Telve
Telve is a municipality of the Bassa Valsugana, in Trentino, set on the left bank of the Brenta river along the southern slopes of...
Updated 21 July 2026
This season · July · Summer
What to do in Telve now
The story
The story of Telve
Telve in the Valsugana, along the Brenta
Telve stands in the Bassa Valsugana, the valley followed by the Brenta river between Trento and the border with Veneto, about 38 kilometres from the provincial capital. The village stretches along the left bank of the Brenta, at the foot of the southern slopes of Monte Salubio, the outermost spur of the great Lagorai chain toward the valley floor, in a sunny, panoramic position overlooking the cultivated lowland. The municipal territory, among the largest in the area at almost 65 square kilometres, rises steeply from around 548 metres at the village up to the 2,574 metres of Cima delle Buse, taking in a range of environments from valley-floor vineyards and orchards to woods and high-altitude pastures. The historic centre still preserves the old division into "cormei", small clusters of houses built against one another around shared courtyards, where the daily life of families and neighbours once unfolded, with vegetable gardens, hay barns and shared passageways that speak of a bygone rural economy.
The Val Calamento and the Lagorai
The natural jewel of Telve is the Val Calamento, a secondary valley of the Valsugana that lies entirely within the municipal territory and is considered one of the most beautiful in Trentino. Followed by the Maso di Calamento stream, the valley climbs between 1,300 and 1,600 metres of altitude, flanked by other side valleys of the Lagorai such as Val Campelle and opening, at its head, onto Passo Manghen: the only pass that directly links the Valsugana with the Val di Fiemme across the whole Lagorai chain. Along the way are still-active alpine pastures such as Malga Cere and Malga Cagnon di Sopra, reference points for hikers, cyclists and, in winter, ski tourers and snowshoers, as well as the Museo Etnografico del Legno, devoted to the techniques and tools of timber working, which for centuries was a fundamental resource for the valley. In the Pontarso area a modern hydroelectric plant now operates, harnessing the waters of the Maso di Calamento and the Maso di Spinelle, proof that the valley continues to be both an energy and an environmental resource.
Castello di Castellalto and the historic heritage
Above the village of Telve, perched on a rocky spur reachable on foot from the hamlet of Parise, stand the striking ruins of Castello di Castellalto. The fortress took shape between the 12th and 13th centuries under the lords "da Telvo", feudal vassals of the prince-bishops of Feltre, replacing an older stronghold known as Castel Arnana. The family came to control several castles in the area, before the extinction of the line passed Castellalto to a succession of noble families, including the Trautmannsdorf and, in the 17th century, the Buffa. In 1487, during a clash between the Prince-Bishopric of Trento and the Republic of Venice, Venetian troops, repelled by the fortress's defenders, set fire to the nearby village of Telve, an episode long remembered locally. Further damaged during the First World War, the castle was abandoned and used as a stone quarry, until it lost all administrative jurisdiction in 1825; today its remains, cared for by the municipality, are a popular walking destination with views over the Valsugana.
Farmsteads, woods and nature
The territory of Telve is dominated by woodland, which covers around 62 per cent of the municipal area, mostly conifers cloaking the slopes of Monte Salubio and the higher ground toward the Lagorai, alternating with meadows, pastures and farmland planted with vines and orchards on the valley floor. Scattered among the woods and mid-slope meadows are the masi, the traditional isolated farmsteads of Trentino, evidence of a mountain agriculture of small plots tended on steep terrain. Not far from the village lies the Valtrigona Oasis, the first WWF oasis in the Alpine arc, a protected area safeguarding a high-altitude environment of woods, peat bogs and pastures frequented by rich Alpine wildlife. On the Musiera plateau, another area of scenic value, there is a small lake used for sport fishing, a destination for walks suitable for the whole family. Together these environments make Telve a fine starting point for hikes, mountain biking or e-biking, exploring a Lagorai that remains far less known than the nearby Dolomites.
History and experiences
The history of Telve is marked by a long succession of dominations, from the Iron Age Rhaetians to the Romans, who routed the Via Claudia Augusta through the area, down to the Longobards and the Prince-Bishopric of Feltre, to which the village belonged from 1027. Yet it is the First World War that has shaped collective memory most: in 1917 almost the entire population was forced to evacuate and the village was razed almost completely to the ground, with just five of 255 houses left habitable when residents returned in 1919. The rapid reconstruction that followed gave the village much of the appearance it still retains today. This history is told at the Museo degli Usi e Tradizioni Telvate and the Ecomuseo del Lagorai, which document daily life, crafts and material culture of the valley. Alongside this heritage is a year-round offer of outdoor activities, with Nordic walking and mountain biking in summer, ski touring and snowshoeing in winter, and the village's two main churches, the Chiesa dell'Assunta, decorated by Francesco Chiletto, and Chiesa di Santa Giustina, with its late-Gothic frescoes.
Not to be missed
- The ruins of Castello di Castellalto, reachable on foot from the hamlet of Parise
- A hike through the Val Calamento up to Passo Manghen among Lagorai pastures and woods
- The Valtrigona WWF Oasis, the first WWF oasis in the Alpine arc
- The Museo Etnografico del Legno and the Museo degli Usi e Tradizioni Telvate
- The Musiera plateau with its small lake for sport fishing
To see
What to see in Telve
Routes · Trovido Route
