C‘it’s a magical place in Trentino that only professional luthiers know: it is the violin forest of Paneveggio. Here Antonio Stradivari came to choose spruce trees for his violins. To make a good violin you need resonance fir trees and only here are the “best” ones found. This enchanted place is in Val di Fiemme.
Precisely in the area where, six years ago, from 26 to 30 October 2018, storm Vaia damaged 20 thousand hectares of forest and caused damage to over 4 million cubic meters of wood. To date, 79 percent of the destroyed forest heritage has been collected and recovered, but 450 thousand cubic meters of forestry will not be recoverable.
The forest of violins in Val di Fiemme
The Violin Forest has a history that dates back centuries. It has been known by luthiers since 1600. It can be reached from the Paneveggio Visitor Centernot far from Lake Forte Buso, with state road 50 which goes from Predazzo to Passo Rolle.
A mix of qualities makes this area so special: it seems that the spruces have particular qualities due to slow growth, exposure to the sun and the right mix of humidity and heat which, in fact, makes the wood capable of propagating and amplifying in the sound is exceptional.
Every year, in homage to the wood of the instruments, some of the greatest contemporary violinists have played over the years, including Salvatore Accardo, Uto Ughi, the Solisti Veneti and the cellist Mario Brunello. And every year the Magnificent community of Fiemme dedicates a fir tree in a ceremony to a musician who contributed to making wood known with the sound of his instrument.
The art of violin making among the spruce trees
Walking in this forest you feel a very strong energy pervade those who pass through it. The vegetation is thick and the scent irresistible because, if spruces make up almost 90 percent of the trees in the forest, the undergrowth is made up of a carpet of black and red blueberries. From the valley then come the scents of larch and stone pine.
You could lie down under the tree chosen by Uto Ughi, or have lunch in the shade of the one chosen by Giovanni Sollima.
What is interesting to know is that the trees chosen must be at least 150 years old and the external part of the trunk is used. THEThe cut takes place during the last full moons of the year – between October and November – because, in popular tradition, it affects the sap inside.
The luthier, however, must “interpret” the wood and understand it. It seems like a cruel “tradition”, but the “group” of fir trees always survives, say the forestry experts. The best ones can be recognized by their very thin growth rings and limited presence of nodes.
Today the violin forest is protected for maintenance by the state parks and forests service of the autonomous province of Trento, while the phases of wood transformation and sale of the product are delegated to the state-owned sawmill of Caoria.
Dolomites Well-Being Summit 2023
There Val Of Fiemme in recent months hosted the third edition “Dolomites Well-Being Summit 2023”, event that promotes psychophysical well-being as a style Of life within the seventh edition of the World Wellness Weekend 2023,.
Three days at the foot of the Dolomites Of events, talks and experiences.
In particular, the territory not only represents one of the cornerstones of the mountain economy, but corresponds to the fulcrum of the identity system and valorial of the entire community.
For this reason, the theme chosen for this new edition was the forest, the true beating heart of the Valthe.
The territory fiemmeif it is a gigantic green lung, where the woodland heritage administered since 1111 by the local Rules of the Magnificent Community Of Fiemme today it numbers 60 million Of trees.
Violin Forest Val di Fiemme
The forest and its excellent product, wood, are the common thread that connects and brings together the validentity golds Of numerous local companies, now known internationally. Starpool, a world leading company in the world of wellness, has its roots here; La Sportiva, another company that has conquered a role Of foreground in footwear and outdoor clothing, in particular climbing and mountaineering;
Pastificio Felicetti, food excellence that has been able to meet the requests of the most demanding consumers and catering professionals; And Fiemme Tremila, a company that has been producing wooden floors and furniture for 30 years, according to rigorous criteria based on biocompatibility and healthiness.
The Foundation was born in 2021 Fiemme PER, a reality that starts from an initiative Of private and collective entities that have their headquarters and activities in Val Of Fiemme. Objective: Ofdiscuss and collaborate with public institutions, universities, schools and institutes Of research, in the end Of reinforce a logic Of system Of vast area, thanks to the sharing of knowledge with other entities that work on an entrepreneurial level Of community, with particular reference to Ofalpine dimension and more generally of mountains.
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