Like in treasure hunts, you have to look for clues. What Matchmakerone of the most beautiful villages in Italy Trentinoare piles of wood, typical of mountain villages.
But here, they are not only used to light the fireplace. These are works created by local sculptors, by other artists called to the city each year to create new installations, and by students from schools and academies.
He was born like this Cataste and Canzeian open-air art gallery which creates a route through the cobbled streets of this village, fortunately nestled at the foot of the legendary Pale di San Martinoin the Primiero Valley. Magnificent in spring, when the lushness of its 250 vegetable gardens and gardens begins, primroses, violets and anemones bloom in the surrounding area. Paneveggio Natural Park and you can cycle, choosing from ten cycle paths.
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What to see in Mezzano
Mountain architecture
The unique character of Matchmaker it resides not only in the nature that surrounds it, but also in its protected mountain architecture. Exposed stone buildings with slate roofs, inscriptions on the roofs and ridges, fountains and underground tunnels dug to supply them (the stoli), I tabiathe barns with the gallery used for drying corn and fodder, some of which can be visited as they are cultural centers, such as the Tabia del Checoor traditional museums, such as the Tabià de la Mari.
And, on the houses, frescoes with a religious theme, painted from the 16th century. But be careful: Mezzano is not an open-air ethnological museum, it is an inhabited village of 1,600 souls. And the new generations certainly do not lack creativity.
You are greeted by a totem which invites you to download an application to organize a tailor-made visit. Where do you enter via Rome 87at the municipal tourist office, which offers free or guided itineraries and has a very well-designed website (mezzanoromatica.it).
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The red chairs
From June therefore, the red chairs. Leaning against the seat is a bell: by ringing it “a resident of the city – young and old – will arrive to tell their experience, or other stories and anecdotes”, he explains. Samuel Orlertown planning advisor and deputy mayor. “All residents feel part of this identity project, which creates a feeling of community.”
The chairs will remain throughout the summer, a season of events: firstly the Trentino Music Festivalcreated in collaboration with the New York Academy of Music, of the rich calendar of shows between Mezzano and the Primiero Valley.
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Art installations around the village
To discover Matchmakerthe first step is to follow the installations of Cataste and Canzeiabout thirty in all. Here is the function of the balcony Alberto Cosnergiant cob left to dry on the balcony just above the henhouse, despite the greedy chickens.
Or the great Spheres of the imagination, circular piles signed byVittoria Art Institute of Trento. The Bosco Vecchio resembles a painting made with wood also burned by the painter Albino Rossiwho draws strength and inspiration “from the energy of life in nature”.
There is the accordion open like a star Max Gaudenzian artist from Trentino who transports geometric shapes into the space of fantasy. The Navesèla, for its part, recalls the shuttle of a loom: it is the installation organized by Zita Zeni and Lucie Trotterseventh generation of weavers, who also passed on the art to his daughter Carmen: “I still work with the historic family looms”, he emphasizes, “and I only use natural fabrics, because the craft requires quality threads. In his laboratory Arteler of Tonadicothree kilometers from Mezzano, produces carpets, bedspreads, table linens and outerwear.
And then, again, here is a pile of wood balanced with a blue arrow pointing towards the ground: it's called I am looking for a permanent center of gravity and it is the work of Gianluigi Zeni38 years old, also a son of art, because he learned to work with wood here, in the workshop Zeni sculptors of his father Renzo, who continues to forge sacred and secular statues.
And with the forty-year-old artist Nicolas Degiampietro goes beyond Cataste & Canzei with Stre(e)t Barchstreet art with an eco touch Immerseabout a kilometer from Mezzano. They decorate the facades of boats and agricultural sheds, as if they were paintings.
But the figures of roosters, trout and otters are not painted: “This wood is now gray and we sand it, we scrape it. This way we bring out the natural variations in grain and color,” explains Gianluigi Zeni. One of the latest works? Jack Nicholson's smile The shiny.
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What to eat in Mezzano
New generations are innovating in family businesses or following their own passions. As Davide Lucian41 years old, who, after cooking desserts in major Italian hotels, opened a shop in San Martino di Castrozzathen the Lucian Pastry has Matchmaker. From his laboratory come strudels with very thin dough, biscuits and the Incontro cake, which celebrates the union between hazelnuts and chocolate.
Another story, another success: Fabio Simoni and Nicola Simion They started making beer in the basement of their house for love and pleasure, then they left for Europe and the USA to visit the great breweries and learn the secrets of the trade. Then they started getting serious. Today theirs Bionoc' Brewery is highly rewarded, 2018 gold medal from the prestigious European beer star. And their craft beers, produced from hops, valley grains and mountain water, are neither filtered nor pasteurized.
Where to eat in Mezzano
Bionoc' are also chosen by Dalaip of the Popesa farm managed by the Scalet family for three generations Firstless than five kilometers from Mezzano. The ideal place to taste local and seasonal cuisine, from ravioli to polenta with the historic Dorotea corn, passing through cheeses, enjoying a break in the nature of Val Canali. Equestrian routes are also organized there.
Another direction of innovative cuisine, a compromise between the flavors of the sea (Apulia) and the flavors of the mountains (Trentino), is La Pajara GourmetForchetta Gambero Rosso and popular restaurantHotel Castel Pietraalways one First. On the menu, fried shrimp, squid and vegetables coexist with potato gnocchi from Val Gresta and smoked ricotta from Primiero social dairyanother Mezzano excellence.
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