Two Names, One Land: A Visit to Alto Adige
Autumn is the perfect time to visit the beautiful mountain region of Alto Adige or Suedtirol and to see and experience a different Italy. This stunningly beautiful land was lost from Austria and became part of Italy in 1919 after WW I. Still 90 years later German is widely and proudly spoken, the schools are bilingual, just as all road signs are.
Bozen is Bolzano, Brixen is Bressanone, yet more difference we can find in signs like Sterzing, which is Vipiteno!
This southern part of the Alps is known as the Dolomites and loved by many, especially mountain hikers and snow sport fans all year round. We just went for a drive through South Tyrol to admire the leaves turning fall colors on the trees and in the vineyards, making this castle and fortress studden landscape even prettier.
My favorite views are actually the apple orchards and the happy, fat, black and white cows lounging around on the meadows.
Don’t miss the sight in the early morning or just before dusk of a couple of farmers on mountain bikes herding their many cattle out to graze or back to the stables for milking.
There is an air of tradition and folklore in those mountains; many farmers wear their folklorist garments-Dirndl for the ladies and Lederhosen for the gents-to festive occasions, village fairs, weddings and to Sunday church.
The legend of the dwarf king Laurin who cursed his rose garden, actually a mountain called Rosengarten, is told over and over again. He wanted his Rosengarten to become invisible by day and by night, but forgot dawn and dusk. These are the times of day when we can feel the magic; the rocks are glowing red, for all to see.
There is an old tradition of hospitality in this region and the food is excellent; trout, game, cheeses, speck, and the white wines are famous for their high standard. Yet this land is not stuck in the past, it has a modern, green-minded outlook on the future, leaning in this mentality more towards Northern Europe than towards slow changing Italy.
Alto Adige is the one of the most active regions in the use of solar power and other sources of renewable energy in the whole of Italy. On many of the Tyrolean houses, with their wood paneling and balconies full of geraniums, we see solar panels on the roofs.
To sum it all up, whether you choose a visit to the bigger towns like Bolzano or Merano or go for a nature holiday in some of the smaller, mostly family-run mountain inns, it’s hard to leave Alto Adige without a feeling of total delight.
–Sibylla Vogel