This Church is also known as the "Cathedral on the Mountains" is dedicated to the apostle princes…read morePeter and Paul. The parish church is an example of Viennese engineering and one of the highlights is a late Classical high altar (1882) with marble tabernacle. The pews (and matching confessionals) are carved in walnut. Before entering, Gayle and I noticed the plaque commemorating the Community's WWI dead, as this area was once a battle line between Germany and Italy. In the rear of the Church was an ornate cemetery and an atmosphere of quiet contemplation as we watched several family members stop by and pay their respects. From the outside, the Church itself appears as a bit square, with little adornment or hint of the impressive religious wonders that lay within. Gayle and I were both impressed and humbled as we walked inside and took it all in. It's perhaps too easy to be acclimatized to the notion of walking inside "yet another Church" when on a European Vacation. In this situation, the Parish Church of St. Peter and Paul respectfully "grabbed" both of us and demanded that we pay some spiritual attention.

A visit of Castel Valer, in a panoramic position surrounded by apple trees, is not only a visit of…read morea wonderful monument of the XII century. It is above all the exciting discovery of a living house. In fact the Castel is still owned and inhabited by the Spaur family, living here since 1427 and 26 generations! The present Spaur Count spent the last 25 years to perfectly restore and repair this living history of several hundred years of Central Europe. Few years ago, the family decided to open to visitors a part of the castle, and visitors can often directly meet Spaur Count. It's certainly a very emotional, interesting and worthy visit! Sorry for not sharing pictures of the different rooms, but this is the only constraints visitors have...so you have to come here in person!

Beautiful cathedral. Be sure and visit the small square courtyard on the side of the cathedral. The…read moreceiling frescoes are fabulous with amazing bright color.

At 250 feet, the free-standing Bell Tower sits in the center of Piazza Krauss and dominates the…read moreskyline of the Town for miles in all directions. The Bell Tower was built between 1756 and 1758, after the old Gothic church had been severely damaged by fire in 1753. The Church Bells ring on the hour from 6 AM to 10 PM and provided a certain comfort at our nearby Cavallino d'Oro/Goldenes Rössl Hotel. We also had the chance to walk inside the Tower and admire the ornate Chapel.

We walked along a lovely river path, passing by Castle Mareccio and its vineyards. We din't have…read moretime to tour the castle, but enjoyed the surrounding public grounds along the river pathway.

Schloss Rankelstein or Castel Roncolo is a medieval castle on the outskirts of Bolzano, Italy. It…read moreis located on a protected porphyry rock along the Val Sarentino Road. Castel Roncolo is particularly famous for its frescos dating back to Mediaeval times. It illustrates authentic knight sagas, literature scenes, court ladies and life on the farm as well as hunting scenes. There's also a castle tavern in the courtyard. I was told there would be a shuttle bus from the city center to the castle parking lot (beneath the castle hill) by the hotel concierge (This turned out to be a misinformation. We were told when we made it to the castle, it was discontinued during the COVID pandemic, and it never got resumed). No problem, we just followed the trail next to the Talfer River, and enjoyed our two-hour easy hike (except from the bottom of the castle hill to the top; about 20 mins of climbing, I don't recommend strollers) to and from the castle. The trail besides the river turned out to be very pleasant. We saw some castles and mansions along the way, mountains in distance, we crossed the river on several bridges. I'd recommend this short easy hike. Here's some history of the castle: In 1237, the original complex was built by the Lords of Wangen, and in 1385, the wealthy merchants Franz and Niklaus Vintler purchased it. This family had it decorated with frescoes and equipped with components that facilitated life in those times, e.g. a pivy and a cistern for water storage. From the 15th century on, it continually kept changing hands, the castle was repeatedly modified and frescoes and paintings were added. A gunpowder explosion in the southern part of the castle destroyed parts of it in 1520, including a circular wall and a donjon, which had to be reconstructed. In 1672, a lightning bolt caused a fire which destroyed the east part of Castel Roncolo, which has no longer been renovated. From the 18th century on, it was no longer inhabited and kept deteriorating. Only when Josef con Görres recognized the value of the frescoes and reported it to Ludwig I of Bavaria, architects and artists started examining the paintings. This continues to the present day.

This castle is beautiful and full of history. While it is not a must do, it's a nice to do…read more There are only 3 tours a day, so be sure to check the timings before arriving. Our tour guide was very friendly and said his family had been affiliated with the property for over 200 years! While our tour was in German, I got to follow along on English language materials. The views are enchanting, and my children enjoyed checking out the chickens and goats in the area.