Pieve Tesino
Pieve Tesino is a municipality in eastern Trentino, at the heart of the Altopiano del Tesino, the upland basin that stretches nort...
Updated 21 July 2026
This season · July · Summer
What to do in Pieve Tesino now
The story
The story of Pieve Tesino
Pieve Tesino on the Altopiano del Tesino
Pieve Tesino sits at over 800 metres above sea level in the heart of the Altopiano del Tesino, the pre-Alpine basin carved by the Grigno torrent between the northern foothills of the Lagorai and the first rises sloping toward the province of Belluno. Together with the neighbouring municipalities of Castello Tesino and Cinte Tesino, Pieve Tesino shares a territory of fir and beech woods, high-altitude pastures and a harsh climate that for centuries made farming alone difficult, pushing inhabitants toward itinerant trades. Besides the main town, the municipality includes the small hamlets of Malene and Pradellano, and stands out for its attention to its historical heritage: in 2021 it joined the circuit of I Borghi più belli d'Italia, a recognition confirming the quality of its historic centre, with stone houses, porticoes and narrow streets gathered around the parish church.
Alcide De Gasperi and the House Museum
Pieve Tesino is known throughout Europe as the birthplace of Alcide De Gasperi, born here on 3 April 1881 to Amedeo, a senior marshal in the Austro-Hungarian gendarmerie, and Maria Morandini, originally from Predazzo. Growing up in this corner of Trentino, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, De Gasperi carried the bond with his homeland throughout his life, a tie that shaped his commitment first to Trentino's autonomy and later to the building of European unity, as one of the founding fathers of the European Union alongside Schuman and Adenauer. The house where he was born and spent his childhood is today a museum, run by the Fondazione Trentina Alcide De Gasperi, which traces his biography through documents, photographs and personal belongings, giving visitors a sense of the family and social context from which one of the most important figures in twentieth-century European politics emerged.
The Perteghieri and the Print-Selling Tradition
Before becoming famous as the birthplace of De Gasperi, Pieve Tesino and the whole plateau were known across Europe for another story: that of the perteghieri, the itinerant vendors who, from the 17th century onward, once the fortunes of flint-stone gathering had faded, began travelling the roads of the continent selling prints, devotional images and small printed works, carried hanging from a long wooden pole, or pertega, from which their name derives. Within a few decades, Tesino merchants had opened around sixty shops across Europe, from Vienna to Paris, building a genuine trade network that brought wealth and cultural openness to an otherwise isolated territory. This extraordinary story is told today at the Museo Per Via, housed in Casa Buffa Giacantoni, the former home of a family of print-sellers, where documents, printing plates and original prints bring to life the trade and the routes of these itinerant merchants.
The Garden of Europe, Cima d'Asta and Nature
Just a short walk from the centre of Pieve Tesino lies the Arboreto del Tesino, a botanical garden that gathers trees and shrubs from around the world among woods, clearings and meadows, and which is home to the Garden of Europe, a space dedicated to Alcide De Gasperi and the other founding fathers of the European Union, conceived as a place of reflection on the continent's path toward integration. The natural landscape surrounding the Altopiano del Tesino is dominated by the Lagorai chain and, in particular, by the granite massif of Cima d'Asta, which at 2,847 metres is one of the most sought-after destinations for hikers and mountaineers in the area, a starting and finishing point of the Alta Via del Granito trail. Coniferous woods, high-altitude pastures and small nature reserves such as the Biotopo I Mughi complete a territory that comes alive in winter too, thanks to the nearby Passo Brocon ski area.
History and Experiences in Pieve Tesino
The history of Pieve Tesino has its roots in the Middle Ages, when the territory was long disputed between the jurisdiction of the Prince-Bishop of Trento and that of the Bishop of Feltre, along a border that still culturally marks the plateau today. In the historic centre, among stone houses and narrow lanes, stands the church of Santa Maria Assunta, one of the most significant Gothic buildings in Trentino, together with the church of San Sebastiano. Pieve Tesino can also claim a singular record: it was here, in 1881, that Italy's first Pro Loco tourist association was founded, an early sign of attention to the promotion of the local territory that continues to this day. The town lends itself to slow tourism, made up of visits to the museums dedicated to De Gasperi and the perteghieri, walks through the Arboreto and hikes toward the Lagorai and Cima d'Asta, and it is an ideal starting point for exploring the whole Altopiano del Tesino together with the neighbouring villages of Castello Tesino and Cinte Tesino.
Not to be missed
- Casa De Gasperi, the birthplace house and museum dedicated to the statesman
- Museo Per Via and the story of the perteghieri print-sellers
- Arboreto del Tesino and the Garden of Europe
- A hike toward Cima d'Asta and the Lagorai chain
- The Church of Santa Maria Assunta in the historic centre
To see
What to see in Pieve Tesino
Routes · Trovido Route
