Altopiano della Vigolana
Altopiano della Vigolana è un comune sparso del Trentino meridionale, nato nel 2016 dalla fusione di Bosentino, Centa San Nicolò,...
Actualizado el 17 julio 2026
Esta temporada · Julio · Verano
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La historia de Altopiano della Vigolana
The Altopiano della Vigolana and the Four Villages of the Merger
The municipality of Altopiano della Vigolana was created on 1 January 2016 from the merger of four historic municipalities of southern Trentino: Bosentino, Centa San Nicolò, Vattaro and Vigolo Vattaro, which approved the union by a wide majority in the 2015 consultative referendum. The new municipality, home to around 4,800 residents, occupies a suspended plateau wedged between Monte Vigolana and Monte Marzola, south-east of Trento, along the axis linking the Adige valley to the Valsugana through the ancient pass between the two reliefs. Each hamlet keeps its own identity: Vigolo Vattaro, the largest centre, gathers around its historic core and the church of San Giorgio; Vattaro holds patrician villas such as Villa Bortolazzi; Bosentino spreads across the slopes of the mountain that shares its name; Centa San Nicolò, the highest hamlet, looks out over the woods sloping down toward the Valsugana. This division into several settlements, typical of Trentino's scattered municipalities, makes the territory a mosaic of small communities joined by a shared landscape.
The Vigolana Massif, between Cima Vigolana and Becco di Filadonna
The municipal territory takes its name from the Vigolana, the massif of the Trentino Prealps that dominates the plateau to the east and whose peaks rise above two thousand metres: Cima Vigolana reaches 2,148 metres, while Becco di Filadonna, the highest point of the group, touches 2,150 metres. The rock walls, clearly visible from the valley floor, feature spires such as the Madonnina and the Frate, outcrops that local tradition likens to human silhouettes. The group offers two mountain shelters for hikers, the Bivacco Giacomelli and the Rifugio Casarota, reached via four different trails climbing between 900 and 1,400 metres in elevation gain. Vegetation changes with altitude, moving from beech and oak woods lower down to fir and maple higher up, giving way to alpine shrubland of juniper and dwarf pine along the ridges. The woods of the Vigolana are home to red deer and chamois and, according to camera-trap monitoring in recent years, also a stable wolf pack.
Hiking and Outdoor Sports Just Outside Trento
Its closeness to Trento, reachable in just a few minutes by car over the Vigolana pass, makes the plateau a favourite destination for those seeking the outdoors without travelling far from the city. The trail network is extensive and suited to different levels: from easier walks, such as the one to the Sanctuary of the Madonna di Feles through the woods between Bosentino and Vigolo Vattaro, to more demanding climbs toward the Vigolana peaks. In Centa San Nicolò, the River Park along the Centa torrent offers routes along the water and a treetop adventure park, while the plateau's Ippovia, a dedicated horse-riding trail, allows visitors to explore the territory on horseback. A stretch of the ancient Via Claudia Augusta, the Roman road that linked northern Italy to the Germanic world through the Valsugana, crosses the territory and can today be travelled on foot or by bicycle, offering a further thread connecting history and outdoor activity.
Landscape and Nature of the Suspended Plateau
From a geological point of view, the Altopiano della Vigolana has an unusual origin: it is a suspended valley, formed in pre-glacial times by an ancient watercourse that flowed westward and was later left isolated from the surrounding valley floor by subsequent uplift and glaciation. This shape, described by scholars as an indeterminate saddle rather than a truly flat plateau, explains the gentle landscape of meadows and woods alternating with low ridges and small inner valleys, quite different from the valley floors carved by Trentino's major rivers. From the territory's most panoramic points, especially the east-facing slopes, the view stretches over Lake Caldonazzo and the Valsugana, while to the west it opens onto the Adige valley and the central-eastern Alps. The combination of moderate altitude, mature woodland and favourable exposure gives the area a milder climate than other mountainous parts of Trentino, a factor that has historically encouraged settlement and today supports the area's tourism.
History, Castles and Cultural Trails
The history of the plateau is closely tied to Castel Vigolo, which stands on a hill between Vigolo Vattaro and Bosentino in a strategic position along the old road linking Trento to the Valsugana: the first reliable records date back to 1214, when Prince-Bishop Federico Vanga of Trento entrusted it to the community of Vigolo for reconstruction, while in 1254 it was besieged and destroyed by Ezzelino III da Romano. Rebuilt in the 16th century by the de Fatis family as a manor house, it remains private property today. The historic fabric of the individual villages can still be read in their churches and buildings: the parish church of San Giorgio in Vigolo Vattaro, documented since 1368, the 18th-century Chiesetta del Redentore with its illusionistic frescoes, Villa Bortolazzi and the small church of Saints Rocco and Sebastiano in Vattaro. A cultural trail links these places in a walking route that weaves together art, popular devotion and village life, while events tied to local produce, such as the chestnuts of Centa San Nicolò, still mark the calendar of the four communities today.
Not to be missed
- Castel Vigolo, the medieval castle between Vigolo Vattaro and Bosentino
- The Vigolana peaks, Cima Vigolana and Becco di Filadonna, above 2,100 metres
- The Sanctuary of the Madonna di Feles in the woods between Bosentino and Vigolo Vattaro
- The Centa River Park in Centa San Nicolò, with water trails and a treetop adventure park
- The church of San Giorgio and the Chiesetta del Redentore in Vigolo Vattaro
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