TRENTINO Not just apples in the Valley of the Non The project named “Upper Valley of the Non”, was designed and implemented by 24 municipalities in the Mountainous Rain-Bearing Basin of the Adige River (Bacino Imbrifero Montano dell’Adige), an area with over 15,000 inhabitants who wished to join forces to develop resources offering an economic alternative to their most important sectors (apple growing and livestock raising). The project seeks to develop cultural and environmental tourism, rehabilitating and upgrading existing resources in order to make them more accessible to local residents and tourists alike. Following a study aimed at developing a suitable strategy for implementation, the consortium of 24 municipalities availed itself of ERDF funding (under the Leader programme) to take the following steps: • creation of Valley walks, improving stretches of existing paths. Each walk has a specific theme, such as rediscovering frescoes or animal watching; • rehabilitation of external frescoes on buildings in the municipalities of Cloz, Cis, Coredo and Castelfondo; • creation of a cross-country ski track in the Regole di Malosco locality; • establishing a horse-riding centre; • purchasing the De Gentili house in Sanzeno and converting it into a museum and cultural centre. This house, one of Upper Valley of the Non’s major noble residences, was built in the 17th century and contains furniture, pictures and other objects collected by a noble family between the 17th and 19th centuries. These projects were completed in 1996. A footpath becomes an eco-museum In December 1994, the Vanoj footpath was included among the initiatives co- financed by the provincial authorities, the Italian Government and the European Union/ERDF, with the aim of converting it into an eco-museum. The rehabilitation and upgrading of the area are a fine example of sustainable development combining tourism and environmental protection. The path climbs from 2,000 to 2,750 m in a valley in the Paneveggio Park, 70 km north-east of Trent. It gets its name from the Vanoj Torrent which traverses the valley from north to south and it is the only access route to the alpine huts, inhabited by about 4,500 people until the beginning of the twentieth century. For some years, the Vanoj path has been in a dilapidated state, prompting the Paneveggio Park in 1992 to organise a conference entitled “An ethnographical path in the Park” in an effort to assess the best way to rehabilitate and preserve traditional alpine culture. Along the route, which has now been superbly equipped, visitors will find resting areas and panoramic viewpoints. Tourists can obtain information, consult guidebooks and maps, have a meal and rest in nine rehabilitated alpine huts. Part of this project involved bringing electricity and water to the alpine huts. In 1999, the path was cleaned and made useable and most of the alpine huts were restored. Work is progressing and will be completed by 2001. The eco-museum will employ about 50 persons. AUTONOMOUS PROVINCE OF BOZEN / BOLZANO Via Piave, 2 - Piavestraße 2 39100 Bolzano - Bozen - Italia Tel: +39 0471 41 31 66 Fax: +39 0471 41 31 89 E-mail: [email protected] AUTONOMOUS PROVINCE OF TRENT SERVIZIO RAPPORTI COMUNITARI (COMMUNITY RELATIONS SERVICE) Via Romagnosi, 9 38100 Trento - Italia Tel: +39 0461 49 52 10 Fax: +39 0461 49 52 07 E-mail: [email protected] .