Rural world - the art of conservation

Nature has had a formidable effect on shaping this region and its people. In the high mountains where life is governed by weather conditions through the seasons, times remain austere for a good part of the year. Up here agriculture, superstition and traditions flourish. People still weave, sew, knit and carve wood on long winter evenings. In the region’s towns the exchange and interaction of cultures is accompanied by the upward strive of commerce: in this way the new and unfamiliar are accommodated as well as progress. On a stroll through Bolzano/Bozen visitors experience an exciting, elegant and bustling provincial capital. This melding of ways of life, a kind of marriage of love, enriches this region of contrasts tremendously – even today.

News

From Farmers to Customers

Mountain farmers are self-sufficient: they produce everything themselves, from grains and vegetables to milk to Speck cured ham. What they produce is for their own consumption—and for the few visitors who stop off at the farm during the course of a hike. more...

A holiday helping Alpine farmers

Rather than being “virtual” farmers in the game FarmVille, in South Tyrol you really can spend your holidays as Alpine farmers, helping out on the fields in complete harmony with the rhythms of nature. more...

Adventure holidays on horseback

On riding excursions and trekking tours across South Tyrol`s meadows and Alpine pastures. more...

Secret recipes

High strength and healthy

Farmhouse products

To date 48 farmsteads are producing quality-controlled, regional and authentic food products from their own land. Using purely natural means they transform their fruit and herbs into fresh juices, clean spirits and fruity spreads. Milk from the Alpine pastures is processed into tasty mountain cheeses. Look for the sign of the ‘Red Rooster’ to ensure you are buying genuine products, available at farmers’ markets and directly from the farmsteads. more...

Fruity Treats

Dried South Tyrolean fruit is a healthy snack between meals. Ripened under the sun and dried in South Tyrol’s fresh mountain air, this little treat is also ideal for travelling. Whether you prefer apples, pears or apricots, it is as tasty as it is rich in vitamins.

Click here to order some dried fruit

Transhumance

En-route to summer pastures

Festive return from summer pastures

South Tyrol has preserved the old tradition of moving livestock to the high pastures in summer, called Almen. Herdsmen, shepherds and their charges return to the valley in September, the animals attractively festooned, to a lavish country festival. The most spectacular is the return of thousands of sheep from the Vent Valley in Austria to the Val Senales/Schnalstal, a two-day trek. Walk up to the Similaun refuge and perhaps spend the night there if you want to watch them cross the glacier. more...

Messner’s World: MMM

MMM Firmian focuses on the encounter between man and mountain, while in the MMM Ortles the main theme is ice, and Juval Castle accommodates Far Eastern Art. MMM Ripa will present mountain folk. Take a journey through time.

MMM

Alpine life style

Living tradition

Tradition and custom

Many South Tyroleans give expression to their love of music, especially in their village bands, which number 211 throughout the region, double the number of municipalities. Their traditional costume is especially eye-catching, tailored according to old designs and different from place to place. Magnificent quill-embroidered costume belts, wide-brimmed felt hats and hand-made lederhosen – all of which can be savoured on public holidays. more...

Intelligent tradition

‘Viles’, groups of farmhouses and their outbuildings huddled together in Val Badia appear glued to the mountainsides. In the past this kind of community life made it possible to divide house work and crafts, giving rise to artistic wood carving which is still very much alive.

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In Harmony with Nature

Sweet fruits

Rural life

Over 10,000 people live here on Alpine farms, often in extremely steep and arduous terrain, and their main income comes from livestock farming and hay. They also produce corn, vegetables, milk, speck and many other foods for their own use – and for walkers who call by. Nature is the one constant; if it rumbles mountain witches and mysterious powers are at work. If not, then one gives thanks to fairies or mystic beings. Belief in an old world, in customs and weather proverbs is still strong among many farming communities. more...

Learning from farmers

How people here once worked, baked bread, celebrated or looked for a new master, how they married and died can be gleaned from the committed members of the Rohrerhaus association.

Rohrerhaus association

Experience Country Life

Holidays close to nature

Farm holidays

The Red Rooster emblem stands for high standards of excellence in farmhouse accommodation and holidays under the motto of ‘experience and savour nature’. Over 1,400 farmsteads producing wine, fruit or keeping livestock offer hospitality to holidaymakers. In many places the children can muck in and help with chores. more...

Where even the hens need crampons

Several of these farmsteads can only be reached easily by cable car and provide a first insight into life in steep sites.

Fancy making hay?

Farmhouse Cuisine

Best farmstead trails

Farmhouse inns

Numerous farmsteads open their wood-panelled living rooms to guests. Some serve their own homemade wines, most offer excellent rural fare and lavish authentic hospitality on guests. They are best visited in the context of an energetic walk. more...

Farmhouse inn of the year

Nature sets the tone at the Niedermairhof, outdoors in the organic vineyards and orchards, indoors in the listed living room of the organic farmstead.