Taio - Predaia
Surrounded by fruit orchards and stretched over a wide terrace facing a deep gorge in the Noce stream, Taio is a major town featuring several small villages (Dermulo, Segno, Torra, Vion, Tuenetto, Dardine, Mollaro). In the past it used to be a Roman settlement, as proved by the tombs, objects and the number of coins discovered there.
Thanks to its numerous rural and elegant country houses, large porches, wooden bridges and superstructures, the town features the typical Sixteenth-Seventeenth century style. It has been built up around the large square and two churches, the S. Vittore parish church - which boasts a Sixteenth century bell tower - and the Beata Vergine Maria church dating back to the 12th Century on the opposite side.
The cracks in some of the rocks underlying the town which shape pools of cool water are among Taio's highlights. One of the typical handcraft activities featured by Taio is the manufacturing of whip handles, which began in 1830, and have developed fast.
Near Dermulo in the underlying gorge, there is a 16th Century hermitage called Eremo di S. Giustina, a still evocative ruin site. Slightly to the North is the famous Santa Giustina dam, which is one of the largest dams in Europe; it is 152.5 meters high and forms a water basin containing up to 172,000,000 cubic meters of water.
Mondo Melinda, the visitor's centre at the Melinda Consortium, is located in the small village of Segno, in Taio's area. This centre offers guided tours and workshops for fruit-tasting to spread the knowledge of the cultivation areas and features of these renowned apples, which have been awarded the important "DOP" (Protected Designation of Origin) European trademark.
