Trentino-Alto Adige
Although this popular travel destination has a dominant German influence, Trentino-Alto Adige offers the same warm hospitality and charm of the warmer regions of the country. Residents of Trentino, the main city in the southern part of the region, mainly speak Italian, while the natives of Adige (sometimes called South Tirol) in the north predominantly speak German. Yet as different as the two areas may be culturally, they share an impressive, beautiful landscape, with the spectacular white-rock Dolomite Mountains in the east offer terrific skiing and hiking.

Just as the two areas coexist within the same region, there are also two distinct cuisines: Trentino and Bolzano, named for the modern capital of Alto Adige, which has been influenced mostly by German and Slavic cuisine. You are more likely to find sauerkraut, frankfurters and goulash on the menu in Alto Adige than a bowl of spaghetti or rigatoni, although tomato and olive oil, the universal Italian ingredients, can be found here too. Robust country breads, dumplings (called canederli in the Trentino), and thick soups are among the hearty fare, and are usually followed with fresh fruit from the region’s abundant cherry, plum, and apple trees.

Specialty Foods of Trentino-Alto Adige

Made in Alto Adige, especially Val Venosta, Speck dell’Alto Adige, or country bacon, traditionally is smoked over a wood fire and then cured for an average of 20 to 24 weeks. Genuine speck must have a rind that is well marked, and should be slightly firm to the touch. Flavored with herbs and spices, its smoky taste makes it excellent in pasta sauces (tagliatelle, speck and chanterelle mushrooms, for example) or in dishes with meat or eggs. And if there’s no time to cook, pair a generous slice of speck with a few cucumbers, a spoonful of horseradish sauce, and a glass of Blauburgunder, the pinot noir wine produced in the Alto Adige region.

Beer in Italy? Alto Adige, with its crystal clear water from the Eastern Alps, became an ideal area for the production of birra, which began here as early as the 900s. Although few of the traditional small breweries still exist, several large companies, such as Forst, still produce millions of gallons of beer, in a range of brews, yearly.  Beer is growing in popularity in Italy, as more and more people are discovering that it can rival a glass of red wine with pizza or antipasto.


Food Festivals of Trentino Alto Adige

La Casolara
Trento (First Sunday in Lent)
The first Sunday in Lent is called Dominica Casolariae, or Cheese Sunday, because traditionally, Catholics were not allowed to eat meat during Lent. The Casolara fair at Trento offers cheese produced by the local mountain dairies and guided cheese-tasting accompanied by the best wines from Trentino.

Nosiola Fair
Castel Toblino in Valle dei Laghi (April)
The local Nosiola variety of white grapes are picked at the end of October and left to dry out until Easter week the following year. They are then used to make grape must; this is left to ferment slowly in barrels for five to six years, and becomes the dessert wine Vin Santo Trentino DOC.  Nosiola Trentino DOC wine and Nosiola Grappa should also be tried.

Strudel, Muscat Wine and Vin Santo Wine Festival
Trento (September)
Apple strudel, Muscat wine, and Vin Santo wine can be sampled in cafes, bars, pastry shops, and bakeries throughout Trento.