Cavedine
Cavedine is a municipality in the Valle dei Laghi, in Trentino, about 23 kilometres from Trento along the road running from the pr...
Updated 21 July 2026
This season · July · Summer
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The story
The story of Cavedine
Cavedine in the Valle dei Laghi, between Lake Garda and Trento
Cavedine lies in the Valle dei Laghi, the valley that links Trento to the Lower Sarca and to Lake Garda, in an intermediate position that has always made it both a place of passage and a territory with its own distinct character. The municipality is about twenty-three kilometres from the Trentino capital and borders Cimone, Drena, Dro, Madruzzo, Trento and Villa Lagarina, within a mosaic of small municipalities that characterises this part of south-western Trentino. Locals nickname the town "la val del vent", after the Ora del Garda, the afternoon breeze that rises from the great lake along the Sarca valley and is felt here with regularity, softening the climate and keeping the air especially clear. The main settlement is split into two nuclei, Laguna on the valley floor and Musté on the terraced slopes, while around it rise the flanks of Monte Bondone, Monte Casale and the ridge climbing toward the Paganella, forming a well-defined mountain amphitheatre.
Lake Cavedine and the Marocche
The landscape heart of Cavedine is its lake, which occupies much of the valley floor at an altitude of 241 metres, with a surface area of about one square kilometre and a maximum depth exceeding fifty metres. Its waters, cold and clear even at the height of summer because of hydroelectric exploitation, feed the lakes of Toblino and Santa Massenza through the artificial Rimone channel, on their way to the Torbole power station. The lake was born in Roman times, in the 1st century AD, when an imposing landslide breaking away from Monte Brento and Monte Casale dammed the valley, creating at once the lake itself and the huge expanse of fallen boulders known as the Marocche, today largely included within the protected Marocche di Dro biotope, among the most extensive and emblematic rockfall phenomena in Europe. Among the boulders, sparse black pine and small pockets of water host fauna adapted to the arid environment, from lizards to snakes, while paths for walking and cycling run along the lake's eastern shore, much frequented also for windsurfing thanks to the steady wind.
Rock Climbing and the Outdoors
The limestone walls overlooking Lake Cavedine, set within the woods on the slope toward Drena, host a crag much appreciated by climbers: a vertical, in places slightly overhanging wall, with compact, sculpted rock that demands technique and finger strength more than pure endurance, with holds that are often small and routes that reward precise movement. The area belongs to the wider sport-climbing tradition of the Sarca Valley, one of the best-known climbing districts internationally, of which Cavedine represents a quieter, less crowded chapter compared with the crags of Arco. Beyond the rock, the municipal territory offers hiking trails climbing toward Monte Bondone and Monte Casale, with panoramic points over the Valle dei Laghi and the lake below, while the steadiness of the Ora del Garda also makes the lake's waters well suited to windsurfing and sailing, sports practised here since the valley first began attracting outdoor enthusiasts.
The Hamlets, Vineyards and Nature
The municipality of Cavedine is made up of several hamlets, each with its own character. Vigo Cavedine, the largest and southernmost, sits at 615 metres and has over a thousand residents; Stravino lies at 524 metres on the western slope of Monte Bondone; Brusino is barely a kilometre from the main town, while a small lakeside settlement has grown up along the shore of the lake. To the west the territory borders Madruzzo, the municipality created in 2016 from the merger of Lasino, Padergnone and Vezzano, which takes its name from the noble family that produced four prince-bishops of Trento between the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Cavedine's agricultural economy remains tied to the vine, with vineyards climbing the sunlit terraces alongside apple orchards, potatoes, strawberries and redcurrants, crops that coexist with broadleaf and conifer woods on the higher slopes, in a rural landscape still well preserved and little touched by mass tourism.
History and Experiences
Cavedine preserves some of the most significant archaeological evidence in the Valle dei Laghi, with traces of settlement dating back to prehistoric and Roman times, including a stretch of Roman road that can still be followed along a historical-naturalistic trail. The town grew up around an ancient parish church dating back at least to 1100, a religious and civic reference point for the whole valley in the Middle Ages. The historic centre gathers around Piazza Italia, considered one of the best preserved squares in the Valle dei Laghi, with tiled roofs, external stone staircases, loggias, and windows and portals decorated with eighteenth-century frescoes. Cavedine was the birthplace of Mariano Dallapè, inventor of the Trentino accordion, and of rally driver Renato Travaglia. Today the town offers visitors a mix of experiences ranging from a visit to the historic centre and the parish church, to days at the lake swimming or practising water sports, to hikes toward the Marocche and the climbing walls, in a journey that tells the story of geology, history and village life together.
Not to be missed
- Lake Cavedine, for windsurfing, sailing and trails along the eastern shore
- The Marocche di Dro, the imposing expanse of boulders that fell in Roman times
- The Cavedine crag, climbing on compact rock above the lake
- Piazza Italia in the historic centre, with eighteenth-century frescoes and rustic-noble houses
- The ancient parish church of Cavedine, dating to the 12th century, and the stretch of Roman road
To see
What to see in Cavedine
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Routes in Cavedine
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