Located on a natural terrace overlooking Lake Garda from the top, Tremosine sul Garda has become one of the most beautiful villages in Italy because of its structural and landscape features. Consisting of eighteen small hamlets surrounded by nature, it offers visitors a special atmosphere that does not go unnoticed.
The Village
There are those who described the Strada della Forra, which is the primary access road to the village built in 1913, as extremely exciting (this comment is due to the great Winston Churchill) as it was built crossing the mountain where the Brasa torrent, over the millennia, has created an incomparable scenery consisting of coves, cracks, gorges and narrow passages.
This route is loved by bikers in search of emotions who enjoy driving their two wheels between daring hairpin bends that creep into nature. The Strada della Forra, once finished, gives you access to the most famous hamlet of Tremosine which is its village of Pieve.
Here you will have the opportunity to go through cobbled alleys that offer highly suggestive views that will make you discover the ancient washhouse, witness of a past that is not yet too remote and that will lead you to what is called "The Thrill Terrace" that is located near the eighteenth-century parish church of San Giovanni Battista.
The Thrill Terrace owes its name to the fact that it is suspended in the void at a height of three hundred and fifty meters from which you can admire the entire Lake Garda, the imposing Monte Baldo and a wonderful panorama.
You have to imagine that before the Strada della Forra, the village could only be reached through an impassable path that was the only access route that for centuries saw people transporting goods necessary for survival, at the cost of an unimaginable effort.
Today, the path remains as it once was with steps and spurs of rock emerging from the ground, is a destination for trekking and Nordic Walking enthusiasts who take advantage of this natural environment where it creeps in, to explore the territory.
Returning to the visit of the village, we suggest you to enter the 18th century Parish Church to admire some wonderful wooden works made by Luchini and the 17th century altarpiece made by Barbieri.
Don't miss the triduo's car: it is a pompous painted wooden setting dating back to the eighteenth century that houses 365 candles and that in some periods of the year, is placed outdoors to be admired. The parish church was built where, centuries earlier, there was an area dedicated to pagan religious rites.
Leaving the Parish Church you can reach Piazza Cozzaglio to enjoy the panorama that embraces both Lake Garda and the overhanging Monte Baldo. The building with the fountain that you can see was the seat of the Municipality of Tremosine and, on the outside wall of the Archive, you can see the famous Lion of St. Mark as evidence of the domination of the Serenissima Republic of Venice.
If you are interested in history, you can't miss a visit to the trenches of the Great War, which start right from Pieve and wind their way up to Polzone, where there was a powerful barricade guarding the entire valley. Other positions are located in the hamlets of Nevese, Pregasio, Monte Nai and Secastello.
Pieve is only one of the hamlets that make up the scattered municipality of Tremosine sul Garda but also others are worth a visit. What will surely surprise you is to look down on the Gardesana (the road that circumnavigates the entire lake) and see the village clinging to the ground in a unique way.
What to do
In addition to visiting the village to admire both its beauty and its urban integrity, if you are a lover of sport and nature, you can go hiking or mountain biking, choosing one of the many itineraries that take advantage of the intricate network of trails and mule tracks leading to the Ledro Valley.
Here you will be able to penetrate a territory still in some ways wild dominated by a severe austerity composed of imposing gorges, gorges, inlets and crossings that will be more than interesting.
In the surroundings you can also go trekking, canyoning, nordic-walking as well as take advantage of all the other activities that can be practiced directly on Lake Garda.
Depending on the period, events are organized in Tremosine that will interest not only the curious, but also the most demanding tourists.
The cuisine
The gastronomic offer of Tremosine sul Garda can be traced back to tradition, with real local specialities such as Tremosine tortelli, the unique polenta cùsa made with black flour, tasty homemade cold cuts, black truffle cheeses and the famous Tremosine cheese. It is a speciality produced with milk from the mountain pastures at high altitude mixed with milk from the stables on the plains. It is also excellent the honey of the territory and the EVO oil produced cold with the milling of Garda olives which is famous for its delicate fragrance. To taste also all the game dishes that are prepared on the spit.
Village of Tremosine
Municipality of Tremosine sul Garda
Province of Brescia
Lombardy Region
Population: 2,100 tremosinesi
Altitude Center: 414 m s.l.m.
The Municipality is part of:
I Borghi più belli d'Italia
Comunità Montana Parco Alto Garda Bresciano
Protected Natural Areas:
Bondo Valley Natural Reserve
Municipality
Via Papa Giovanni XXIII 1 - phone +39 0365-915811
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In an area that stretches from the shores of Lake Garda to the 2,000 meters of Mount Tremalzo, Tremosine is the perfect location for a rich and diverse network of small farms dedicated to the production of genuine, local products. From producer to consumer: this is the secret of the extraordinary authenticity of the cuisine of Tremosine sul Garda. Here, thanks to the presence of breeders, farmers and producers linked to the area, the new philosophy of the so-called "short supply chain" is implemented.
The Alpe del Garda Cooperative collects milk from its members' farms in the stables and alpine pastures to process it into high-quality cheeses, the most famous of which is "Formagella di Tremosine". Numerous small producers, family-run businesses, also operate in the area, producing: seafood products cured meats cheese olive oil honey wine and grappa mushrooms and truffles saffron baked goods and traditional desserts ice cream fruit, jams and marmalades vegetables, herbs. The use of these delicacies of the highest quality allows for superfine food and wine experiences.
Sacred Tridui: On the Friday, Saturday and Sunday preceding Ash Wednesday, the rites of the Sacred Tridui are held in the Parish of Pieve. These used to be a solemn commemoration of the dead: three days (tridui, from the Latin tres dies) of prayer and religious services offered for the suffrage of the purging souls. Today they mainly represent a celebration of the Eucharist, which in itself already encompasses the memory of the dead. The rite, which began in the age of the Counter-Reformation, had no fixed periodization.
However, it is frequently found linked to Carnival time and constitutes a kind of "Christian antithesis" to the secular celebrations of that time of year. In Pieve there is a beautiful "Triduum Machine": a richly decorated wooden apparatus that is mounted on the chancel of the church and carries 365 candles, one for each day of the year. During these special services, the candles are lit all at once to envelop the high altar in light, and while the Litany is sung to the ancient folk melody, the Blessed Sacrament is displayed in the center of the setting.