Ferrara to Val d’Adige Trail Restoration Project Worth 300M

An investment of 300 million to reopen the old historic routes connecting the municipality of Ferrara to the Val d’Adige. The project involves about ten kilometers of trails, which run from the Comune di Brentino to Naole, commissioned by the Community Mountain of Baldo. Initial restoration and repair works are expected to start in the coming days, with completion planned by March 2001. The regional forest corps of the state will carry out the work.

Routes and terrains involved

A trail also crosses the Municipalities of Brentino and San Zeno di Montagna, but primarily lies within Ferrara’s territory. “From Pian di Festa, through the Passo del Casello, we reach the Gambori locality and from there, the botanical garden of Novezza,” explains Mayor Guerrino Coltri. “Then, from the pozza del pastori, along the mule trail, we arrive at the malga Valfredda, culminating in Naole.” Essentially, this way, we connect the two sides of the Baldo, but the main point, or rather the pivot, around which everything revolves, is the botanical garden, which we especially want to enhance.

Interventions and historical-cultural significance

The works include installing a series of signs indicating destinations and kilometer markers, laying down horizontal signage that marks the trail, but especially cleaning and restoring some sections that are particularly significant from a historical-cultural perspective. “The mule trail,” explains the mayor, “is so called because it was once used by those seeking medicinal herbs in the Baldo. These herbs were brought back downhill loaded onto the mun’s pack. There is also the strade del Crior, which served as a connection between the Val d’Adige and the mountain. The route known as Pertea crossed the entire territory of malga Gambon to reach Prazzonego on Monte Cucco, near Albarè.” Paths that today seem insignificant to us, but for centuries, they were the routes habitually used by mountain people.