Grigno
Grigno is a municipality in the eastern Valsugana, in the province of Trento, the last stretch of Trentino territory before the bo...
Updated 18 July 2026
This season · July · Summer
What to do in Grigno now
The story
The story of Grigno
Grigno in the Eastern Valsugana, on the Border with Veneto
Grigno occupies the eastern edge of the Trentino Valsugana, the last stretch of valley followed by the Brenta river before it leaves Trentino and enters Veneto through the Canale di Brenta toward Bassano. The municipality borders Castello Tesino, Cinte Tesino and Ospedaletto on the Trentino side, and the Veneto territories of the Asiago Plateau and the Belluno valleys toward Arsiè, at a crossroads of administrative borders that for centuries coincided with an actual state frontier. The main town sits at around 263 metres above sea level, at the point where the Grigno stream, flowing down from the foothills of the Lagorai, joins the Brenta. Around the main settlement lie ten hamlets, spread across the valley floor and the first hillsides, testifying to a scattered pattern of settlement historically tied to farming and pastoralism and, more recently, to tourism toward the mountains and the Veneto plain.
The Brenta River and the Valsugana Cycle Path
The Brenta is the single feature that most defines the landscape and routes of Grigno. Along its banks runs the Valsugana cycle path, an itinerary of around eighty kilometres linking Lake Caldonazzo to Bassano del Grappa, largely following a dedicated paved route dotted with villages, riverside woods and views of the surrounding mountains. Grigno marks the last Trentino stop on this route before the cycle path descends toward the Canale di Brenta and into Veneto, making the town a natural resting point for anyone cycling the valley. The local stretch of the path, partly on mixed surfaces, gives easy access to the main town from the valley floor, while the Grigno stream, which flows into the Brenta here, adds a second watercourse to the municipality's river landscape, among floodplains, embankments and small bridges linking the hamlets.
The Lagorai Range and Val Malene
To the north, the territory of Grigno rises to meet the eastern foothills of the Lagorai range and the granite massif of Cima d'Asta, an environment of porphyry rock, larch woods and high stony ground. The waters of the Grigno stream rise precisely in this area, in Val Malene, a side valley where mixed woodland gradually gives way to dwarf mountain pine and finally to a rocky high-mountain landscape. A key reference point for hikers is the Malga Sorgazza hut, at around 1,450 metres, a starting point for routes toward the Forcella Magna, the small glacial lakes typical of the area and, higher up, toward the Alta Via del Granito trail and the summit of Cima d'Asta, which rises above 2,800 metres. It is a stark, lightly frequented environment compared with the nearby Dolomites, yet one of the most authentic natural assets of the municipal territory.
The Nature Reserves, Hamlets and Countryside
The territory of Grigno holds several notable protected areas, such as the Fontanazzo biotope and the Resenzuola spring biotope, Natura 2000 sites that safeguard valuable wetland and spring habitats. Underground lie the Grotta della Bigonda, one of the most extensive karst systems in Trentino with over thirty kilometres of galleries, and the Grotta Calgeron, both well known to cavers. On the Marcesina plateau, shared with Veneto territory, are also the Riparo Dalmeri and the Grotta di Ernesto, archaeological sites documenting human presence since the Palaeolithic, amid woods, pastures and still-active alpine huts. Around the main town lie the municipality's ten hamlets, including Selva di Grigno, Puele, Maso Tollo, Palù, Serafini, Belvedere, Tezze, Martincelli, and the two Pianello settlements, Sopra and Sotto, small clusters dotting the valley floor and the first hillsides.
History and Experiences between Border and Tradition
The history of Grigno reaches back into prehistory, as shown by the finds at the Riparo Dalmeri on the Marcesina plateau, and continues with the first documented mention of the town, dating to 1184. For centuries the municipality was a border outpost of the Habsburg Empire facing the Republic of Venice, a position that deeply shaped its identity and became tragically relevant again during the First World War, when around a hundred men from Grigno fell at the front under Austro-Hungarian arms: the so-called Trincerone di Grigno, a surviving remnant of the wartime fortifications, still bears visible witness to this today. The municipal coat of arms, featuring a red cross above eleven peaks, symbolically recalls the hamlets and mountain pastures that have long sustained the local economy. In the main town, visitors can see the Vecchia Pieve, the church of San Giacomo Maggiore, the town's patron saint, and that of Sant'Antonio da Padova, while old craft traditions in woodworking, marble, copper and wrought iron now coexist with outdoor activities ranging from cycling along the Brenta, with routes as far as Passo Brocon, to climbing on the Curva crag.
Not to be missed
- The Valsugana cycle path along the Brenta, the last Trentino stretch before Veneto
- A hike in Val Malene toward Malga Sorgazza and the small lakes of the Lagorai
- The Grotta della Bigonda and Grotta Calgeron, among Trentino's most extensive cave systems
- The Trincerone di Grigno, a surviving trace of the First World War fortifications
- The Fontanazzo biotope and the Marcesina plateau, between nature and the Riparo Dalmeri archaeological site
To see
What to see in Grigno
Routes · Trovido Route
