Tre Ville
Tre Ville is a municipality in the Giudicarie Centrali, in Trentino, created on 1 January 2016 from the merger of the municipaliti...
Updated 20 July 2026
This season · July · Summer
What to do in Tre Ville now
The story
The story of Tre Ville
Tre Ville in the Giudicarie Centrali: Montagne, Preore and Ragoli
The municipality of Tre Ville was created on 1 January 2016 from the union of three municipalities that had kept separate administrations for centuries: Montagne, Preore and Ragoli, today hamlets of the new municipality but still clearly recognisable in the local place names and identity. The territory covers part of the Giudicarie Centrali, the broad intermontane basin crossed by the Sarca stream, ringed by the peaks of the Brenta group to the east and by the first ridges separating the valley from the Val Rendena to the north-west. The settlement's origins probably date back to Roman times, as suggested by the place names of some smaller localities, including Larzana, Bolzana and Cerana, formed with the typical praedial suffix "-ana" that the Romans added to the name of a landowner; a Roman sestertius was also found at Prà da l'Àsan. Montagne, the highest of the three hamlets, is in turn made up of the small settlements of Larzana, once the seat of the municipal offices, Cort and Binio, set between a thousand metres of altitude and the slopes of the Brenta.
Preore, the Former Seat of the Prince-Bishops' Vicariate
Among the three villages, Preore carried the greatest political weight: during the fifteenth century it became the most important locality of the valley, seat of the Prince-Bishop of Trento's Vicar for the whole Giudicarie territory and of the tribunal with civil jurisdiction, later transferred to Tione. Set on the left bank of the Sarca, the village still bears in its urban layout the marks of this administrative past, with buildings and squares that speak of a role far more significant than the town's current size would suggest. Preore was also the birthplace of Filippo Serafini, a renowned jurist specialising in Roman law and a senator of the Kingdom of Italy, a figure who testifies to the cultural vitality expressed by this corner of the Giudicarie despite the modest size of the community. Walking through the streets of the historic centre, one can still sense the atmosphere of a miniature valley capital, before its administrative functions moved elsewhere.
Ragoli and Val d'Algone, Gateway to the Adamello-Brenta Nature Park toward Val Rendena
Ragoli lies at the foot of Monte Iron, on the bank of the Sarca, in a basin that enjoys an especially mild climate for its altitude and has long served as the southern gateway to the Adamello-Brenta Nature Park via the Val d'Algone. This side valley, around fifteen kilometres long, follows the course of the Rio Algone through gorges, beech and fir woods, clearings and pastures still in use such as Stabli, Vallon, Nambi and Movlina; between the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries glassworks also operated here, exploiting wood, water and quarry materials, of which a chimney, ruins and a themed trail survive today. In the village, the church of San Faustino stands out for its characteristic wrought-iron gates and for several paintings by the Baschenis family kept in the cemetery chapel. The historic San Vili trail, an old link between Trento and Spiazzo Rendena, also passes through Ragoli, while nearby the abandoned hamlets of Irone and Cerana preserve their original urban and architectural layout intact, capsules of an Alpine building tradition now rarely seen in such good condition.
The Landscape Between the Sarca and the Brenta Dolomites
The landscape of Tre Ville is built on the contrast between the broad, sunlit valley floor crossed by the Sarca and the sheer walls of the Brenta group that close the horizon to the east, the last dolomitic outpost before the glacial valleys of the Adamello. Around Ragoli lie historic black marble quarries, for centuries a prized material used to build churches and bell towers across the region, while beech, fir and larch woods clothe the slopes up to the high pastures where summer grazing and dairy production are still practised. Holding this mosaic of woods and meadows together for centuries has been the Comunità delle Regole di Spinale e Manez, a consortium founded in 1377 and shared by the three villages, which collectively administers pastures, woods and property, channelling the proceeds into works of social use: a model of shared land management remarkable for its continuity and still fully active today.
History, Traditions and Experiences Across the Three Villages
The history of Tre Ville spans more than two thousand years, from traces of Roman settlement to Preore's administrative centrality in the fifteenth century, through the glassmaking industry that animated the Val d'Algone for two centuries, to the long continuity of the Comunità delle Regole, which has survived almost untouched through every political and administrative change, including the merger of the municipalities. Today this layered history translates into a varied range of experiences: hikes along the historic San Vili trail or in the Val d'Algone, between the themed trail dedicated to the old glassworks and paths climbing toward the pastures and mountain huts at the foot of the Brenta Dolomites, a UNESCO World Heritage system; visits to the abandoned hamlets of Irone and Cerana for a glimpse of traditional Alpine architecture; and stops at the historic churches of the three villages, including that of San Faustino in Ragoli. All within a territory that, despite choosing administrative union, jealously preserves three distinct and complementary identities.
Not to be missed
- Church of San Faustino in Ragoli, with its wrought-iron gates and Baschenis paintings
- Val d'Algone, among working pastures, the ruins of old glassworks and trails in the Adamello-Brenta Park
- Historic centre of Preore, for centuries the seat of the Prince-Bishop of Trento's vicariate
- Abandoned hamlets of Irone and Cerana, an intact record of traditional Alpine building
- A hike along the historic San Vili trail toward the Val Rendena
To see
What to see in Tre Ville
Routes · Trovido Route
