Tenna
Tenna is a small municipality in eastern Trentino, set on the hill that bears its name and separates Lake Caldonazzo from Lake Lev...
Updated 19 July 2026
This season · July · Summer
What to do in Tenna now
The story
The story of Tenna
Tenna, on the Ridge Between the Two Valsugana Lakes
Tenna stands at 569 metres above sea level on the hill that carries its name, the ridge that clearly separates Lake Caldonazzo, to the south, from Lake Levico, to the north, in the central stretch of the Valsugana valley. The municipality, home to just over a thousand residents across barely 3 square kilometres, borders Caldonazzo, Levico Terme and Pergine Valsugana and is, by area, one of the smallest in the district, yet it occupies a position of real scenic importance, suspended between the two bodies of water. The historic core gathers around the parish church, while the hamlets and smaller localities, including Alberè and Castelar, stretch along the slopes running down toward the lakes. During the twentieth century, and especially after the Second World War, the growth of the built-up area extended the municipal territory as far as the slope descending toward Lake Caldonazzo and its very shores, an expansion that gradually drew Tenna closer to the lakeside and tourist life of the two basins, while keeping intact its character as a compact hillside village.
Lake Caldonazzo, Lake Levico and Lakeside Swimming
The double lakeside setting is Tenna's defining feature: on one side Lake Caldonazzo, the largest natural body of water in Trentino by surface area, on the other Lake Levico, smaller and enclosed by morainic hills. Thanks to the municipal territory's extension as far as the shores of Caldonazzo, Tenna offers direct access to lakeside swimming, with waters that reach pleasant temperatures in summer and equipped beaches shared with neighbouring municipalities, a destination for families and for anyone seeking a mountain alternative to the seaside. From the ridge of the Austro-Hungarian fortress overlooking the village, the view takes in both basins at once, a panorama that makes Tenna a privileged vantage point over the lakeside Valsugana. The proximity of two swimmable lakes, linked by a network of cycling and walking routes, makes it possible to combine, within a single day, a swim, a canoe or pedal-boat outing and walks along the shores, in a setting that blends mild climate, low altitude and Prealpine scenery.
Pine Woods, Lakeshores and Trails: the Nature of Tenna
Although small in size, Tenna's territory contains a variety of natural environments: the Alberè pinewood, stretching between the fort's ridge and the village, offers shade and coolness in the warm season, while the shores of both lakes hold belts of marsh vegetation, reed beds and wet meadows that shelter waterbirds and dragonflies, environments typical of low-altitude Prealpine wetlands. On the drier slopes, apple orchards, which produce Trentino's renowned apples, alternate with mixed broadleaf woods. A dense network of trails, known locally as the 'gnomes' path', winds for a few kilometres over the hill between the two lakes, with loop routes suitable for families and for nordic walking, while on clear days the view stretches as far as the peaks of the Brenta Dolomites, clearly visible in the distance beyond the Valsugana. This mosaic of pine wood, water and cultivated land makes Tenna a small natural observatory suited to short excursions.
Prehistoric Traces, the Cycle Path and the Valsugana Landscape
Tenna's earliest history reaches back into prehistory: in the area still known today as Castelar, a place name that recalls the presence of an ancient fortified hilltop settlement, a bronze axe was found, while at Alberè several flint arrowheads were collected, evidence of a human presence dating back at least to the Bronze Age, in line with the spread of the proto-historic hillforts, or castellieri, typical of the eastern Alpine arc and the Valsugana. This distant past coexists today with a present of gentle mobility: the Valsugana cycle path, one of Trentino's most popular cycle-touring routes, runs along the valley floor between the two lakes and makes it possible to reach Tenna by bike from Trento toward Bassano del Grappa along an almost flat route, among vineyards, apple orchards and lakeside glimpses. The landscape crossed along the way, made up of cultivated ridges, woods and bodies of water framed by the Prealps, tells the long story of a territory of passage, from prehistory to today's routes of communication.
History and Experiences in Tenna
In Roman times Tenna lay close to the Via Claudia Augusta, as suggested by a milestone discovered in 1878 near the parish church, together with coins ranging from the age of Augustus to that of Hadrian, a sign of continuous use along the communication route between the plain and the Alpine passes. The Church of San Valentino, built between 1764 and 1775, has three aisles with marble altars and stucco decoration, while a small votive chapel dedicated to Santa Maria and San Rocco was built in 1855 following a cholera epidemic. On the ridge overlooking Lake Caldonazzo stands Forte Tenna, a 19th-century Austro-Hungarian defensive work later reinforced with sandbag emplacements during the First World War, when the Valsugana became a front line. Today visitors can combine a visit to these places with a swim in the lake, a ride along the cycle path or a walk on the gnomes' path, in an experience that brings together history, nature and lakeside life in a village of just a few hundred inhabitants.
Not to be missed
- Swimming and relaxing on the beaches of Lake Caldonazzo, on Tenna's stretch of shoreline
- Panoramic views of both lakes from the ridge of Forte Tenna, a 19th-century Austro-Hungarian fortress
- A walk through the Alberè pine wood and along the gnomes' path between the two lakes
- The Roman milestone of the Via Claudia Augusta near the Church of San Valentino
- A ride along the Valsugana cycle path among vineyards, apple orchards and lake views
To see
What to see in Tenna
Routes · Trovido Route
Routes in Tenna
Jobs · JobFlow
