Pelugo
Pelugo is a small municipality in the Val Rendena, in Trentino, sitting at 675 metres above sea level along the Sarca torrent, bet...
Updated 21 July 2026
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The story
The story of Pelugo
Pelugo in the Val Rendena, along the Sarca
Pelugo lies in the Val Rendena, the Trentino valley set between the Adamello-Presanella massif to the west and the Brenta Dolomites to the east, run through its whole length by the Sarca torrent, which rises in this very area before flowing down to Lake Garda. The village, at 675 metres above sea level, borders Spiazzo and Strembo and sits close to the entrance of the Val di Borzago, the side valley that climbs toward the Carè Alto glacier and links, in spirit, with the Val Genova, the wild heart of the western side of the Adamello-Brenta Park. The municipal territory, covering almost 23 square kilometres, alternates a cultivated valley floor with a network of farmsteads and woods that climb quickly toward Alpine altitudes, in a landscape still little travelled compared with the valley's more touristic centres such as Pinzolo and Madonna di Campiglio, which is exactly what makes it feel like an authentic slice of the Val Rendena.
The Church of Sant'Antonio Abate and the Baschenis Frescoes
The most celebrated monument in Pelugo is the Church of Sant'Antonio Abate, a building whose origins, according to studies of its stone-cutting technique, may reach back to the early Middle Ages, while the first certain document mentioning it is a will dated 1375, when it was dedicated to both Sant'Antonio and San Giacomo. What makes the church extraordinary is the fresco cycle covering its facade and outer side wall, the work of the famous family of travelling painters known as the Baschenis: on the facade stands the giant Saint Christopher with the Child, signed and dated October 1493 by Dionisio Baschenis, alongside a Sant'Antonio Abate painted by Cristoforo I Baschenis in 1474, plus scenes of the Annunciation, the enthroned Madonna and the Trinity. Along the side wall unfolds a very long visual narrative, thirty panels with vernacular captions, telling the legend of Sant'Antonio from his parents' vow at sea through his monastic life and temptations, while the interior holds a Last Supper and a Crucifixion attributed to Cristoforo II Baschenis.
The Adamello-Brenta Park and the Outdoors between Carè Alto and Val Genova
A large part of Pelugo's territory falls within the Adamello-Brenta Natural Park, established in 1967 and, at over 620 square kilometres, the largest protected area in Trentino. The park embraces two very different worlds: to the west the glacial Adamello-Presanella massif, with more than eighty Alpine lakes, and to the east the Dolomite walls of the Brenta. From the village, access opens onto the Val di Borzago, which climbs through woods of spruce, larch and stone pine up to the foot of the Carè Alto glacier and links in spirit to the trails of the Val Genova, famous for its waterfalls. The park is also the realm of the brown bear, reintroduced from 1996 through the Life Ursus project and now the symbol of the protected area, alongside chamois, deer, roe deer and golden eagles that populate the woods and high pastures reachable through hikes starting right around Pelugo.
The Farmsteads, Trails and Nature around the Village
The agricultural landscape of Pelugo is still marked by masi, the old rural buildings scattered among meadows and woods that tell the story of a mountain economy once based on timber working, silk production through silkworm farming, ironworking and the pressing of walnut oil, activities handed down from generation to generation and today documented as part of the village's identity. From these scattered farmsteads, trails climb through broadleaf and coniferous woods toward the higher pastures and alpine huts, offering views over the Val Rendena and the peaks surrounding it. Down in the valley, along the course of the Sarca, a cycling and walking path links the various villages of the valley in a gentle route suited to families and cycle tourists, allowing visitors to discover Pelugo and its neighbouring villages while riding past valley-floor vineyards, permanent meadows and glimpses of the Brenta Dolomites.
History: from the San Zeno Hillfort to Today
The origins of Pelugo are linked to an ancient prehistoric hillfort that stood on the San Zeno rise, where the parish church dedicated to the same saint stands today, evidence of human settlement far predating the first documented mention of the village. The commune's history has been marked by dramatic events: around 1364 a flood destroyed much of the settlement, which had to be rebuilt, and on 4 March 1922 a violent fire struck the village again. During the Fascist era, in 1928, Pelugo was merged with neighbouring communes as part of policies to reduce the number of local authorities, only to be reconstituted as an independent municipality in 1946. The village still holds traces of this past today, from the eighteenth-century chapel on Monte Calvario, built in 1743, to the First World War memorial displaying an Austro-Hungarian Škoda cannon recovered from the nearby war fronts, through to the churches of San Zeno and Sant'Antonio Abate, which remain the religious and artistic heart of the community.
Not to be missed
- Church of Sant'Antonio Abate with the Baschenis frescoes, the Saint Christopher and the saint's legend
- Parish church of San Zeno, on the site of the ancient prehistoric hillfort
- A hike into the Val di Borzago toward the Carè Alto glacier
- The eighteenth-century chapel on Monte Calvario (1743)
- The cycling and walking path along the Sarca in the Adamello-Brenta Natural Park
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