Segonzano, Asiago, Valsugana

Mountains in Trentino

Visiting Lucia and Marta in Segonzano was easily one of my favorite adventures this year. Away from the hustle and bustle of the cities, one can breathe deep and enjoy the majesty of the mountains and forests of Northern Italy. For background info about Segonzano and Lucia, written last year on my first visit to Trentino, click on this link:

2010/10/segonzano

After getting settled at the Environmental Center where they live, we drove to a nearby spot for a stroll around the lake, followed by pizza.

Lucia and Marta awaiting our pizzas

The next day, Lucia took us up to Parco Naturale, Paneveggio di San Martino for an afternoon of hiking. When I look at the photos of that day, I long to return to witness more of the mountain beauty.

Parco Naturale, Paneveggio di San Martino

The Dolomites in the background

We hiked for several hours up to a spot where we stopped for a picnic lunch. We could hear the music of cowbells below us, as a herd of cattle grazed upon the mountain grasses. After lunch, we found ourselves amidst a herd of sheep grazing near our picnic spot.

Lucia amidst the sheep

After our hike we visited the Paneveggio di San Martino, where there is a forest famous for its spruce trees, used to make violins and other wood instruments. Their website, parcopan. org explains:

The forest is a big area (2700 hectares) in the northern section of the Park covered by woods of spruce firs. These well-structured and ecologically complex conifer woods with very high trees (over 40 metres) and with such an extension are rare in Europe. However, this forest is also well-known all over Europe for another reason, and famous violin makers come and visit it: since its trees (the so-called "abeti di risonanza", or resonance firs) are particularly suitable for the production of violins which assume a particular resonance, this forest is called "La Foresta dei Violini" (The Forest of Violins).

The next day, Luciano joined us for a drive to the Altopiano (a mountain plateau area) in the Veneto region. It was a misty, cloudy day, and we were chased by thunderstorms throughout our journey. We stopped in the city of Asiago, famous for its cheese and nearby ski slopes. Although probably best known internationally for its cheese, Asiago was also the site of a major battle between Austrian and Italian forces in World War I. While there, we visited the Asiago Military Memorial, which contains the remains of 60,000 Italian and Austrian soldiers.

From the photo below you can see the definite Austrian influence on the architecture of this region. The wide clean streets and tall church spires provide a distinct contrast to other regions of Italy.

AsiagoAsiago street scene

We had a wonderful afternoon driving through various mountain and valley towns, then stopped in Borgo Valsugana, a picturesque village, for gelato.

Borgo Valsugana

Luciano, Lucia and Marta

During my stay in Segonzano, one of Lucia and Marta's fondest wishes was to make a cheesecake, a dessert they enjoyed last year on their first visit to the United States. So we assembled a reasonable facsimile of ingredients. Though cream cheese is easy enough to find in Italy, graham crackers for the crust are not, so we used crushed digestive biscuits instead, which worked out fine. In fact, our efforts were a huge success, and the resulting cheesecake tasted as good as any I've had in the States.

Cheesecake Italian style!

My stay in Segonzano with Lucia and Marta was all too short: they are delightful company and it was refreshing and invigorating to be in the midst of mountains and forests. I can't wait to go back for another vistit!

Segonzano

Here's a view of the Val di Cembra, the area in Trentino-Alto Adige where Segonzano is located. Segonzano is actually composed of fifteen villages. My friend Lucia manages an environmental center located in a vast forest, where school children come to learn about nature and the environment. I met Lucia last year through a language exchange site and we usually meet on Skype to talk for an hour once a week . She invited me to visit her, and I stayed in Segonzano for four days this week. In a region that is often cloudy, we were blessed with sunny skies throughout my stay.

The environmental center amidst the forest.

The children come with their teachers for day trips, they may stay overnight to explore the forest at night, or during the summer they might stay for a week or two of summer camp. There are 55-beds, 4-5 to a room, to accommodate them during their stay. Lucia and her daughter Marta live on site and take care of many duties at the center. They were wonderful hosts during my stay and we had a great time exploring the area together. Marta is a skilled guide in the forest: she's a born naturalist with a strong love for animals, and dotes on her pet pig, Pepsi.

Marta and Lucia with a porcini mushroom.

We went on many walks in the nearby forest, where some trees had started changing colors.

The trees here are mostly pine, beech and larch.

Mountains were always in the distance, providing a vivid contrast to the many cultivated fields of grapes, apples and strawberries in the valley.

Another major industry in the area is the mining of porfido (porphyry) that is used in building and road construction. Porfido is a volcanic rock quarried from the nearby mountains. Many homes in the area resemble Swiss chalets, with colorful displays of flowers hanging from windows and balconies.

One of the more unusual places we visited were the piramidi di terra or earth pyramids that were created by erosion.

On several mornings, Lucia and I visited some of the Segonzano villages while running errands, and one morning we went to Trento.

A fresco on Palazzo Alberti-Cotico in Trento.

After being in the city for a few hours, I was eager to return to the peaceful forest setting. I enjoyed my stay with Lucia and Marta and am very grateful for their kindness and generosity in hosting me in their home, sharing their lives and showing me the wonders of their region. As I was leaving, Marta gave me a special memento, a small boat she had carved that day out of larch bark, along with my initials on the side of the boat. Che dolcezza! How sweet! I will miss these dear friends! Grazie mille, carissimi!

Lucia and I at the train station in Trento.

For more photos, click here: Segonzano#

Trentino-Alto Adige

I'm in the mountains....quite a change from Tuscany. In every direction there are terraced green hills covered with vineyards and apple orchards, more than I have seen anywhere else in Italy, or the U.S. Every available space has an intricate web of vines; it is mind-boggling to consider how the vendemmia (grape harvest) is possible, considering it is done by hand.

German is common here, and the houses remind me of mountain chalets, with bright flowers trailing from window boxes on every level. Everything seems orderly, clean, and new. It's odd to see German words beside the Italian counterpart on every sign or business. Are we still in Italy? I have a lot to learn about this part of the country.

At night the temperature here in Segonzano falls to 4 degrees centigrade, but I'm warm and cozy in my room at the environmental center where my friend Lucia lives, smack in the middle of a forest. During the day, it's been sunny, but cool. We have spent many hours hiking through the woods, looking for mushrooms, and enjoying the fall beauty that surrounds us. Marta, at 11, is already accomplished at distinguishing the edible funghi and porcini (mushrooms) from the poisonous ones. As you might imagine, being out amidst the trees is more interesting to me right now than writing about it, so I'll continue the story when I return to Firenze.