Walks on the Slopes Surrounding the City: Green Routes with Panoramic Views
Walks on the Slopes Surrounding the City: Green Routes with Panoramic Views
If you are a guest in the city during the hot summer days but still want to spend a few hours in the woods without using a car, many beautiful hiking options start from the city center on foot. In addition to the "green lung" of the Lungo Talvera walks, which run along the eponymous stream from the entrance of the Sarentino Valley to its confluence with the Isarco River and continue towards its confluence with the Adige River, the slopes of the mountains surrounding the Bolzano basin allow you to walk along panoramic trails among greenery.
The oldest walk in the city is the Guncina Promenade, which starts from Piazza Gries. Built in 1892 when Gries was an independent village, it hosted nobles and artists of the Austro-Hungarian Empire for health reasons. The path, which gently ascends behind the old Parish Church, was designed to allow guests to engage in daily physical activity amidst nature.
Along the serpentine walk, in addition to native plants, there are also cacti, prickly pears, agave, and olive trees that find ideal climatic conditions here. Continuing uphill, magnificent views of the city and surrounding mountains unfold, until you cross the road leading to the San Genesio plateau, from where you can descend to admire the spectacular Fago River waterfall just a few minutes from Bolzano.
The Sant'Osvaldo walk, on the other hand, connects Sant'Antonio – to the north of the center at the entrance to the Sarentino Valley – with Santa Maddalena, the characteristic hill where grapes are grown for the local wine of the same name, with the Dolomites' Rosengarten massif in the background, an iconic image of the city. From the entrance to the walk, you ascend gently for about 20 minutes to a small monument in memory of Karl von Ritter, the creator, and builder of the path, from where you can enjoy magnificent views of many details of the historic center and the picturesque village of Santa Maddalena.
Another hill you can reach on foot from the city is the Virgolo hill, where the beautiful Church of the Holy Sepulcher was built between 1680 and 1683 in Baroque style. You can reach it by following the walk starting from Via Santa Geltrude in the Oltrisarco/Aslago district or from the road starting from Via Piè di Virgolo. In the past, people would climb from the city to follow the Via Crucis, consisting of seven chapels with magnificent wooden statues from the period, which have recently been restored. The panorama overlooking the city, with the Sciliar plateau as a backdrop, is magnificent.
Picture: Guncina Promenade, Courtesy Achim Meurer