Val di Sole

In the lower part of the valley we find agriculture based mainly on apples, for example in Val di Non. Here there is no shortage of mountain pastures to accommodate the herds in summer. Casolèt is the most typical cheese: a soft, homemade caciottella, once made from whole milk, with a firm rind and in wheels no heavier than 2 kg, a yellow paste that lends itself to original recipes in the kitchen.

Water is a real treasure here. The thermal valleys of Pejo (with its springs of oligomineral waters) and Rabbi (dotted with original wooden barns; here, too, there are oligomineral springs discovered as early as the mid-seventeenth century and appreciated by Empress Maria Theresa) are part of the Stelvio National Park. These waters are unique in chemical composition, endowed with beneficial properties for the skin, venous and lymphatic vessels, urinary tract, muscular and skeletal system, and respiratory tract. 

An area of environmental protection where there is no shortage of glaciers, peaks over 3,000 meters, azure blue alpine lakes, waterfalls, and a composite protected fauna - about 50 species of mammals, a hundred birds, plus reptiles, amphibians and fish - ranging from deer (their roaring at the threshold of autumn has become a tourist attraction), chamois, roe deer, marmots, squirrels, hare, grouse and capercaillie, and eagles. 

More than 1,800 plant species have been surveyed in the park territory. The undergrowth is dominated by shrubs, such as bilberry and cranberry. There is no shortage of ethnographic trails to learn about past rural life and traditions that have remained alive to this day, such as the one dedicated to discovering milk and farmsteads in Val di Rabbi. In Somrabbi, the casèl - an old cheese factory dating back to 1858 - has been turned into a small museum. The cheese-making tools tell us about the labors of yesteryear that have always respected the mountain living environment.