The Other Side of Italy
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South Tyrol The other side of Italy South Tyrol The other side of Italy “In the Southern Tyrol, the weather cleared up, the sun of Italy made itself felt; even at a distance the hills became warmer and brighter, I saw vines rising on them, and I could now often lean out of the carriage windows.” from: Heinrich Heine, Travel Pictures II, Chapter XIII (1828-1832) Local colour page 20 Chapter 1 Mountains Chapter 4 Eminences Sheer brashness page 23 A class of their own page 67 Dolomites: The Pale Mountains 24 Ötzi: The man from the glacier 68 Myths and Legends: Absolutely fabulous 27 Haflinger: South Tyrol’s equine blondes 69 King Laurin: The roses have betrayed me 29 Castles: Tyrol of yore 72 Mining: In the bowels of the mountain 32 Romanesque frescoes: Heaven on earth 74 Perspectives: Sweeping vistas 33 Mountain lifts: Electrical alpenglow 75 Water: Crystal clear 34 Matteo Thun: The consummate designer 76 Chapter 2 Joie de vivre Chapter 5 Tradition Harmony at the frontiers page 37 The art of self-preservation page 79 Autonomy: Bad times, good times 38 Alpine farming women: Farming women’s proclamation 80 Mediterranean joie de vivre and Alpine staidness: 39 Customs and traditions: Witching hours 81 Three perspectives and one fulcrum Tradition: Red hat band, green hat band 82 Extract from: Joseph Zoderer, ‘Die Walsche’ (The foreign Italian Girl) 42 Geraniums: The fire in the bay window 86 Ladins: é pa mé da dì – I just want to say 44 Dialect: As spoken by South Tyroleans 87 Rut Bernardi “la ie pa da r” (That’s laughable) 45 Handicrafts: Skill and dexterity 88 Knödel and Spaghetti: Alpine simplicity and Mediterranean refinement 48 Commentary: The Holey Land 90 Provincial capital: Bolzano/Bozen 49 Knödel and Speck: Poor man’s food 94 Chapter 3 Landscape Chapter 6 A new dawn Rural scene page 51 A new dawn page 97 Wine: In the vineyard 52 The towns: Town and village portraits 98 Recipe: Terlan white wine soup 55 Architecture: The hot tin roof 100 Törggelen: The fifth season 56 Contemporary art: Concept art 102 Gardens and spas: The promenades and the Tappeiner 59 Museums: Showcasing the home country 103 Apples: Golden orbs 60 Messner Mountain Museum: Museum summit 104 ‘Waale’ – age-old irrigation channels: The farmer as an engineer 61 Alpine farms: Summer pastures 63 Baths culture: Revitalising rural treatments 64 Information on South Tyrol page 107 For orientation: at the end of the book you will find a map of South Tyrol to help you to find villages, towns, valleys and mountains. Each chapter contains geographical indications and coordinates under the heading ‘Fact box’ (i.e., Bolzano/Bozen [C4]). | 7 The Alpe di Siusi/Seiser Alm against the backdrop of Sassolungo/Langkofel and the Sasso Piatto/Plattkofel: Europe’s vastest expanse of Alpine pastureland is paradise for hikers 8 | 9 Scenic ski runs: Downhill runs, cross-country ski and walking trails, in winter the Alpe di Siusi/Seiser Alm offers plenty for everybody 10 | 11 Warm bathing lake nestling amid South Tyrol’s vineyards: the lake Lago di Caldaro/Kalterer See to the south of Bolzano/Bozen 12 | 13 South Tyrol’s provincial capital and its vinescape: Bolzano/Bozen 14 | 15 Between heaven and earth: ski slopes, cross-country ski trails, toboggan runs with unimpeded views of mountains ranging in height from 3,000 to 10,000 feet 16 | 17 As far as your feet will take you: South Tyrol’s mountains are connected by 13,000 kilometres of hiking trails 18 | 19 Local colour Introduction Gritty – that is a good word to describe South Tyrol/Südtirol. The region is made of sturdy material, it has structure. Rocks give it its form, quickly changing varieties of stone from por- phyry through marble and granite to Dolomite define the land- scape and vegetation. The inhabitants have tilled the land with their hands to make the cultivated land alternate with stone, colour and vegetation. Nature and culture intermingle. People cling to tradition and custom. New projects are started. In 1999 Count Michael Goess-Enzen- berg decided to extend and modernise his Manincor estate wine cellars near Caldaro/Kaltern, built to designs by Walter Angonese, Rainer Köberl and Silvia Boday. Landscape, history and functionality all play a central role in the planning, for it is built by expanding the original edifice. The South Tyrolean artist Manfred Alois Mayr entered the building site at the in- tersection of the old and new. The painter said he would find the colours himself. At Manincor he removed layers of colour, searched for traces of hues from the history of the wine estate, 20 from the tradition of winegrowing in South Tyrol, documented soil, poverty, of the omnipresence of the Church and the pride the building process. Then he presented his colour concept. of a people who have defied emperors, soldiers and dictators He wanted to spray a giant wall dividing the old from the new and who, to a large extent, now determine their own way au- building with Bordeaux mixture – turquoise. His was given the tonomously. The houses were whitewashed, brightly-coloured go-ahead. What is more: the counts were enthusiastic. Bor- costumes were only worn on Sundays, the fascists wore black, deaux mixture – copper sulphate and dehydrated lime – was their party buildings were Pompeian red. the first fungicide to be used in vineyards and today the old Farmers’ aprons are blue in South Tyrol. Aprons. Boys were walls in wine estates are still tinged with blue from bluestone. given their apron on their first day at school. It was said that a The Enzenberg family owned the copper mine in the Val Au- man without his apron is only half dressed. In 1997 the farm- rina/Ahrntal Valley and until it closed in 1893 it supplied Bor- ers in Val Venosta/Vinschgau Valley were given a new fruit co- deaux mixture to winegrowers in all South Tyrol. operative. The style of the architect Arnold Gapp was alien to An example of how history, tradition, progress are intertwined. the farmers. Manfred Alois Mayr was once again consulted. He Manincor is a South Tyrolean example par excellence, though painted a part of the building lapis lazuli blue. At last – painted there are others. They constitute a current of thought and the colour of their aprons - the building had a proper face for ideas in contemporary culture: South Tyrol is seen as a modern the farmers. They recognized their work in the colour. Sudden- region able to develop its own unmistakable image from its ly contemporary architecture was comprehensible. past. “I transport stories/histories with colour”, says the artist Manfred Alois Mayr. These stories relate tales of nature, the Local colour | 21 South Tyrol’s tallest ‘skyscraper’: ‘King Ortles’ in Val Venosta/Vinschgau Valley 22 Chapter 1 Mountains Sheer brashness In South Tyrol all perspectives emanate from the mountains. It was the townsfolk who first climbed the summits and open up unimagined perspectives to the mountain folk. Nobody knew what it was like on the Ortles/Ortler mountain until 1804. In that year the chamois hunter Josef Pichler from Hans Kammerlander was likewise curious. He climbed his first the Val Passiria/Passeiertal Valley became the first to climb the summit by secretly following two tourists up to the Moos- summit. He managed to stay there for four minutes. It was icy. Stock summit in the Valli di Tures & Aurina/Tauferer Ahrntal He climbed it again in 1805, this time he waved a flag and eve- Valley. rybody believed him: the Ortles, almost four thousand metres Townspeople were the first to develop a passion for the moun- – or over thirteen thousand feet – high, the tallest mountain in tains 200 years ago. They strove for the summits, guided by all Tyrol had been conquered. To celebrate the triumph a pyra- rural youths. An unlikely rope team resulted: the tourist had mid of rocks was built rather than a summit cross. the summit in his sights, while the guide was on the lookout The mountain folk in southern Tyrol were not particularly for crystals and chamois. One made the summit famous, the elated at this. Until well into the 19th century many people other depended on the mountain for his livelihood. In this way regarded mountaineering as the height of brashness. What people lost their dread of the mountains. All peaks have been was the point? Was there even air to breathe up there? Before climbed and named and entered on maps with indications 1786 no farmer had ever climbed a summit. Even on the Alpine of their elevations, climbing routes and refuges. People have pastures and passes they believed they had come too close to long realised that mountains did not open their way across the Heaven and erected crosses as a sign of repentance. In South earth’s surface like teeth. South Tyrol’s most famous moun- Tyrol there seemed to be a point in excavating tunnels into tains, the Dolomites – officially granted a UNESCO World Nat- the mountains to extract silver, copper, marble, but who other ural Heritage status in 2009 – even rise as fossilised coral reefs than a good-for-nothing would venture up there into the bar- formed at the bottom of an ancient sea. Today everybody can ren world of rock. Either God or the Devil inhabited the moun- access and experience the mountains in all their facets in safe- tain. No one knew for sure. ty thanks to walking trails and lift systems. Mountains which From this perspective South Tyrol is a veritable paradise for once struck awe into beholders are now perceived as beauti- such good-for-nothings.