Trento e Monte Bondone

 Just outside Trento is Mount Bondone, a hiking paradise and the city's green lung. A few minutes' drive takes you to the spectacular Viote plain, which lies between the three peaks of Bondone: a triumph of meadows, flowers, herb scents, mountain profiles and fresh air even on the hottest summer days. 

Down in the valley, the orchards and the carefully planted vineyards reach all the way to Trento's residential neighborhoods. More than suburbs they are proud villages with their own history and identity. Here professional and part-time farmers tend their countryside and embellish the landscape in a delicate and elegant way. 

White and red doc wines and the sparkling Trentodoc classic method, the flagship of mountain bubbles, are born right here on the first hills and flat fields surrounding the town. Chardonnay grapes are grown on suitable soil, and arbors of Schiava- a red variety widely grown in Trentino - crown the farmers' valuable work.

Located in the center of the region and sprawling along the Adige River, the city of Trento, with its 120,000 inhabitants, has ranked high in Italy's quality of life rankings for decades.

Trento is a small Alpine capital where it is pleasant to walk and bike: there are many bike paths, starting from the elegant Buonconsiglio Castle and the Cathedral of San Vigilio via the striking piazza del Duomo to the sunny residential neighborhoods. 

Trento's various Festivals and events dedicated to mountain cinema, economics and sports make it a center for culture. The university has 17,000 students (more than 50 percent from outside the region) and all its departments are among the best in Italy. Since 2013 it has been home to Muse, one of Europe's most important science museums.