Italy — Dolomiti Superski — San Martino di Castrozza / Rolle Pass

In San Martino di Castrozza you feel like you can touch the mountains with a finger, and nature perfectly blends with the small alpine centre, for a holiday up high (1450 meters above sea level) with all the comforts and conveniences of a mountain summer and winter capital. The crown of a mountains counts Cimon della Pala, Rosetta, Cusiglio, Pala di San Martino, Cime di Val di Roda, Sass Maor, Madonna; to the south, you can gaze on the Vette Feltrine chain and, if you take a full turn, the Lagorai offers Alpe Tognola and the Colbricon and Cavallazza peaks. Visitors do not have to worry about travelling log distance and ski lifts are easily reachable on foot. 

Passo Rolle, 1980 metres above sea level, connects San Martino di Castrozza with the other valleys in the Dolomites. This mountain pass is home to a small cluster of houses with a few hotels, restaurants, bars and shops at the foot of the magnificent amphitheatre of the Pale di San Martino, the south-western door to the Dolomites, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The area, dominated by the unmistakable outline of Cimon della Pala (3.186 m), is an excellent starting point to set off on walks, hikes and mountain bike outings. 

Between 700 and 1000 metres above sea level, the Vanoi area keeps the charm of the most authentic and unspoilt mountain landscapes, marked by large woods, meadows, lakes, torrents and small mountain villages. It is linked to the Primiero valley with a convenient tunnel or a panoramic road leading up to Passo Gobbera. The valley has an area of 125 sq.km and has about 1600 inhabitants. The valley’s administrative centre is Canal San Bovo but there are also numerous other localities to discover: Prade, Cicona, Zortea, Passo Gobbera, Ronco and Caoria. 

At 670 metres above sea level, Imèr has about 1200 inhabitants and was a borderland between the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Kingdom of Italy until the end of the First World War. Every year, Imèr is host to the Festa del Canederlo, a food fair that celebrates this typical Trentino dumpling presenting it in all its different versions. Among the historic buildings worth visiting, there is the small church of San Silvestro, dating from the thirteenth century and visited by pilgrims on 31 December and 1 May every year.

At 640 metres above sea level, Mezzano has about 1600 inhabitants and is listed as one of the «Borghi più belli d’Italia» (Most Beautiful Villages in Italy). The village is marked by its rural feel, which has remained unchanged over time, by the mostly religious inscriptions and numerous paintings that can be observed on the house façades throughout the village and by the countless vegetable gardens, about 400, that represent the green heart of Mezzano. Enchanting attractions can be visited not far from Mezzano, such as the small church of San Giovanni, located at 1175 metres altitude near Prati Lièndri, accessible with a one-hour walk up the tarmac road that sets off from the town centre.

At 765 metres above sea level, Siror and its hamlets of Nolesca, San Martino di Castrozza and Passo Rolle, is the northernmost municipality of the Valle di Primiero and is home to about 1200 inhabitants. Large polygonal stone fountains and rural frescoes decorating the façades mark its town centre hosting the renowned and picturesque Christmas Market every year. The magnificent views and natural hospitality of its inhabitants compare Siror to Schönberg, the small gem of a town in Stubaital with which it is twinned. Among the historic buildings worth visiting, there is the parish church of Sant’Andrea, built in the XIV century and restored in 1720, and the old Town Hall with sixteenth-century frescoes.

At 760 metres above sea level, the town of Tonadico has about 1500 inhabitants and is considered the oldest town in the Primiero valley. Nestled at the foot of the Castel Pietra ruins, this hamlet used to be the administrative centre of the valley. The town is known for the frescoed sacred images and mural paintings adorning the façades of the houses and dating from different periods. Among the numerous historic buildings worth visiting, there are the small Church of San Vittore, built in the XI century on a hill overlooking Tonadico, and Palazzo Scopoli, built around 1000 AC and housing the Town Hall after its refurbishment in 2003.

At 746 metres above sea level, Transacqua, with its nearly 2100 inhabitants, is the largest town in the Primiero area. The town and its two hamlets of Pieve and Ormanico enjoy a beautiful panoramic view over the surrounding mountains. Among its many important features, its carefully tended green spaces and pleasant and well-designed town centre have earned Transacqua the international «Comune Fiorito» (Town in Bloom) award. In the 15th century, Transacqua was an important mining centre with about 500 mining shafts producing silver, copper and silver-bearing lead.