Roncegno Terme
Roncegno Terme is a municipality in the Valsugana valley, in Trentino, set in a panoramic position on the slope overlooking the lo...
Updated 17 July 2026
This season · July · Summer
What to do in Roncegno Terme now
The story
The story of Roncegno Terme
Roncegno Terme in the Valsugana
Roncegno Terme occupies a panoramic position on the northern side of the lower Valsugana, the valley carved by the Brenta river between Trento and the border with Veneto, facing the imposing Lagorai massif. The municipal territory, covering more than thirty-eight square kilometres, includes the main town and the hamlet of Marter and rises from 392 metres on the valley floor to 2,381 metres at Monte Gronlait, taking in woods, alpine pastures and the slopes of Monte Panarotta and Monte Tesobbo. From the late Middle Ages onward these mountains were settled by miners and farmers from Upper Bavaria, drawn by the silver, lead and zinc deposits of the Cinquevalli area: a German-speaking presence still documented in the 16th century, which left traces in scattered farmsteads and paved mountain roads, before gradually assimilating over the following centuries. The ruins of the castles of Tesobbo and Montebello still recall this borderland past of mining exploitation of the territory.
The Roncegno Spa and its Arsenical-Ferruginous Water
Roncegno's fortune began in 1856, when in the Valle del Diavolo, at the foot of Monte Tesobbo, a distinctly reddish water was noticed, which the first analyses revealed to be rich in arsenic and iron. The first bathing facilities grew up around this spring, until in 1878 the opening of the Grand Hotel Terme turned the town into a cure destination known across Central Europe, capable of hosting hundreds of visitors already in its first season. After the original Tesobbo spring ran dry, the spa today uses arsenical-ferruginous water from Vetriolo with similar properties, while the nearby Fonte Sant'Antonio supplies an oligomineral ferruginous water, rich in iron and trace elements such as lithium and selenium, used for inhalations, aerosols and balneotherapy to benefit the respiratory tract and microcirculation. Since 1989 Casa Raphael has also operated, a facility combining hospitality and treatment following anthroposophic and homeopathic medicine, confirming the wellness vocation of a town known for its many mineral springs.
The Palazzo delle Terme and the Historic Centre
The architectural symbol of Roncegno is the Palazzo delle Terme, built during the Belle Époque at the will of the Waizer family as a luxury Grand Hotel and soon turned into a gathering place for the Central European aristocracy taking the cure. Damaged and partly destroyed during the First World War, the building was rebuilt in Liberty style and reopened on 10 July 1921, once again becoming, in the 1920s, one of the most sought-after society venues in the region, thanks also to the frescoes by Carlo Coppedè that decorate its interiors. Not far away, the historic centre preserves the layout of an old Valsugana village, with the Church of Saints Peter and Paul, a 16th-century parish church housing a fine altarpiece attributed to Francesco Guardi, and a fabric of lanes and houses well suited to a stroll through local history, also offered along the themed trails of the Valsugana treasure hunt.
Nature, Chestnut Woods and the Valsugana Cycle Path
The territory of Roncegno Terme lies within the Brenta River Nature Reserve Network, a protected area safeguarding the river and its tributaries alongside wetlands, terraces, chestnut woods and rocky environments of naturalistic value. The sunny side of the valley is crossed by the Strada del Castagno, a route running from Roncegno to Castel Ivano through chestnut woods that for centuries sustained the economy of the forty-four traditional farmsteads scattered across the municipal territory, with information panels dedicated to the role of this tree in mountain life. Down on the valley floor runs the Valsugana cycle path, linking Lake Caldonazzo to Bassano del Grappa via Novaledo, Roncegno Terme and Borgo Valsugana: the stretch through Roncegno gives access to the town's biotope and sports centre and continues toward the hamlet of Marter, home to the historic Mulino Angeli mill, an ideal stop along the route.
History and Experiences to Enjoy
The history of Roncegno has roots in Roman times, when the territory was crossed by the Via Claudia Augusta Altinate, a major route linking northern and southern Europe, and continues through centuries of mining activity in the Cinquevalli area, where silver, lead, zinc, pyrite and fluorite were worked between the 16th and 17th centuries. A dramatic chapter unfolded between 1915 and 1916, when the First World War front ran right above the town, on the slopes of Monte Panarotta: here, between January and March 1916, Italian troops climbed the mountain's eastern flank suffering extremely heavy losses, particularly among the ranks of the volunteer unit that went down in history as the Compagnia della Morte, led by Captain Baseggio. Today marked historic trails allow visitors to retrace the trenches and positions of that battle, in a territory where wartime memory coexists with walks among vineyards and chestnut woods, visits to the spa and stops at the wineries and farmsteads that still animate rural life in the Valsugana.
Not to be missed
- The Liberty-style Palazzo delle Terme with frescoes by Carlo Coppedè
- A treatment with the arsenical-ferruginous water or the Fonte Sant'Antonio
- The Church of Saints Peter and Paul and its altarpiece attributed to Francesco Guardi
- The First World War trenches on Monte Panarotta
- The Strada del Castagno and the Valsugana cycle path as far as Marter
To see
What to see in Roncegno Terme
Routes · Trovido Route
