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Host city:
LEVICO TERME
Overview
Levico Terme, with 8112 inhabitants, strikes for the still unchanged character of a nineteenth-century city, which evokes the atmosphere of the belle époque, in which nobles from all over Europe came to recover from the labors of the court.
The combination of ancient and modern makes it an ideal center for different and very varied proposals and attractions.
Levico offers health, thermal and climatic well-being, sports and outdoor fun for its guests in hotels, lakeside campsites and apartments, as well as walks on the hills between castles and biotopes, or in the ancient historic center to discover the typical craftsmanship and Trentino Tyrolean cuisine.
The prestigious award of the coveted Blue Flag was reconfirmed at Lake Levico and its beaches, among the warmest stretches of water in southern Europe.
In this beautiful corner of Trentino there are countless opportunities to transform your holiday into a real “health bath” and regenerate the body and mind, finding harmony with yourself and the surrounding environment.
It is thanks to the mild climate, the healthy air you breathe, the proximity of the mountains and the presence of lakes, that here everything becomes easier and every activity more stimulating. There are many ways to relax: from walks in the woods, to paragliding flights to relaxing spa treatments.
The arsenical-ferruginous waters of the Terme di Levico and Vetriolo flow from springs located at 1,500 meters above sea level.
Waters unique in Italy and rare in Europe, which allow to resolve the states of asthenia or exhaustion caused by the stress typical of our age, allow the recovery of vital, physical and psychic energies.
The origins of stable settlements in the Levico area can be traced back to the Iron Age with findings on the Colle di San Biagio, even if a real organized settlement only occurs in Roman times, as evidenced by finds such as objects, coins and also a sarcophagus of the imperial age. The etymology of the name is still obscure, with some interpretations that make Levico derive from Celtic terms such as leoug, leak or lewa, which mean “term / border stone”, from the barbaric noble Letta, from which Levi vicus then contracted into Levicus, or from the Latin (praedium) Livicune (“Livio’s farm”, later popularized in Lievigo and Levego) or laevus vicus, meaning left village (to the left of the Brenta) or elevated village (on the slopes of Monte Fronte).
Food
Where uncontaminated nature and green pastures meet culture and a passion for healthy eating, the best mountain flavors come to our tables. From polenta with the famous Valsugana flour to the genuineness of the small fruits of Sant’Orsola to the excellent sausages and dairy products of the area, such as the typical mountain cheese.
Furthermore, in Valsugana-Lagorai there is the “Slow Food convivium” which aims to promote and safeguard the agri-food heritage of the area: here, good and healthy cuisine is a treasure handed down from generation to generation.
Points of Interest
Located on top of the homonymous hill overlooking Lake Levico, Forte Colle delle Benne is located about 2 km from the center of Levico Terme. Also called Forte di San Biagio, it was built by the Austro-Hungarians between 1880 and 1882.
Located on the hill overlooking the lake from the south side, it served as an observatory and deposit, given its position set back from the front. Dismantled of the iron structures in the early 1930s, struck off from the Military Property in 1931, it was sold for 3,000 Lire to the Municipality of Levico on 13.10.1933.
The church of San Biagio, located on the hill of the same name, boasts a view of Lake Levico. Located just 20 minutes walk from the center, it is one of the most popular destinations during the relaxing period in Levico Terme.The construction of the Belvedere Tower dates back to the first half of the 19th century by the then mayor Emilio degli Avancini, of a noble Levicense family. The tower has an octagonal plan, 18 meters high, equipped with an external spiral stone staircase embedded in the masonry on which various decorative motifs can be seen.
The tower, located in Viale Roma, dominates the entire town of Levico and the view is nothing short of breathtaking.
SPA
For over 150 years the Terme di Levico have been a source of health and well-being. The properties of the sulphate-arsenical-ferruginous water unique in Italy are the basis of the treatments that you can find at the Terme di Levico – baths, muds, inhalation treatments – and which can help you naturally modulate your immune system and prevent problems. to the respiratory tract, skin and joints.
The properties of this water are now also at the center of paths that the medical staff of the Terme di Levico have devised by combining the properties of the Acqua Forte di Levico, mind-body practices, and activities in the nature of Levico and Valsugana.
Paths developed and certified by a medical team around some specific needs to help you feel good: stress management, breathing and well-being, movement and health.
LAVARONE
Touristic Information
What immediately strikes about Lavarone and the whole Alpe Cimbra is the landscape, pleasantly anomalous compared to the Trentino Mountain imaginary: large openings and boundless horizons, between expanses of woods, huts immersed in a panorama with Scandinavian features, and the Becco di Filadonna, the mountain emblem of the place, as a constant background. The symbols of Lavarone are: its lake, Blue Flag for years, and the Fortress of the First World War Belvedere/Gschwent, now a museum. And the Drago Vaia, a work of land art of international interest.
The small villages scattered throughout the Alpe Cimbra of Folgaria, Lavarone, Lusérn and Vigolana have been able to resist modernity, maintaining the conformation of mountain farms, keeping the secret of the ancient arts, crafts and flavours of the Cimbrian tradition, to be discovered in chic restaurants, romantic agritourism or mountain huts. Skiing and snowboarding, hiking and mountain biking, climbing and horseback riding, golfing and relaxation and then art and culture. A territory that offers many holiday ideas, good food and traditions. Alpe Cimbra is an area of exciting beauty, for its authentic nature, the traditions and people who populate it.
Gastronomy
The products of Alpe Cimbra are genuine and km 0, results of the traditions and work of the local producers. In the land of the mountain huts and the fresh milk – the white gold of Alpe Cimbra, the meat produced according to ancient dictates, honey and honeydew, vegetables grown according to old traditions, cakes and organic fruits, the secrets of the mountain relive. The farmers from Alpe Cimbra transfer their passion for the land and respect for nature to the art of cultivation. Our excellences space among different products: the Vézzena cheese, the speck from 1898, the goat cheese, the strudel, the berries and the and chestnuts of Vigolana, the honey, the leek from Nosellari and also the rainbow eggs! But the real main characters of Alpe Cimbra are the farmers. Thanks to their hard work and knowledge, they dedicate their lives to the sustainability and the safeguard of the Alpine ecosystem paying attention to mountain farming and agriculture technics. It is difficult to resist the temptations when they are genuine! Besides friendship and good company, what counts is the taste that only traditional products offer.
Beverages
Even in the glasses you can taste the authentic scent of Alpe Cimbra. From grappa to beer, from juices to fruit infusions, the authenticity of our mountain is also to drink! The numerous local productions are specialized in picking berries. The fruits are processed as in the old times to preserve the taste and quality. Our farmers employ ancient techniques to obtain natural apple and pear juices.
In addition to juices, we have other local excellences including beer, wine, grappa and rum. The Barbaforte brewery, in Folgaria, has been awarded several prizes. It produces a beer full of complex aromas by using top quality products, by carefully choosing the water, never filtering, never pasteurizing and just adding hops.
The Distilleria Bailoni (Distillery Bailoni) was established in 1953 in Altopiano della Vigolana by three brothers. Thanks to the love for their land, they take care of the growing and the harvest of prestigious grapes and produce a grappa rich in aroma and lightness. From the beginning, the Bailoni brothers have chosen natural and traditional techniques based on grape marc processing with bain-marie discontinuous method in copper alembic stills. Not only grappa is produced in Vigolana, but also sparkling wine and the Rumtopf: a liqueur prepared with rum, fruits and sugar.
Main sights
Lake Lavarone, one of the oldest lakes in the Alps, is located at 1,079 meters above sea level and has an area of 64,000 m², with a maximum depth of 17 meters. Very popular as a place for bathing and relaxation, it has been awarded the important Blue Flag for the purity of its waters for years.
Loved by Sigmund Freud – father of psychoanalysis, the walk around the lake is very suggestive, and also one of the “open routes” of Alpe Cimbra, accessible to people in wheelchairs.
The Great Sentinels of the Empire: the seven fortresses built by the Austro-Hungarians between 1908 and 1914 in view of the conflict with Italy on the territories of Folgaria (Forts Cherle, Sommo Alto and Dosso delle Somme), Lavarone (Fort Belvedere Gschwent) and Lusérn-Vezzena (Forts Cima Vezzena, Busa Verle and Lusérn). Among all, the Forte Belvedere/Gschwent in Lavarone stands out for its magnificence, built on a spur of rock overlooking the Astico Valley. Today it is a museum with exhibits and multimedia-interactive installations that give voice to the memories of the soldiers who lived and fought here. The fortresses, destinations for excursions and mountain bike tours, are included in thematic itineraries focused on the Great War.
Time seems to have stopped in Lusérn, listed among the Borghi più Belli d’Italia (Most Beautiful Villages in Italy), a small mountain village of houses leaning against each other, with sharp roofs and stone facades, defined as “the last Cimbrian island”. Its inhabitants are the last keepers of Cimbrian, an ancient language of German origin spoken by the populations from lower Bavaria, who settled in the Trentino-Veneto area between the 10th and 13th Centuries. Cimbrian language, customs and traditions are protected and valued by the Cimbrian Cultural Institute and the Lusérn Documentation Center. The Haus von Prükk house-museum is an important point of interests. The house is a typical 19th-Century Cimbrian farmhouse, faithfully restored to show visitors the rooms (the kitchen, the bedrooms, the stable) with their original features.
Base Tuono is a museum located at the Alpe di Folgaria/Coe, dedicated to the Cold War. It is one of the three missile launch sections of the former NATO Base of Passo Coe-Monte Toraro, active from 1966 to 1977. Base Tuono is the most important museum in Europe.
Guardia looks like a village out of time. Its Cimbrian name comes from the guard post that depended on the Beseno castle located nearby. However, its peculiarity is the decoration with artistic murals of exceptional value. For this reason, Guardia is known as the painted town. Life in the fields and pastures, scenes of family life, religious festivals and moments of peasant joy are among the main subjects of these works of art, generally of a naive style.
Vigolana and its plateau is a large garden behind Trento, a place where it is still possible to discover ancient villages with stone portals, balconies full of geraniums, gardens cultivated with the love and knowledge of the past. The Becco di Filadonna, 2,150 m a.s.l., is reachable from several sides. It is one of the most demanding peaks of the Vigolana group. The enchanting landscape with large meadows and woods have remained unchanged over time: a natural balcony from which to admire Alpine views, valleys and the lakes of Levico and Caldonazzo.
