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Food&Wine
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Nomi Villa Lagarina
Pomarolo
Nogaredo
Rovereto & Vallagarina
Besenello
Calliano Volano
Ronzo-Chienis Rovereto
Isera
Terragnolo
Mori
Trambileno
Brentonico
Vallarsa
Ala
Avio
Rovereto and Vallagarina
Explore the Vallagarina territory
We would like to welcome you to Vallagarina A long stretch of river, the Adige, flows between Verona and Trento through the lovely Vallagarina landscape, an amphitheatre planted as a vineyard that offers a range of artistic and cultural elements in the area surrounding the elegant city of Rovereto, once known as the “Athens of Trentino� for its strong cultural connotations. Located at the southern tip of Trentino, Vallagarina joins the rural territories and the cities, the plains and the mountains, the Italian and German cultures, and welcomes travellers to its almost unchanged landscape: the lower valley around Rovereto dominated by castles and scattered with small towns and villages of ancient origins; hills immersed in the lush green foliage of crops; the lower Alpine pasture land of Brentonico, in the heart of the Monte Baldo Nature Park; terraced fields in Val di Gresta; green pastures in Lessinia Trentina; mountain slopes covered in fir, pine and beech trees; rocky peaks of
the Piccole Dolomiti and the uncontaminated natural views of the Valli del Leno. In the summer, a light breeze comes from Lake Garda. This landscape retains all of its charm throughout the winter when the snow-covered mountains are transformed into ski tracks for outdoor sports enthusiasts. A long historical and cultural tradition, an interesting selection of unique foods and wines, and a rich agricultural compartment make this part of Trentino even more unique.
Find the app to explore Rovereto and Vallagarina: bit.ly/App-Vallagarina-EN 1
Food&Wine
Rovereto and Vallagarina
Vallagarina Flavours Landscapes of rare beauty, historic hamlets, museums and castles along the river Adige. You can find all this in Vallagarina. Along with wine, cheese, organic vegetables, the best of local produce interpreted and enhanced by the valley’s chefs, farmers and vineyard owners. The fruits of this territory share the same range of colours, fragrances and flavours, but they can be combined to produce a range of unique dishes and express many different creative impulses. Visitors on day trips can enjoy a quick meal and a day exploring museums, gourmet travellers seek traditional Trentino flavours, and families find places to keep the children engaged and satisfied. Sit back, get comfortable and enjoy the best of art and food.
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Food&Wine
Rovereto and Vallagarina
Vallagarina Cuisine Fanzelto
Ingredients
Preparation
Restaurants and gourmet food
This traditional product from Terragnolo is De.Co. certified (Council Designation guarantee) and belongs to the Slow Food “Ark of Taste”. The fanzelto, or fanzeltem, was created by peasants at a time when wheat and white flour were in short supply. It is prepared with buckwheat (formentòm).
Visitors can find excellent Trentino cuisine in large restaurants or small inns and establishments in the area. In the mountain farmhouses (locally called malghe) and the elegant wine cellars, quality is a fundamental aspect: when choosing ingredients, preparing foods, providing service and selecting wines. It is a simple, elegant way of cooking that respects tradition while concentrating on finding new ways to prepare beloved dishes in a contemporary context, combining flavours and playing on contrasts.
350 grams of buckwheat flour (formentòm) 5 dl (5 glasses) of water 9 grams of salt Lard as needed (if you don’t have lard, use olive oil)
Mix flour, salt and water delicately, little by little until it forms a soft creamy dough. Put a little lard or oil in an iron skillet or a non-stick pan. Heat on the burner. When the lard or oil are hot, pour the batter into the pan and stir to form the fanzelto. Fry on both sides. Serve hot and enjoy with cheese and slices of lucanica (mortadela) cold cuts.
Typical places to eat: osterie, malghe and mountain refuges Authentic, typical and prepared with products from the territory: this is the food offered by local farmhouses, trattorie and osterie (the latter two are traditional eating establishments). Canederli, strudel, polenta, fanzelto, soup, and charcuterie boards with locally produced cold cuts, cheese and homemade breads, accompanied by a glass of fine local wine: everything tastes better when enjoyed in a warm inn, a farm restaurant immersed in the green countryside or a mountain refuge. The right restaurant for every occasion: bit.ly/Restaurants-Vallagarina-EN
Events, shopping and markets
Along the Marzemino Path Cycling through the vineyards of the “excellent Marzemino” wine praised by Mozart in his “Don Giovanni” opera. The path starts in Borgo Sacco di Rovereto and winds from Isera through the countryside to reach the Sanctuary of Montalbano, a splendid panoramic terrace over the town of Mori. Find out more: bit.ly/Along-Marzemino-Route
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Is there anything nicer than browsing through the shelves of specialised stores to discover the exquisite food and wine of a location? Even the weekly markets and farmer’s markets, the traditional annual fairs and Christmas markets in the valley towns are ideal occasions to learn about the great variety of local products and the people that make them.
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A rich table is set up in every square at every festival, and wine and food abound for all to enjoy.
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Don’t miss the events at cellars, breweries and distilleries, when they open their doors to the public for tastings, guided tours and retail sales. Experience Rovereto and Vallagarina: bit.ly/Events-Vallagarina
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Rovereto and Vallagarina
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Food&Wine
Rovereto and Vallagarina
Sipping Vallagarina, from sparkling to sweet wines The best way to discover a territory is to use all five senses. In Vallagarina, there is a simple and particularly pleasant way to explore and satisfy one’s senses of taste, smell and eyesight: take the time to learn about its exquisite wines and the experiences that they can offer.
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This land, where the grapes have been grown by every civilization that has ever lived here through the centuries, is the origin of Trentodoc sparkling wine. It is also the home of several red grapes, used to make full-bodied long-lasting wines such as Bordeaux blends and Merlots, and the product that best represents this area, the “excellent Marzemino” mentioned in Mozart’s famous “Don Giovanni” opera.
Thanks to a few small producers, who have been able to keep the tradition alive over the centuries, visitors are able to taste Casetta and Enantio, which were consumed by local families in times past. Another precious wine is the Moscato Giallo, a balanced and fruity wine. Expert wine makers cultivate their vineyards with passion and skill, supervising each step of the process and tending their grapes in the plains, hills, and terraces and on the steep slopes of the side valleys. Their success results in superb wines that perfectly accompany local products from throughout the territory and the tasty dishes of traditional cuisine. In addition to wines, they also make grappa and different types of craft beer. At different times in the past, both these products found fertile ground in Vallagarina to reach high standards of quality.
Get the map of the cellars in Rovereto and Vallagarina
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Trentodoc
Quality grapes, experience and diligence go into the classic method
straw yellow 6° | 8° aperitif with cold cuts and cheese (good all-around wine)
wines
fish
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Nosiola
The white wine with the scent of the Mediterranean straw yellow 10° | 12° aperitif with cold cuts, cheese fish
Consolidated with over a century of history, the sparkling wines of these mountains are the ambassadors of our territory. The classic Trentino method in the brut, reserve and rosé variants, is a sign of quality and refinement, a welcomed product at parties or when one wants to simply drink an excellent glass of sparkling wine. In Vallagarina, the Trentodoc has as very solid roots, since back in 1899 Arminio Valentini, a pioneer in Calliano, decided to produce spumante and helped new wine makers and merchants to value the sparkling wines. The way was cleared definitively a few years later by Giulio Ferrari, who returned from France in 1902 with the experience and the rooted cuttings necessary for creating
the prestigious Trentino bubbly that is now known throughout the world. Today, the great producers of sparkling wines work with small farms that concentrate on this type of production, bringing out the characteristics of the grapes grown in particularly favourable conditions, which are capable of reaching the right balance of acidity and aromatic complexity.
Tasting this wine means becoming, at least for a moment, part of the natural environment where it is produced. From its delicate fragrance, nuances of white flowers, tart fruit and hazelnuts emerge along with hints of the Mediterranean climate around Lake Garda that affects some areas of Vallagarina. The wine reflects centuries of careful work, which have made it into one of Trentino’s symbols. This variety with mysterious origins has been cultivated in this area for centuries, since the Council of Trento.
It produces a wine with a straw yellow colour, sometimes with greenish hints and subtle fragrant and fruity notes. Pleasantly fresh and with an enjoyable mineral quality, the finish is slightly bitter.
13 producers of Trentodoc, out of the 54 currently operating in our province, are located in Vallagarina in the townships of Nomi, Nogaredo, Isera, Rovereto, Mori, Ala and Avio.
This wine is excellent with lake fish or trout, which can be caught in the clear waters of local Alpine rivers and streams.
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Food&Wine
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Marzemino
The red wine mentioned in Mozart’s “Don Giovanni”
ruby red 16° | 18° meat
wines
cheese
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Casetta
A spiced wine for true connoisseurs ruby red 18° | 20° meat
The fragrances and flavours of this “wine of emperors” or “of the dogi”, as it is known because it was always on the tables of aristocratic families, have faraway origins in time and space. Marzemino has come into contact with different populations, cultures and traditions, in both Asia and Europe, sometimes changing its name in different places. It has embellished the tables of our continent, but in Vallagarina, in particular in the nearby area of Isera and in the area of Ziresi, it found its ideal habitat, and has become one of the symbolic wines of Trentino. Its ruby red colour presents aromas and fra-
grances of wild berries with floral hints and slightly spicy notes. It is a truly original, versatile wine that can be paired with traditional dishes, different types of original recipes and new gastronomical trends.
People who love wines will certainly appreciate new sensorial experiences, like those that Casetta can provide: a spiced fragrance with a hint of vanilla that evolve with aging to become notes of leather and chocolate. It is produced with an autochthonous variety of grapes, and its deep ruby red colour harmonizes with a correct aging, when the greenest and fruitiest notes turn into complex spiced notes, which makes it particularly pleasant.
Don’t forget to try this niche product when you visit this area.
Isera, the “City of Wine” , holds a contest in October to find the most excellent Marzemino wine. Since 2001, “La vigna eccellente” has been the only European contest to identify the best Marzemino vineyard and most capable producer.
In Vallagarina, there is only one producer from Trentino that sells around 6,000 bottles of Casetta per year.
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@visitrovereto #VallagarinaFoodAndWine 18
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Food&Wine
Rovereto and Vallagarina
Enantio
An important chapter in our wine making history ruby red 18° meat
wines
cheese
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Bordolesi
Refined bouquets of French tradition ruby red 18° | 20° meat cheese
This variety has been well known since ancient times and was even mentioned by Pliny the Elder. It found a home in Vallagarina many centuries ago, in particular in the areas of Ala and Avio. Enantio wine is produced with an ancient variety of wild grapes and is enhanced through the work of skilful wine makers who take care of its production in the most suitable areas. This wine has made history in this valley, with its ruby red colour and fresh, dry and rather tannic taste. It is full-bodied, with light notes of spices and grass.
It is powerful, with incredible persistence; soft tannins and gentile piquant acidity make it unique and balsamic.
Due to its fertile soil, since the mid 1800s Vallagarina has been the ideal place to grow certain types of grapes of French origin, such as Cabernet and Merlot. At the beginning of the 1960s, the first types of Trentino Bordeaux blends were introduced. Known as bordolesi, these wines were the pioneers of an adventure that is still a source of satisfaction for producers and a thrill for connoisseurs. These elegant, structured wines have deep colours and refined bouquets with long, mellow
finishes that quickly conquered the markets entering right into the group of great Italian red wines.
This wine is also used to produce the cheese “Affogato all’Enantio”. The cheese rounds are immersed in the red wine for about 20 days, and they are turned over daily to make sure the liquid is absorbed uniformly.
Vallagarina can claim to have produced the first Bordeaux blend in Italy, and still today, some of the most important guides and influential sommeliers proclaim these wines to be among the best internationally.
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Food&Wine
Moscato Giallo
From the tables of princes to your table
deep yellow 10° | 12° desserts (zelten or strudel)
Rovereto and Vallagarina
People who love fragrant wines cannot pass up a chance to try this one, a favourite for centuries with its unique aroma and dazzling flavour. This variety of grape was cultivated by the ancient Greeks and Romans, and in Medieval times, it was served at the tables of princes. Moscato Giallo produced in Vallagarina comes in dry or sweet variants, both with structured harmonious balance, an aromatic bouquet, and notes of nutmeg, citrus and apricot. Interest in this wine began growing after the Castel Beseno area was recognised for the grapes harvested in the municipalities of Calliano and Besenello, near the manor house known as Castel Beseno. The area received a “D.O.C. Trentino Superiore“ attribution.
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wines
The “Castel Beseno Superiore” Moscato Giallo is celebrated during the “Autunno Divino” festival, where it is possible to enjoy its sweetness with the flavours of local products.
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In Vallagarina, among vineyards and castles 23
grappa
Food&Wine
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Rovereto and Vallagarina
If Italy is the country that invented grappa, then Trentino is one of the regions that excels for the quality of its production. A centuries-old tradition exists in Vallagarina for this art, and it is made up of technical knowledge, stories and anecdotes. Producers still use the traditional “bain marie� distilling system in a discontinuous cycle, to confer a particular softness and an elegant fragrance to the precious liquid. Specialised companies require one hundred days of uninterrupted work, between September and December, to process the tones of fresh grape pomace from the best classic and autochthonous varieties and create excellent quality grappa.
Excellence from the most illustrious grape-growing land in the world
Discover the different varieties of grappa made from the pomace of native Vallagarina grapes such as Marzemino, with its harmonious and fragrant structure.
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Rovereto and Vallagarina
craft beer
Niche products from new generations
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In recent years, Trentino has witnessed the advent of many small companies founded by creative young entrepreneurs who are passionate about craft beer. These brews stand apart from industrial beer because they are not pasteurised and, more importantly, because each label emerges from the brewer’s passion and personal choices in ingredients. The result: niche products that provide unique tastes that cannot be found in industrially produced beers.
It might sound incredible, but there are over 150 types of craft beer officially recognised. Each label brings different emotions with it.
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Rovereto and Vallagarina
products from the territory 28
Food&Wine
Rovereto and Vallagarina
Vallagarina discovered through fragrances and flavours In addition to its elegant wines, Vallagarina is also renowned for its quality food products, which lend an original touch of exquisite taste to your table. Cheese, vegetables, herbs, meat, cured meats, bread and chestnuts all provide excellent flavour due to a balanced agricultural tradition continued for centuries by farmers, breeders and producers of these fine products.
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Food&Wine
Rovereto and Vallagarina
The air and the soil combine with the temperature and the humidity to form the valley’s particular climate, which would not be that important if it were not for the patient work of passionate people.
One of the main sources of pride are the vegetables from Val di Gresta, a community that has always been dedicated to its crops, and which pioneered the practices of organic farming. Even the famous Castione chestnuts, saffron, truffles, honey and the flowers of Monte Baldo, the cheeses, the buckwheat and the herbs of the Valli del Leno are excellent products, which have been on the tables and in the markets of this area for centuries. All you have to do is choose. Get the map of the food producers in Rovereto and Vallagarina
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At the Foot of Monte Stivo in Val di Gresta In Vallagarina, let yourself be inspired 34
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Food&Wine
Organic vegetables
An entire valley with a green soul
Rovereto and Vallagarina
Growing vegetables while protecting the environment and the health of customers and those who eat their products is the goal of producers in Val di Gresta, a community of future-minded farmers who decided to bet on organic farming methods and other methods integrated twenty years before to create a bio-district that is a source of pride for the entire nation. Here, horticulture has been practiced since the times of the ancient Romans, on terraces preserved to this day through the passion of small farmers. Organic vegetables are marked with a ladybug symbol. They are the result of an agricultural tradition that is accustomed to following the slow rhythms of nature, enhanced with advanced agronomic techniques. Pure or transformed, used in delicious soups, cream tomato sauces, or soft carrot cakes, these vegetables grow on green terraces surrounded by mountains. In the Val di Gresta basket, we can find carrots, potatoes, celeriac, leeks, cauliflowers, cabbage, cucumbers, onions, green beans, lettuce, tomatoes, red radicchio, and courgettes.
Val di Gresta was the first territory in Trentino to become an organic agriculture district, an extraordinary achievement that was finalised in 2013. Today, the carrots, cabbage and celeriac grown in this area are recognised with a quality mark, the “Marchio QualitĂ Trentinoâ€?.
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Aromatic herbs and spices
A touch of class for your cooking
Rovereto and Vallagarina
The wide variety of climates and natural environments that we can find in Vallagarina, even just a few kilometres apart, provide us with several types of herbs and spices that add a touch of exotic taste to our dishes. In Val di Gresta, the Valli del Leno and the Monte Baldo Nature Park, there are several species of medicinal herbs like mint, lemon balm, calendula, corn-flower, lavender and mallow, which are used in cooking and to make cosmetics. Chives, wood sorrel, dandelion, Good-King-Henry, elderberries, gooseberries and woodruff grow in the woods and meadows. The finest of these is certainly the saffron that grows on Monte Baldo, which is harvested from Crocus Sativus, a lavender flower with reddish pistils. Its unmistakable yellow colour conveys intense aroma and bold flavour.
Bitter liqueurs and syrups
Natural drinks for every taste
Along with the wide selection of grappa, there are countless hydro-alcoholic extracts made with herbs and roots, each prepared expertly to create a pleasant and captivating product. Some of the herbs and spices used include lemon verbena, gentian, burdock, cinnamon, wormwood and cloves. People who do not enjoy alcoholic drinks can opt for fruit juices and syrups made from raspberries, elderberries, blueberries and wild cherries, prepared with tasty genuine natural products with intense, authentic flavours.
The territory’s wine producing vocation is also reflected in the production, by a few small firms, of single variety fresh grape juices, which are delicious and suitable for all ages.
Many herbs, like woodruff, basil, chamomile, gentian, juniper, liquorice, lemon balm, nettle, mountain pine, rhubarb, rue and sage are also used to aromatise grappa.
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Cheese
A noble tradition of great flavours
Rovereto and Vallagarina
In Vallagarina, like in the rest of the Alpine region, the art of making cheese has a long history. These cheeses are soft and aged, with delicate or strong flavours, and they reflect the fragrance of pastures and the expertise of the producers. Monte Baldo, Lessinia, and Pasubio are locations for hospitable malghe, farmhouses where guests are welcome in summertime to observe the transformation of milk from uncontaminated Alpine pastures. Here, it is possible to experience milking firsthand, and then taste the products and enjoy the landscape while walking through the lovely countryside. The biodiversity of these mountain territories transfers unique aromas and flavours to the cheeses, the final result of time-tested processes that protect the ecosystems. In the Valli del Leno, people still raise goats and make traditional cheeses using different methods. The range of products varies from ricotta to aged cheeses.
A unique product, “Affogato all’Enantio”, was created through the combination of two historical traditions: wine and cheese production. This speciality recognised with the “Marchio Qualità Trentino” presents an original way of combining milk from mountain pastures on Monte Baldo with typical local wine. The cheese is immersed in wine for a period of time, until it takes on a particularly soft consistency and delicate fragrances.
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Food&Wine
Chestnuts from Castione
An excellent result of the work of many generations
Rovereto and Vallagarina
Chestnuts are quite popular today, and their cultivation has been a tradition for centuries in the town of Castione, on the Brentonico plateau on the top of Monte Baldo. In the past, each family in the area owned and harvested the yields of at least one tree, and then went on to sell their production outside the provincial and national borders. Today, there are about 2,500 trees, some more than three hundred years old that produce large heart-shaped nuts with mild finegrained pulp. These chestnuts are harvested with natural methods, directly from the trees by expert “beaters” who climb up the trees and knock the burrs to the ground with long sticks. This practice allows them to harvest all the burrs and chestnuts on a single day. The burrs are gathered into a large pile, which undergoes a natural fermentation process that allows the chestnuts to keep longer. Many recipes and unique products have emerged from the chestnut harvesting process, combined with the wines of the area. Some of these include chestnut tagliolini pasta, chestnut beer and the famous “Marroncino di Castione” liqueur.
Each year in October, on the Brentonico plateau, a big chestnut festival is held to celebrate this precious crop. The “Festa del Marrone” is a two-day event that features tastings of many dishes in which chestnuts are the main ingredient.
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Breads and Grains
Rediscovering mills and buckwheat
Vallagarina has not forgotten its history, and the times in which water-driven mills powered by rivers and streams were plentiful in the land. Now, the ancient art of breadmaking is being rediscovered, along with the relaunch of cultivations of grain such as wheat, sorghum, rye, oats and barley. In some valleys, such as Terragnolo, people are also starting to raise buckwheat again, which used to be a very common crop. In the spring and summer months, farmers scatter the seeds and then, after the land is tilled, the fields sprout and turn bright green until October, when they are ready for cutting. The grain is beaten with a traditional flavel which separates the grains from the bran and the rest of the plant. The kernels are gathered and processed into “Farina negra” which is used to prepare fanzelto, a type of flatbread that was one of the most important foods for the local populations for centuries. Some of the most well-known Trentino recipes have originated from this bread, such as canederli and strangolapreti, delicious typical dishes from the local farming and peasant traditions.
In Vallarsa and in Sorne di Brentonico there are two ancient mills, both of which are still operating and open to visitors.
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Chestnut Forests in Castione on the Altopiano di Brentonico 44
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Honey
Precious nectar from the mountains
This “dual� product, with a simultaneously animal and vegetable origin, is one of the main natural foods. Its peculiar characteristics depend on the type of flowers present in the area of origin. The authentic guardian of fragrances and flavours of the Trentino mountains, honey is the essence of plants and flowers growing in the fields, meadows and forests: mixed flower, acacia, chestnut, rhododendron, dandelion and fir honey are some of the types of local honey.
Many farmhouses in the area offer their guests the opportunity to taste the honey coming directly from the hives arranged in their fields.
To learn more about the local farming traditions, visit the farming museum in Vallarsa. If you love coffee, the oldest roastery in Italy is waiting for you in the centre of Rovereto.
Meat and cured meats
When aging and seasoning become an art
Vallagarina maintains traditions in the process of drying meats that survive to this day. Different procedures, which vary from town to town, give these products specific characteristics. Many butcher shops and farms in the city and in the small towns continue the traditions of producing - each with their own recipes - speck, luganega (the salami made in Trentino valleys), carne salada and other typical cured meats.
In Lower Vallagarina, carne salada is a traditional product made by using an ancient meat preservation method on pork, instead of beef, which is produced in the nearby Alto Garda area.
Would you like to discover the fragrances and flavours of Rovereto and Vallagarina? Book your experience here: bit.ly/Reserve-Vallagarina
Find out more about our cultural offers: bit.ly/Discover-Vallagarina
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How to get there
Trentino Guest Card and Museum Pass The Trentino Guest Card and Museum Pass will let you enter the main museums and castles for free or at a discounted price, and you can also travel as much as you like on the public transport in Trentino.
Car
from north or south: Autostrada del Brennero A22 exits Ala/Avio, Rovereto Sud/Lago di Garda Nord and Rovereto Nord
Find out more: bit.ly/Cards-Vallagarina
Train
from the south: Verona > Rovereto from the north: Innsbruck > Bolzano > Rovereto Bolzano
A public coach service connects Rovereto with Brentonico plateau, Val di Gresta, Valli del Leno and towns in Vallagarina. A taxi service is also available.
Trento
Rovereto Milan
Airplane
Shuttle buses and coach rides to and from airports in Verona, Venice, Treviso, Milan and Bergamo.
Verona
Venice
Turin
Modena
Coach
Coaches from the biggest cities in north and central Italy are available.
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Rovereto and Vallagarina
Rovereto (TN): +39 0464 430363 | info@visitrovereto.it
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Credits: Fototeca Visitrovereto, photos by Elisa Vettori, Il Companantico, Marco Simonini, Tommaso Prugnola, Michele Purin, Matteo Bruseghini, Chiara Cei, Silvia Passerini, Luca Monelli. Fototeca Trentino Marketing, photos by Alberto Narduzzi.
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Rovereto (TN): +39 0464 430363 | info@visitrovereto.it