Trentino is not made of lakes and mountains alone. Between one valley and the next, small stone villages hide away, places where time seems to have stopped: narrow lanes, covered passages, old fountains and houses that tell of centuries of mountain life. Some of these villages have officially joined the club of the "Borghi più belli d'Italia", the award that honours Italy's best preserved villages. In this guide we take you to discover the most beautiful villages of Trentino, telling you what makes each one special and how far it lies from our area. We at Italy Holiday have been welcoming guests in this land for a long time, and these are the villages we would recommend to a friend on the way.

1. Canale di Tenno, the medieval village of artists

Above Lake Garda, at around 600 metres of altitude between Riva del Garda and the Fiavé plateau, lies one of the best preserved medieval villages in all of Trentino. Canale di Tenno is a weave of stone lanes, covered passages and old houses, with a small central square where the streets of the village meet. Its existence is documented as far back as 1211, and it still keeps its original urban layout of passageways, arches and flower-decked balconies.

Canale is officially part of the Borghi più belli d'Italia. Here you find the Casa degli Artisti, founded in 1967 to host painters and creatives who chose the village as a refuge and a place to work. A few minutes on foot from the village awaits Lake Tenno, a small alpine lake with turquoise water that is among the cleanest in Italy. From our area it is reached in about an hour by car.

2. Rango, where time has stopped

Between Madonna di Campiglio and Lake Garda, in the municipality of Bleggio Superiore, hides a tiny rural village that is a small jewel of alpine architecture. Rango is made of stone houses pressed close together, linked by porticoes, cellars and barrel-vaulted covered passages, called "portech" in the local dialect, once used as shelter from the winter cold. A square stone fountain completes the picture.

Rango joined the Borghi più belli d'Italia in 2006. It is much loved for its Christmas market, which fills the covered passages and the old houses with lights and stalls between November and December. The village is also tied to the walnuts of Bleggio, the first walnut in Italy to become a Slow Food Presidium, used for breads, cakes and a special salami. From our area it lies about an hour and a quarter away by car.

3. San Lorenzo in Banale, the seven hamlets at the gates of the Brenta

At the entrance to the Brenta Dolomites, inside the Adamello Brenta Nature Park, there is a village born from the union of seven ancient hamlets, the so-called "sette ville", each with its own church and identity. San Lorenzo in Banale, today part of the municipality of San Lorenzo Dorsino, keeps traditional Giudicarie houses and frescoed churches, and is considered the gateway to the Val d'Ambiez and the peaks of the Brenta.

San Lorenzo in Banale is part of the Borghi più belli d'Italia too. The village is famous for the ciuiga, a Slow Food Presidium sausage born in the second half of the nineteenth century, made with pork and turnips, celebrated each autumn with a dedicated festival. From our area it is reached in just over an hour by car.

4. Bondone, the fortified village on the lake

In the south-western corner of Trentino, on the border with Lombardy, a small village watches over Lake Idro from above. Bondone is a village perched among mountains and woods, with alpine lanes and panoramic views over the Chiese valley. Just below the village, on a rocky spur along the road leading to Baitoni, stands Castel San Giovanni, a fortress whose first records date back to the 11th century, once tied to the powerful Lodron family.

Bondone is part of the Borghi più belli d'Italia. Beyond the village and the castle, its position offers moments of rest: along the shores of Lake Idro, at the beaches of Baitoni, you find swimmable water, water sports and walks through the lake's biotope. From our area it lies about an hour and a half away by car.

5. Pieve Tesino, the village of Europe

In Valsugana, at the foot of Monte Silana, there is a village that reaches far. Pieve Tesino is the birthplace of Alcide De Gasperi, one of the founding fathers of the European Union, remembered here by the house-museum dedicated to him. It is also the home of the "perteganti", inhabitants who once set off on long journeys across borders to sell prints and pictures all over the world, a story told in the "Per Via" museum.

Pieve Tesino joined the Borghi più belli d'Italia in 2021. Just outside the centre opens the Arboreto del Tesino, a large botanical garden with woods, meadows and wetlands, and at its heart the Garden of Europe, a circular path shaped like an amphitheatre, dedicated to De Gasperi and to the idea of a united Europe. From our area it is reached in about an hour by car.

6. Vigo di Fassa, the Ladin village beneath the Catinaccio

In the heart of Val di Fassa, among the peaks of the Dolomites, a village looks out like a natural terrace over the Catinaccio group and the Marmolada. Vigo di Fassa, today part of the municipality of Sèn Jan di Fassa, is a scattered village: its beauty is not enclosed by walls but spread across small hamlets among stone barns and churches with pointed roofs. It is one of the centres of Ladin culture, with the Ladin Cultural Institute and the ancient parish church of San Giovanni.

Sèn Jan di Fassa, of which Vigo is a part, is one of the Borghi più belli d'Italia. Since the nineteenth century the village has drawn geologists and mountaineers, attracted by its Dolomite views and the living Ladin identity you feel walking through its lanes. It is the farthest village on this list: from our area it lies more than an hour and a half away by car, but it makes a lovely day trip among the mountains.

Where to stay to visit the villages of Trentino

If you look at the map of these villages, you notice that many of them are within easy reach of our area. Canale di Tenno and Rango can be reached in just over an hour toward the Trentino side of Lake Garda, San Lorenzo in Banale opens the way to the Brenta Dolomites, and Pieve Tesino is right in Valsugana, the valley of Trentino's warm lakes. The farthest villages, like Bondone on Lake Idro and Vigo di Fassa among the Dolomites, remain a lovely day trip.

That is why the lake area of Valsugana, around Caldonazzo, Levico and Calceranica, is a handy base for those who want to discover the villages of Trentino. From here Trento and Rovereto, with their squares and castles, are very close, Val di Sole and Val Rendena lead you toward the Brenta Dolomites, and the Vigolana plateau stays just a short way off. In the morning you wake up near the water, and when you want a change of scene you have the stone villages, the valleys and the mountains a short distance away.

We at Italy Holiday welcome guests right in this area, in homes designed to make you feel at home from the very first moment. If you dream of a holiday among old lanes, lakes and Dolomites, discover where to stay near the villages of Trentino and pack your bags: the most beautiful villages of this land are waiting for you.