Giulia Brochetto, Country Director of TERRAEVENTS Italy, shares with you her travel story of 2020.
Experts say nature should always play an important part in our lives, never truer than in these unprecedented time. So this summer reconnecting with nature became #1 on my list of positive actions to take to safeguard my physical and mental health.
I spent lockdown alone in my apartment in Milan, distanced from my parents, friends and colleagues and as coronavirus transformed the way our ways of communicating, the thought of spending old-fashioned quality time with my family resonated ever more strongly.
Hence, after the end of the lockdown and 20 years after our last holiday together I took the decision to unite with my family for a week holidaying in Italy’s Alto Adige, the Italian name for the South Tyrol (it borders with Austria and Switzerland) , where long, deep mountain valleys, dense forest, bubbling rivers and crystal clear lakes are dominated by the breathtaking magnificence of the Dolomite mountains, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
This is a place guaranteed to let your spirits soar. Everywhere which way you turn there’s a view - the sheer force of nature almost overwhelming as you stand and admire the exquisite vista before you, or like us, put on your hiking boots and march out to embrace it.
It’s also a region where the cultures of Austria and Italy are inextricably mixed, plus a third component the Ladin people,the first settlers of these valleys whose totally incomprehensible language is still spoken. This is the region where Italian Mediterranean appeal and Teutonic joy meet head on, producing an entirely unique culture embracing local traditions and gastronomy and where the cellars are as full of beer as they are of wine.
A paradise for sports enthusiasts, the Alto Adige offers endless opportunities for hiking , climbing, mountain biking, road cycling and much more besides. In winter, skier and snowboarders can look forward to hitting the slopes of the famous Sella Ronda, a circular network of lifts and pistes which embrace the majestic limestone massif the Gruppo del Sella.
Talking about cuisine, Alta Badia is the showpiece region of the Trentino: no other valley in the Alps enjoys such a density of highly decorated restaurants in such a small area, including two Michelin-starred restaurants. This area is also known for the production of great high-quality wines such as the famous Gewürztraminer.
I spent one week trekking an average of 16kms per day, eating, relaxing and experiencing the beauty of this paradise, enriched by the love of my parents and my little 3-year-old nephew, and most importantly, achieving my objective to RECONNECT.
