Lasa
Lasa (Laas in German) is a municipality in South Tyrol's Val Venosta / Vinschgau valley, in the province of Bolzano, nestled among...
Updated 17 July 2026
This season · July · Summer
What to do in Lasa now
The story
The story of Lasa
The Marble Village of Val Venosta
Lasa lies at the heart of Val Venosta (Vinschgau), one of South Tyrol's most striking valleys, framed by apple orchards and peaks rising above three thousand metres. The village has built its identity around a single, extraordinary resource: the white marble found deep inside the mountain behind it. It is no coincidence that Lasa is commonly known as 'the marble village', a label found everywhere, from shop signs to the sculptures decorating the squares and streets of the old town. Walking among the traditional South Tyrolean houses, visitors come across fountains, plaques and monuments crafted from the local marble, a living testimony to a bond between the community and this raw material that has lasted for generations. This marble-driven identity coexists with the valley's agricultural vocation, made up of well-tended orchards and farmsteads scattered along the sunny slopes.
Laas Marble (Laaser Marmor)
Laas marble, known in German as Laaser Marmor, is considered one of the purest and most prized white marbles in the world, valued for its fine grain, brightness and the almost total absence of veining. These qualities have made it a sought-after material for prestigious works: it has been used to clad some New York City subway stations, for numerous headstones at Arlington National Cemetery in the United States, and for public monuments and sculptural works in several countries around the world. The quality of Laas marble stems from the particular geological composition of the massif from which it is quarried, which over the centuries has attracted stonemasons, architects and artists in search of the perfect block. Even today, the name Lasa is synonymous with excellence in the stone industry, an internationally recognised mark of quality that continues to link the village to the world of art and architecture.
The Quarries, the Marble Train and Stone Working
The Laas marble quarries are located high up, on the slopes of the mountain overlooking the village, and for decades the transport of the extracted blocks down to the valley was entrusted to the famous marble train, the Marmorbahn: a narrow-gauge railway that climbed steeply toward the quarries through tunnels carved into the rock. Today the historic route and its infrastructure still tell the story of the effort and ingenuity of generations of quarrymen, and represent one of the most fascinating examples of industrial archaeology in Val Venosta. In the village, workshops and sawmills continue the tradition of marble working, turning raw blocks into slabs, sculptures and furnishing elements destined for building sites across Europe. Visiting Lasa therefore also means getting closer to an ancient craft, made up of tools, precise gestures and a deep knowledge of stone, handed down from generation to generation among the village's families.
Apple Orchards, the Cycle Path and the Via Claudia Augusta
In addition to marble, Lasa also thrives on apple growing, one of Val Venosta's signature crops: neat rows of apple trees stretch along the valley floor and across sun-drenched terraces, offering different landscapes depending on the season, from the spring blossom to the colours of the autumn harvest. The municipality is crossed by the Val Venosta cycle path, one of South Tyrol's most beloved cycle-tourism routes, which follows the course of the Adige river connecting Reschen to Merano and beyond, through orchards, historic villages and alpine views. Running along the same corridor is also the Via Claudia Augusta, the ancient Roman consular road that linked northern Italy to Germany across the Alpine passes: a historic route that can still be followed today on foot or by bike, adding a further layer of cultural interest to an already extraordinary landscape.
Stelvio National Park and the Surroundings
Lasa enjoys a strategic position for anyone wishing to explore upper Val Venosta and the surrounding mountains. The municipality lies at the foot of the Stelvio National Park, one of the largest and most extensive nature parks in the Alps, protecting high-altitude environments, glaciers and valuable alpine wildlife, with the imposing Ortles massif as a backdrop. A few kilometres away lies Val Martello, a side valley known for its glacial scenery and as one of the most striking gateways to the park. From the area around Lasa, hiking trails of every level set off toward alpine huts, mountain lakes and refuges, making the village an ideal base both for those seeking gentle walks among the orchards and for those wishing to tackle more demanding high-altitude hikes, in a natural setting that remains authentic and uncrowded.
Not to be missed
- The historic centre of Lasa with its white marble sculptures and artworks
- The historic route of the marble train (Marmorbahn) and the high-altitude quarries
- The Val Venosta cycle path along the Adige river
- A stretch of the Via Claudia Augusta through orchards and villages
- A hike toward the Stelvio National Park and Val Martello
To see
What to see in Lasa
Routes · Trovido Route
