From Alba to Penìa, the last hamlet before the Marmolada

Step by step along ancient village paths, past barns and rustic stone houses: from Alba to Penìa, where the valley tightens beneath the imposing Gran Vernel and rural traditions are still deeply rooted.

"Penìa, che più in ite no l'é nia" ("Penìa, beyond which there is nothing"): here the valley seems to come to an end, narrowing beneath Gran Vernel, a mighty bastion at the foot of the Marmolada. Above the houses, open slopes and meadows are frequented by mouflons and roe deer, and perched higher up are Lorenz and Vera, among the highest inhabited hamlets in Trentino. Set on escarpments of geological and volcanic origin, they were accessible only on foot until the early 2000s - a detail that speaks volumes about their isolated, authentic character. Penìa also holds a real treasure: a Venetian water-powered sawmill, the only one still operating in the entire Val di Fassa, a jewel that lets you feel the rhythm of the past.