Valsugana

The Valsugana ( it, Valsugana, german: Suganertal) or Sugana Valley is one of the most important valleys in the autonomous province of

Trentino Trentino ( lld, Trentin), officially the Autonomous Province of Trento, is an autonomous province of Italy, in the country's far north. The Trentino and South Tyrol constitute the region of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, an autonomous region ...

Northern Italy Northern Italy ( it, Italia settentrionale, it, Nord Italia, label=none, it, Alta Italia, label=none or just it, Nord, label=none) is a geographical and cultural region in the northern part of Italy. It consists of eight administrative regions ...

. Leading into the

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...

' foothills, an important main north-south

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

road, the

Via Claudia Augusta The Via Claudia Augusta is an ancient Roman road, which linked the valley of the Po River with Rhaetia (encompassing parts of modern Eastern Switzerland, Northern Italy, Western Austria, Southern Germany and all of Liechtenstein) across the Alps ...

, one of Europe's main roads since its construction in Antiquity, winds along the valley and connects the

Adriatic The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) ...

with the historic

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...

and Frankish kingdom's centre of

Augsburg Augsburg (; bar , Augschburg , links=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabian_German , label=Swabian German, , ) is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, around west of Bavarian capital Munich. It is a university town and regional seat of the ' ...

. The sturdy construction of this long-distance road running through the valley has made it historically one of the most important north-south European transit lanes because the route from the

Veneto Veneto (, ; vec, Vèneto ) or Venetia is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about five million, ranking fourth in Italy. The region's capital is Venice while the biggest city is Verona. Veneto was part of the Roman Empire unt ...

region to points near and beyond the famed

Brenner pass The Brenner Pass (german: link=no, Brennerpass , shortly ; it, Passo del Brennero ) is a mountain pass through the Alps which forms the border between Italy and Austria. It is one of the principal passes of the Eastern Alpine range and has ...

is significantly shorter than proceeding

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

Verona Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Northern Italy, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and the ...

to Brenner. Henry II used the road to bypass a position blocked by a rival allowing him to gain the throne of the

. The

Valle dei Mocheni The Bersntol (german: Fersental, it, Valle del Fersina) is a valley in the Autonomous Province of Trento, in north-eastern Italy. The Fersina river runs through it. It is also known as the ''Valle del Mòcheni'' after its inhabitants, who spe ...

is also of historic interest as it has remained a German-speaking enclave in

modern Modern may refer to: History * Modern history ** Early Modern period ** Late Modern period *** 18th century *** 19th century *** 20th century ** Contemporary history * Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century Phil ...

Italy to this day. This came about as during the

High Middle Ages The High Middle Ages, or High Medieval Period, was the periodization, period of European history that lasted from AD 1000 to 1300. The High Middle Ages were preceded by the Early Middle Ages and were followed by the Late Middle Ages, which ended ...

while the region was ruled by the Holy Roman Empire (many Emperors were also Kings of Italy) many German-speaking farmers and miners settled into the region. The western part of the valley nearest

Trento Trento ( or ; Ladin and lmo, Trent; german: Trient ; cim, Tria; , ), also anglicized as Trent, is a city on the Adige River in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol in Italy. It is the capital of the autonomous province of Trento. In the 16th centu ...

is an extensive tourist area which began as a

health spa A health club (also known as a fitness club, fitness center, health spa, and commonly referred to as a gym) is a place that houses exercise equipment for the purpose of physical exercise. In recent years, the number of fitness and health ser ...

during the late 19th century when the

Levico Terme Levico Terme (''Levego'' in local dialect; cim, Leve) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in Trentino in the northern Italian region Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, located about southeast of Trento. As of 30 June 2012, it had a population of 7,668 a ...

baths were established and became popular with the upper classes. This parallels the history of what became modern

vacations A vacation (American English) or holiday (British English) is either a leave of absence from a regular job or an instance of leisure travel away from home. People often take a vacation during specific holiday observances or for specific festiv ...

and

resort A resort (North American English) is a self-contained commercial establishment that tries to provide most of a vacationer's wants, such as food, drink, swimming, lodging, sports, entertainment, and shopping, on the premises. The term ''resort ...

towns in much of the world (compare

St Moritz St. Moritz (also german: Sankt Moritz, rm, , it, San Maurizio, french: Saint-Moritz) is a high Alpine resort town in the Engadine in Switzerland, at an elevation of about above sea level. It is Upper Engadine's major town and a municipality in ...

, Mineral Wells, and Steamboat Springs), the situation in the valley being enhanced perhaps by the easy access both north and south given it by the sturdy Roman road, when roads were usually just dirt tracks with deep ruts and large puddles. Otherwise the scenery is marked by vineyards and orchards and groves of edible horse-chestnuts. Nearby

Lake Caldonazzo Lago di Caldonazzo is a lake in Trentino, Italy. At an elevation of 449 m, its surface area is 5.38 km². It is located in the valley communities of Alta Valsugana e Bersntol. Water sports like the canoe, the sail, wind surfing and water skii ...

, and the village of

Caldonazzo Caldonazzo (german: Gallnötsch, cim, Kalnètsch) is a ''commune'' in Valsugana, in Trentino, northern Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located ...

, is a further international tourist center located just south of the

Dolomite Mountains The Dolomites ( it, Dolomiti ; Ladin: ''Dolomites''; german: Dolomiten ; vec, Dołomiti : fur, Dolomitis), also known as the Dolomite Mountains, Dolomite Alps or Dolomitic Alps, are a mountain range located in northeastern Italy. They form par ...

, a southern

foothill Foothills or piedmont are geographically defined as gradual increases in elevation at the base of a mountain range, higher hill range or an upland area. They are a transition zone between plains and low relief hills and the adjacent topograp ...

range Range may refer to: Geography * Range (geographic), a chain of hills or mountains; a somewhat linear, complex mountainous or hilly area (cordillera, sierra) ** Mountain range, a group of mountains bordered by lowlands * Range, a term used to i ...

of the higher

just to the North. Together, Caldonazzo Lake and the Dolomites create one of the most beautiful regions of northern Italy and harbor a host of outdoor sporting activities, such as climbing, hiking, mountain biking, power boating, sailing, and windsurfing to name just a few. Valleys of Trentino {{TrentinoAltoAdige-geo-stub