the trail, from Sopramonte to Trento
The Itinerant Story of Montagnav(v)entura, year 2014, has been walked together with Enrico Brizzi, a writer from Bologna, who is also the chairman of the prize.
The route follows a section of the Trail of St. Vili, which connects Trento to Madonna di Campiglio, opened by the SAT in 1988. We propose it here because we believe that it has its own scenic beauty and historical meaning, besides the mentioned event.
If you go downtown by car, it is recommended to leave your vehicle at the car parking near the Trento-Male railway station, or at the garage Centro Europa, both for a fee (see the map). In a few minutes you can walk to the main railway station, where is located the stop of city bus # 6 (see the timetable).
With the city bus you reach Sopramonte, and get off at the stop in the town center, Piazza Oveno.
You go up along the town
walking along Via dei Turcati, Via dei Segati, Via della Belina and Via al Palù, and then take a nice country road.
You follow the road, walking among fields and grassy clearings, keeping to the right at an unmarked fork. You can enjoy beautiful views on Monte Gazza and Paganella:
After walking a stretch in the woods, you reach road SP85, which you follow for less than 100 m
up to a sharp bend, near Passo Camponzin.
Now you can choose to go down to Maso Camponzin, on a stretch of paved road (work in progress in April-May 2014), or go through the forest (green variant on the map):
In the first case you pass by Maso Camponzin, pass a fork, from where the trail is no longer paved, then you cross the SP85
and then reach another fork.
In the second case, you rise slightly in the woods, then down, after a while you cross the SP85, go down again, and soon join the original route.
In any case, the place offers a beautiful view over the Val d'Adige:
Continuing to descend, you reach the town of Sardagna:
You go through the village, past the beautiful fountain:
Now you can go to the cable car station, continuing along the village, following the indications (white variant on the map). By cable car you go down to Trento, with beautiful views of the city and the River Adige.
But you might prefer going down on foot. Near the church of San Rocco
you take the path that goes down into the woods, then along a short stretch of the SP85, up to a bend, where you turn on a narrow road, which passes next to the church of Sant Antonio:
You can enjoy beautiful views of the city, the surrounding mountains, and the Val d'Adige. Here, for example, is a view of the Church of St. Apollinaris and Bridge San Lorenzo:
You continue down until you reach the road, without taking it. Instead, you turn to the right, passing beside Ca' dei Gai
then you go down
and reach Piazzale Divisioni Alpine:
Going on, you cross the square of Piedicastello, near the Church of St. Apollinaris, then you cross Bridge San Lorenzo.
Immediately to the right after the bridge there is the valley station of the cable car.
The original route (orange variant on the map) now heads south aside River Adige, until you pass the Palazzo delle Albere and reach the district of the same name, where lies the futuristic MUSE (Museum of Science)
and the ITAS site.
To close the path, instead, you cross the railway bridge and return to the station.
■ gb, 2014-04-23