and take on a different connotation (based on the seasons, the change of materials, etc.).
Each artist has expressed his respect for nature with a symbol: it is the memory of the individual and for this reason it must be preserved.
My favorite work is the Vegetal Cathedral, created in 2001 with 80 vegetable columns (by Carpino) to create a real natural construction.
Here you can breathe art, you can breathe nature.
Time in Valsugana is coming to an end but not before honoring this beautiful meeting with a last dinner in the company of our guardian angel Michele from the Valsugana APT.
We go into the woods overlooking Lake Caldonazzo and I am amazed at the flowers that spontaneously grow in nature like hydrangeas.
We arrive at VerdeCrudo, a farmhouse on Monte Rive, a nest of larch and chestnut trees in the heart of Valsugana.
Alice and Paolo are waiting for us, who have chosen to put down roots here and carry out a beautiful project.
In the place where the ancestors lived and where the berries grow spontaneously, they created a jewel that houses 3 bedrooms and a restaurant that expresses Alice’s love for cooking.
I let you dream with these shots and I sincerely thank this land and the people who reiterated what I was looking for: nature is our ancestral mother, we should never lose the connection and stop honoring it.
Next is the Comano area…
