Verano
Verano (Vöran) is a small municipality in the province of Bolzano, set on the Salto plateau (Tschögglberg in German), the wooded h...
Updated 17 July 2026
This season · July · Summer
What to do in Verano now
The story
The story of Verano
Verano on the Salto Plateau, above Bolzano
Verano, known in German as Vöran, lies on the Salto plateau (Tschögglberg), the broad wooded highland rising on the right side of the Adige valley between Merano and Bolzano. The village centre sits at about 1,200 metres above sea level, while the municipal territory, which also includes the hamlet of Aschl, climbs to nearly 2,000 metres toward the border with the Sarntal valley. The place name, first documented in 1186 as “Veran”, likely derives from an ancient Roman-era estate. Today Verano is an almost entirely German-speaking municipality, one of four, together with Jenesien/San Genesio, Mölten/Meltina and Hafling/Avelengo, that share the Salto plateau, a mosaic of meadows, larch woods and scattered farmsteads known as the “sun terrace of Merano” for its mild climate and sunny days enjoyed here even when the valley below lies under fog.
The Knottnkino, the Rock Cinema
Verano's most famous attraction is the Knottnkino, an art installation by South Tyrolean sculptor Franz Messner, inaugurated in the early 2000s atop the Rotstein Knott, a red porphyry outcrop at 1,457 metres. Thirty seats in steel and local chestnut wood, arranged in a semicircle like a real cinema auditorium, face a sheer drop of about fifty metres over the valley below: here the show on stage is not a projected film but the landscape itself, changing colour and light with the seasons and the hours of the day, from the Dolomites on the horizon to the Adige valley far below. A short distance away, the same artist created “Attimo”, another installation arranging five chairlift seats along an imaginary route suspended over the rocks, completing a small trail of contemporary art set within the nature of the Tschögglberg.
Porphyry Rocks and Trails across the Tschögglberg Peaks
The landscape around Verano is marked by large outcrops of red porphyry, such as the Rotstein, the Beimstein and the Timpfler Knott, rounded peaks that dot the plateau and offer scenic viewpoints at almost every turn. From here, hiking trails suited to different levels set off through larch woods, high pastures and studs of Haflinger horses, the breed native to these very mountains. One of the most striking destinations is the Stoanerne Mandln, a group of rock formations at 2,003 metres wrapped in local legends, including that of “Pachlerzottl”, said to be the last witch of the valley executed in the 17th century: it is reached with a hike of several hours along numbered trails climbing toward the Auenjoch, in a high-mountain setting with spectacular views over the surrounding peaks. For those seeking shorter routes, the Guggn trail offers a themed walk, with information panels dedicated precisely to the Haflinger horses and the centuries-old larches of the plateau.
Farmsteads, Views and Nature on the Plateau
The territory of Verano preserves a rural landscape of more than seventy mountain farmsteads, many still active and marked by traditional steep roofs of Bavarian origin, scattered among mown meadows and small woods. Mountain farming remains a central activity for the local economy, alongside tourism, craftsmanship and commuting to Merano and Bolzano, both reachable quickly thanks to the plateau's position. The municipality also stands out for a biomass district-heating plant that supplies the village with renewable energy, a project that made Verano one of the ten model communities of the Arge Alp, the association of Alpine regions. From the meadows around the village and the many viewpoints along its trails, views open up ranging from the Adige valley, sunk thousands of metres below, to the Dolomite peaks on the horizon, a contrast of altitudes that makes Verano a natural terrace over the whole of central South Tyrol.
History, the Cable Car and Local Experiences
The parish church of St Nicholas, first mentioned in documents in 1330 and with nave walls dating back to that period, is among the oldest buildings in Verano and holds the religious memory of a village whose history is closely tied to its mountain isolation and to its links with the valley floor. As early as 1901 a freight cableway connected Verano to the village of Postal below; in 1958 it was joined by a modern passenger cable car, renovated in 2017, which today links the two villages in just five minutes and has become as much a symbol of the village as its church or the red rocks of the Tschögglberg. This combination of history, open-air contemporary art and nature makes Verano an ideal destination for a day trip or longer stay: visitors can ride the cable car up from Postal, visit the village centre and its church, sit among the rock seats of the Knottnkino to admire the sunset, and then head on toward the alpine pastures and trails of the plateau, perhaps on horseback aboard a Haflinger or simply on foot among the farmsteads.
Not to be missed
- Franz Messner's Knottnkino on the Rotstein Knott, the “rock cinema” on red porphyry
- The historic Verano-Postal cable car, running since 1958
- The parish church of St Nicholas, documented since 1330
- The hike to the Stoanerne Mandln, at 2,003 metres among legends and views
- Walks among farmsteads, alpine pastures and Haflinger horses on the Salto plateau
To see
What to see in Verano
Routes · Trovido Route
