Sarca River - Points of Interest

Because the Sarca River originates in the Dolomites region of the Italian Alps, there are several noteworthy points of interest as well as many nearby hiking trails with remarkable scenery and historical value.

UNESCO

In 2009, the Dolomites were inscribed on the prestigious Natural World Heritage List, thanks to the extraordinary beauty of the landscape and the outstanding geological importance they play in the history of the Earth. There are 9 Systems of the Dolomites scattered throughout Northern Italy.

Tione di Trento is nearest to the Brenta Dolomites, which make up the westernmost part of the Dolomite region, on the western border of the Province of Trento. This chain is a Dolomite island covering an area of 11,135 hectares bounded to the west by the Giudicarie valleys, to the east by Val di Non and to the north by Val di Sole.

The Brenta Dolomites are divided into two parts by the Bocca di Brenta pass. The northern part includes the Sfulmini chain and the Grostè massif, while the south boats the highest peak in the system Cima Tosa, 3,173m, and the Catena d’Ambiez chain. Among the other high peaks are Cima Brenta (3,150m) and Campanil Basso (2,883m), the latter a famous mountain that is still a magnet for mountaineering enthusiasts. Not just geography separates the Brenta Dolomites from the other Dolomite chains. The distinctive morphology of the majestic, towering Brenta peaks, the result of erosion carving them into jagged spires and lofty pinnacles of different sizes and shapes, stands in contrast to the more slender, fluid lines of the rest.

THE PARCO NATURALE ADAMELLO BRENTA (THE ADAMELLO BRENTA NATURE PARK)

The exceptional importance of the natural environment, landscape and geology of this Dolomite system is safeguarded by Il Parco Naturale Adamello Brenta, designated a protected area in 1988, covering an area of over 62,000 hectares. The parkland environment contains a wide range of plants typical of the Alpine chain and a rich variety of fauna. Alongside chamois, roe and other species of deer, ibex, foxes, badgers and martens, live rarer species such as eagles, bears, black grouse and capercaillie. The Adamello Brenta park has always been famous for its amazing variety of rocks, so much so that, in 2008, it became a geopark covering not only the whole of the existing natural parkland but also extending further into the land of the parkland municipalities (www.pnab.it).

In the valleys belonging to the Adamello Brenta park, a number of exhibition spaces, known as Case, meaning houses, are well worth a visit. La Casa della Fauna, part of the villa De Biasi in Daone, is dedicated to the wildlife living in the protected area. Casa Spormaggiore is dedicated to the bear. The unique features of the local waters and plant-life are on show at La Casa della Flora in Stenico (in the natural parkland Area Natura Rio Bianco). Val di Tovel is home to La Casa del Lago Rosso (house of the red lake) which describes the particular natural phenomenon that, until 1964, turned the waters of Lago di Tovel red. Finally, La Casa C’era una Volta (once upon a time house) in San Lorenzo in Banale houses an ethnographic museum telling the story of the mountainfolk and their traditional architecture

Approximately 90-minutes from Tione di Trento, and a part of the Parco Naturale Adamello Brenta, you will find the largest glacier in Italy, the Adamello glacier.

MONUMENTI E COLLEZIONI PROVINCIALI

The past life of the Brenta Dolomites is brought to life in the two imposing castles Castel Thun, in Vigo di Ton, and Castello di Stenico, both restored and open to the public. These two historic buildings are part of a network entitled Monumenti e Collezioni Provinciali, headed by Castello del Buonconsiglio, all of them housing other permanent and temporary exhibitions (www.buonconsiglio.it).