Latest news with #Trentino
The Sun
2 days ago
- The Sun
Stunning mountain village in hols hotspot offers families £90,000 to move in… but no one is taking up the offer
A PICTURESQUE mountain village in a holiday hotspot has promised to give families nearly £100,000 to live there - but no one is taking up the generous offer. The idyllic town, renowned for its breathtaking mountain ranges, is trying to combat its declining population and crumbling infrastructure. 5 5 Located in the northern region of Italy, Trentino has made the enticing offer in an attempt to revamp the village. Local authorities launched a new housing initiative which hopes to give some 33 towns a much-needed population boost and makeover. The desperate scheme offered buyers a grant of £90,000 - nearly £70,000 given for renovation, while the remaining cash was provided to purchase a derelict property. Those who took the cash would have to commit to living at the home or renting it out for at least 10 years. Not doing so would result in the grant having to be repaid in full. Applications were be accepted in rounds lasting three to four months each, with the first opening in May. When the initiative closed in late June - its had received just 291 applications. But one town, Sagron Mis, failed to attract even one applicant. Nestled at the foot of the Dolomites, Sagron Mis is a sleepy commune made up of two villages, Sagron and Mis. It is known for jaw-dropping views - and boasts many cracking hikes and lookout spots. Inside Britain's most notorious naked village: with nude vicars, bush wars and strict sex rule The town does, however, come with some challenges, despite its many appeals. For starters, it has just one shop to serve its population of 170 residents. Access to other essential services is limited. Its mayor, Marco Depaoli, said: "We have the post office, the cooperative. "But we are lacking in the presence of a general practitioner." The mayor remains optimistic, and said: "It's not a drama. It takes patience. There is no deadline, it is not a rejection of the town." He also said that there was strong interest in his town, even though there were no applications made to live there for cash. "Fifteen people have contacted our municipal offices to ask what the rule is, how it works, how to proceed to obtain funding," he explained. Trentino authorities have allocated over an eyewatering £8.6million to the initiative since it launched last year. The scheme covers municipalities in areas like Val di Non, Val di Sole, Primiero, Valsugana, and others. Both Italian nationals and foreign residents can apply. 5
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
The village that can't PAY people to live there - despite offering families £90,000 to move in
An idyllic Italian village is willing to give people €100,000 to move in and revamp crumbling villas - but no one's taking up on the offer. Despite being renowned for its beautiful mountain ranges, the northern Italian region of Trentino has suffered with a declining population in recent years. In response, local authorities launched a new housing initiative aimed at revitalising as many as 33 towns at risk of becoming deserted. Under the scheme, buyers are offered a grant of €100,000 - €80,000 towards renovation and €20,000 to help them purchase a derelict home. The only condition is they must commit to living at the property or renting it out for at least 10 years. Failing to meet these conditions could result in the grant having to be repaid. Applications are accepted in rounds lasting three to four months. The first round opened in May, and by its close on June 30, the initiative had received 291 applications. However, one town, Sagron Mis, failed to attract a single applicant. Nestled at the foot of the Dolomites, Sagron Mis is a commune made up of two villages, Sagron and Mis. It's renowned for its stunning natural beauty and boasts numerous hiking trails and observation points. But despite its appeal, the town does come with challenges. With just one shop to serve its 170 residents, access to essential services is limited. 'We have the post office, the cooperative,' said the town's mayor, Marco Depaoli.' But we are lacking in the presence of a general practitioner.' Still, Depaoli remains optimistic. 'It's not a drama. It takes patience. There is no deadline, it is not a rejection of the town,' he said. 'I wouldn't make it a casus belli.' While no formal applications were received the major says there has been strong interest. 'Fifteen people have contacted our municipal offices to ask what the rule is, how it works, how to proceed to obtain funding,' he said. He also cited the limited housing stock as another hurdle. 'There are about fifteen houses for sale. We need to see if they meet the conditions, and if those who buy them are interested in the financing proposal,' he explained. 'We have several second homes, and people often do not sell them.' Depaoli hopes that when the next application window opens in September, more people will consider relocating to what he describes as a 'beautiful, respected place with great future potential.' The Trentino government has allocated more than €10million to the initiative since it launched in 2024. The scheme includes municipalities in areas like Val di Non, Val di Sole, Primiero, Valsugana, and others. Towns such as Bresimo, Livo, Rabbi, and Vermiglio are participating. Other areas like Primiero, Alpe Cimbra (Luserna), and Valsugana (Castello Tesino, Cinte Tesino, Grigno) are also involved. Both Italian nationals and foreign residents are eligible to apply. President of Trento, the capital of Trentino, said: 'The goal is to revitalise local communities and promote territorial cohesion.' The new scheme comes after the '1 euro housing' initiative launched in Italy in 2017. Several Italian towns, particularly in Sicily, launched initiatives to sell abandoned houses for the symbolic price of 1 euro to combat depopulation and revitalize historic centers. The scheme attracted international attention and led to the revitalization of many towns. Buyers typically need to commit to renovating the property within a specified timeframe and pay associated fees and taxes. A British man who bought a house in Italy for the bargain price of just €1/85p recently revealed he now has hundreds of people desperate to rent it out. George Laing, 32, bought the derelict three-storey property in Mussomeli, a town in Sicily, in December 2022. The Brit purchased the bargain home under a renovation scheme set up by the council. Once George had paid for admin fees, agency costs and energy certificates, the purchase price came to €5,000/£4,300. And George, who works as an antiques trader, now splits his time between Mussomeli and Eastbourne. He says he spent less than £10,000 renovating the home, despite it requiring a lot of renovations. George had to fix the home's leaky roof, set up electricity and have the water supply reconnected. The enterprising Brit did nearly all of the improvements himself but admits there were some difficulties along the way, including when a storm hit and 'buckets of water' came in the house. George revealed: 'I wouldn't say it's a completely glamourous lifestyle, but it's definitely a rewarding one.' The antiques trader has been sharing the journey on his Instagram (@george_laing_) and claims that more than 500 followers have requested to rent the home. He says: 'It's been the best decision I've made. I've got a waiting list of more than 500 people waiting to rent my home out. 'I just use my website and a booking form, I don't have to use or Airbnb - it's edging up to nearly 600 people now.' George has now bought a second €1/85p home in Mussomeli, due to the positive reaction he's had.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Immobile scores twice in Bologna pre-season debut victory
Ciro Immobile has made an immediate impact at Bologna, scoring two goals in this evening's pre-season friendly. The Rossoblu had their first outing of the 2025-26 campaign in their training retreat of Valles in the Trentino Aldo Adige region. They swept local team Gitschberg Jochtal aside 8-0 and the most notable name on the teamsheet was new signing Immobile. Immobile makes immediate impact for Bologna The veteran scored twice on his return to Italian football after a season at Besiktas, having started the match alongside Benjamin Dominguez, Dan Ndoye and Giovanni Fabbian. Winger Ndoye, who has been heavily linked with a move to Napoli this summer, also scored two goals in the 8-0 victory. Riccardo Orsolini had a brace too, with Nicolò Cambiaghi and Santiago Castro rounding out the scoreline with a goal each. Coach Vincenzo Italiano fielded his Bologna side in a 4-2-3-1 formation supporting Immobile, who made way for Castro at half-time.
South China Morning Post
7 days ago
- South China Morning Post
Where to visit in Trentino, Italy's beautiful ‘Little Finland' of 300 lakes
Luca Torta was born in Venice, Italy, but does not plan to return there as he has found his home in Trento. Forty years ago, he set up a coffee bar in this northern Italian city, right next to the Torre Negri, one of the area's many must-see spots. He is currently experimenting with a licorice-flavoured coffee. 'Trento offers a great quality of life because it's still quiet and peaceful here,' says Torta, who is a fan of the fact that the city centre is car-free and you can easily stroll around everywhere. Trento, with its piazzas and narrow streets, is often underrated compared to other Italian cities. Founded more than 2,000 years ago by the Celts, then conquered by the Romans, the city has just as much Mediterranean charm as nearby, often-overcrowded Verona. It also has palaces and other magnificent buildings, such as the Castello del Buonconsiglio. The Romans saw the strategic advantages of the city's location in the Adige Valley early on – excavations beneath the old town reveal a sophisticated canal system from ancient Tridentum, as Trento was known in Latin. Its abundance of water remains the cornerstone of the wealth of the wider Trentino province, of which Trento is the capital. It has been using hydroelectric power to generate electricity since World War II, and it continues to supply other parts of the country.
The Guardian
15-07-2025
- The Guardian
The valleys of the Dolomites: exploring Italy's new network of wild trails
Thick white cloud hangs outside the windows of Rifugio Segantini, a mountain hut 2,373 metres up in the Italian Alps. But it is shifting, revealing glimpses of the majestic Brenta Dolomites before us: a patch of snow here, a craggy peak there. The view is tantalising, and a couple of times I have run outside in a kind of peekaboo farce to see the full display, only for it to pass behind clouds again. The Guardian's journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more. The refuge – cosy, wooden-clad and packed with hikers – is named after the Italian landscape painter Giovanni Segantini, who was inspired by these mountains. His portrait hangs on the walls and his name is embroidered on the lace curtains. A simple stone building with blue and white shutters in Val d'Amola, the refuge is dwarfed by its rugged surrounds, with Trentino's highest peak, the snow-capped 3,556-metre Presanella, as a backdrop. The entries in the guestbook are entirely by locals. For most British hikers, the eastern parts of the Dolomites, like the Tre Cime di Lavaredo and Lago di Braies, towards Cortina, are better known. Few come to Trentino, and fewer still come to this part of the Adamello Brenta nature park. This, I am told, is the wild part of these mountains: less explored, with fewer tourists, and rousing 'bigger emotion', according to my mountain guide Nicola Binelli. (He climbed Presanella for the first time when he was six.) I'm here to sample the new Via delle Valli (the Trail of the Valleys), a network of 50 hiking routes covering 50 of Trentino's mountain valleys, which launches this month. It runs from ski capital Madonna di Campiglio down to Lake Idro, taking in both the Brenta Dolomites and the Adamello glacier, Italy's largest. Some are gentle family-friendly strolls; others are remote challenging climbs for which a mountain guide is recommended. Trails can be walked in a day, or strung together in a multi-day trek, making use of the area's mountain huts (open from June to September) and bivouac shelters. But exploring the whole route is a long-term project, intended to be walked over weeks, months or even years. These trails existed before, but they have been unified under the Via delle Valli. Their signage is being updated, maps and GPX files have been made available online, and a 'Valley Passport' has been introduced, which hikers can stamp at each valley as an encouragement to return. Each valley has a local ambassador, intended to pass their love and knowledge of the area on to others. The initiative, which has been three years in the making, is the brainchild of local tourist board manager Loredana Bonazza, who was inspired by Spain's famous Camino de Santiago. The idea, she explains, is to tempt mountain-lovers away from the area's hotspots, like Madonna di Campiglio and Val Genova, and towards adventures on lesser-charted trails. 'Every valley is different,' she says. 'We forget everything [in the mountains]: our stress, our jobs, our family problems. You really feel connected with the mountain. The result is: per scoprire; per scoprirsi. To discover; to discover yourself.' My focus is on two contrasting valleys – the rocky, rough Val D'Amola and neighbouring verdant Val Nambrone, where we begin by exploring one of its jewels: the breathtaking (literally) Lago Vedretta, at 2,600 metres. We climb from another hut, Rifugio Cornisello (newly renovated and all timber and glass), through green alpine pastures, up over a rocky lip, where the lake appears in all its glory. The landscape remains frozen, even in late June, with sheets of ice thawing into pale blue water. You'd be forgiven for thinking it was Patagonia, rather than Italy. There are around 100 bears in Trentino, as well as wolves, foxes, chamois, falcons and eagles. But on the way back to the refuge, where we are spending the night, we take a detour up above the turquoise Lago di Cornisello Superiore to spot fluffier mountain residents: marmots. There are plenty of them up here, promises Debora Rambaldini, ambassador for Val Nambrone and the first woman in the area to become a forest guard. We follow her up a lush green spur dotted with wildflowers, and stand in silence, listening to the sounds of rushing water. Rambaldini puts a finger to her lips. There, a flush of reddish fur, a marmot darting between rocks, bushy tailed. And better still, another sunbathing on a rock below, eyeing us with suspicion. The following day, we head to Val D'Amola. The route takes us around the inky Lago Nero and up over the Bocchetta de l'Om pass, backpacks fully loaded. Val D'Amola is only a few kilometres away, but it is a different world. It is more peat and bog, more Lord of the Rings. The water – grey here, not blue – thunders rather than babbles. But after lunch it's our ascent up to Quattro Cantoni, a steep ledge and the gateway to the next valley, that reveals more of these mountains' wild side. The cloud hangs low and thick, and apparently a storm is coming – soon. The sky rumbles above. Scrambling over rocks, tiptoeing on ledges and gingerly crossing patches of snow, the route is humbling: a reminder to improve my mountaineering skills. But safely back at Segantini, I feel elated. And the storm never comes. At Segantini, just as we sit down for our hearty mountain dinner of polenta, the clouds finally part. Seen from Cornisello, these jagged, teeth-like Dolomites appeared pastel pink in the sunset; now, they are slate-grey, foreboding, capped with snow. They fill the whole horizon. As the sky darkens, we can see the twinkling lights of another hut, the vast Tuckett which sleeps 120 people, slowly appear on their black flanks. I head to bed happy, and feel my heart racing with the altitude. It's a small, six-bed dorm room, with a window that looks back towards the way we came. Occasionally, distant flashes of lightning illuminate the room, disrupting the dark and quiet. Sleeping – and waking – above 2,000 metres, though, is special. Ordinary life, below the clouds, feels a long way down. Time slows, you can only focus on the present, the company, the view. Afterwards, a little part of me will stay up here at Segantini, waiting to come back and explore more of these wild mountains and the secrets of the Via delle Valli. The trip was provided by Trentino Marketing and the local tourist board. Dorm rooms at at Rifugio Cornisello €65 B&B or €90-€100 half-board, and €85 half-board at Rifugio Segantini. For more information about the Via delle Valli, visit
