Foliage train and itineraries throughout Italy

Trentino, foliage between art and nature

You go without fail in Val di FiemmAnd. The territory condenses the best of Trentino: nature, culture, art, excellent food and wine. About three kilometers from Cavalese in the locality of Pra da Ronco, above the inhabited area of ​​Daiano opens the Bosco dei Silenzienzi, a ring circuit (5.3 kilometers long) born last year and completed this year. Surrounded by spruces, black pines, and larch trees dyed yellow in autumn, it was designed by the artist Sergio Camin (sergiocamin.it) who made it a permanent installation: along the path 10 listening places have been created characterized by three cubic seats in larch (one is painted red) that I am an invitation to stop, relax, and listen in silence to the sounds of the forest.

The route is part of the larger “Ville di Fiemme – One step at a time” project consisting of five other paths in nature, each marked by a different color. They are elongated between the villages of Carano, Varena and Daiano. Nature and contemporary art also come together at RespirArt (respirart.com) in Pampeago. It is an open-air art park between 2,000 and 2,200 meters above sea level, making it one of the highest in the world. Designed by the journalist Beatrice Calamari and the sculptor Marco Nones (marconones.wordpress.com) consists of 36 modern art installations by international artists who draw a three-kilometer route with the Latemar scenery in the foreground. Magnificent.

Moving into the Paneveggio Pale di San Martino Parkit is a delight to walk in surroundings of Bellamonte or in the Sentiero Marcio (5 kilometers long) immersed in a dense forest of 2,700 hectares bordered by the Travignolo stream, characterized at the beginning by a covered wooden bridge and towards the end by another suspended over the river that gives adrenaline-filled emotions. Returning to Cavalese, don’t miss a visit to the art gallery of Palace of the Magnificent Community of Cavalese institution that since 1100 has been managing the woodland, mountain huts, pastures and waterways of the Val di Fiemme.

Foliage in Veneto, all colors from the world

A colorful tour of the planet takes place while strolling through the award-winning Sigurtà Garden Park (sigurta.it)near Valeggio sul Mincio in the province of Verona. Open until 13 November and included in the “Grandi Giardini Italiani” network and from 2020 in the “Garden Route Italy“, In autumn she dresses up with the warm shades of the foliage… international. To capture photos and selfies, in fact, are the reds of Japanese maples, present in over 500 specimens; the gold of the gigantic ginkgo biloba originating in China; the oranges of the tulip trees from the east coast of the United States of America; the yellow-red nuances of the berries of pyracantha (widespread from Asia Minor to the Mediterranean) or of the cotoneaster which is even found in the Himalayan region. In short, you have to lose your bearings in this splendid six-hectare park, where 18 stretches of water and an intriguing green labyrinth stand out among avenues, flower beds, lawns and monumental plants.

Leaving the Sigurtà, about two kilometers away here is another gem: Borghetto sul Mincio, rightfully included in the circuit of the “Most Beautiful Villages in Italy”. IS a pedestrian micro village reflected in the river which seems to come out of a romantic watercolor. Made up of a handful of medieval houses, ancient water mills and characteristic alleys, it boasts the fortified Ponte Visconteo built in the fourteenth century by Gian Galeazzo Visconti and the remains of the Scaligero Castle perched on a hill. In these parts, moreover, the Peschiera-Mantua cycle path runs along the banks of the Mincio of about 44 kilometers that offers suggestive glimpses of nature, to be conquered pedal after pedal. The walks are also not to be missed on the nearby morainic hills and the forays on the shores of Lake Garda, in Sirmione and Desenzanoabout 25 kilometers from the Sigurtà park.

Little train of foliage in Piedmont

In Val d’Ossola until 6 November the Treno del Foliage of the Vigezzina-Centovalli railway (vigezzinacentocaalli.com) which covers the 52-kilometer route from Domodossola to the Swiss Locarno, considered by Lonely Planet among the 10 most spectacular in Europe. With the special ticket (purchased online, from 33 euros round trip), you have the opportunity to make an intermediate stop of your choice in one of the locations touched by the route, which lasts less than two hours each way. On board the vintage trains of the railway – which will celebrate 100 years of activity next year – parade spectacular landscapes to be admired through the large panoramic windows of the carriages.

Waterfalls, woods, deep gorges, mountains, small villages and valleys, are the frame above all in the Vigezzo Valley, known not by chance as the “Valley of the Painters”, where Santa Maria Maggiore, the most important locality in the area, is worth a visit. Among cobbled streets and houses with caramel nuances, there are also two unusual museums: the “Casa del Profumo Feminis-Farina“Multisensory path that tells the story of the legendary Eau de Cologne created by the ingenuity of two emigrants from Vigezzo to Germany, and the” Chimney Sweep Museum “(museospazzacamino.it) in which the history of this work in the Vigezzo Valley is deepened.
In Domodossola, however, the intimate historic center is a surprise squeezed between alleys, squares and ancient buildings, such as Palazzo San Francesco, seat of the Civic Museums which houses the exhibition In the sign of women. Between Boldini, Sironi and Picasso, open until 11 December (visitossola.it).

Abruzzo, walking in a sacred forest

The Bosco di Sant’Antonio in the Maiella Park, about nine kilometers from Pescocostanzo, in the province of L’Aquila. Here, we immerse ourselves in a fairy-tale environment made up of monumental beech trees with an unusual “candelabra” shape generated by the particular pruning called pollarding. A suggestion also amplified by history: in Roman times, in fact, it was considered a lucus (a sacred place) dedicated to Jupiter, while in the Middle Ages it was consecrated to Sant’Antonio. Today, the 550-hectare wood is rich in maples, oaks, turkey oaks, yews and the rare cordate pear tree, colors to be discovered through various paths, such as the one that reaches the hermitage of Sant’Antonio.

Staying inside the Maiella Park (parcomajella.it), refuge of various wildlife species such as white-backed woodpeckers, wild cats, wolves and bears, you can quickly reach interesting places to visit, both for the historical traces and for the panoramic views they offer. I am an example of this Pescocostanzo, in the circuit of the “Most Beautiful Villages of Italy”, custodian of the Collegiate Church of Santa Maria del Colle which, rebuilt in 1466 after the earthquake of 1456, is considered one of the most interesting churches in the region; Campo di Giove, a perched village with a medieval imprint; Cansano fortified village that boasts of having the archaeological site of Ocriticum, an ancient Roman village, just a few kilometers away. Info: abruzzoturismo.it Umbria, sceneries of land and water Small, green, rich in history, Umbria is a region of infinite charm, enhanced even more in the period of foliage. Precisely this season Boscolo Viaggi has created a guided tour, between cities of art and green landscapes. Like Lake Trasimeno, with bucolic scenery among acacias, pines, junipers, olive trees and oaks lit by autumn reds. Then, the atmospheres of yesteryear countries, such as Castiglione del Lago inserted in the circuit of “The Most Beautiful Villages of Italy”. In the historic center surrounded by walls, two jewels stand out: the Rocca del Leone, characterized by the triangular tower about 30 meters high, and Palazzo della Corgna (1560) with the rooms frescoed by Nicolò Circignani – called Il Pomarancio – and by Salvio Savini.

The tour stops in Gubbio which alone is worth the trip. Enclosed in an intact historic center (and on two levels), it amazes the eye with the huge Piazza Grande on which stands the fourteenth-century Palazzo dei Consoli, with its unmistakable crenellated silhouette, home to the Civic Museum, guardian of the seven Eugubine Tables. In a continuous ups and downs through the alleys, you can also admire the Duomo, the Renaissance Palazzo Ducale, the Fontana dei Matti. And speaking of fountains, the one in Perugia is splendid: the monumental Fontana Maggiore. The tour continues in Assisi, Spello and Spoleto. Wonderful towns surrounded by natural sceneries that capture and enchant the gaze. Beautiful.

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