Where Alto Adige, a self-governed region in northeastern Italy, neighbouring the southern borders of Austria and Switzerland.
Why go? When travelling north from the region’s capital, Bolzano, you’re ever more likely to be greeted with a friendly, “guten morgen” than a boisterous, “buongiorno”. Alto Adige or Südtirol, as it’s known in German, only became part of Italy in 1919, after the defeat of Germany and Austria during World War I, and most in the region still claim German as their mother tongue. Regional cooking favours hearty mountain fare, but local ingredients are core. With some 2000 hours of pure sunshine each year, cool nights and clean mountain air, plus farms working well above sea level, the region’s fresh produce is celebrated. Think fat, white asparagus, small but flavour-packed berries, and some fifteen varieties of apples. Menus announce their offerings in both Italian and German, where well-known dishes from each background often converge, such as ravioli tirolesi, or schlutzkrapfen – crescent-shaped pasta made with rye flour, stuffed with spinach and ricotta and dusted with finely chopped chives.
Must eats There’s a cosy gasthaus in every town, dishing out comforting meals full of the region’s prime ingredients. The area is esteemed for its speck, a leg of ham cured with salt, sweet red pepper, juniper berries, garlic and pepper – among other spices according to closely guarded family recipes – which is then smoked and aged for up to eight months. It might be thinly sliced, served simply with bread, or turn up in cooked dishes to add depth. Dessert often centres on those tart mountain apples with the classic strudel di mele (apfelstrudel) or apfelschmarren, where chopped green apple is folded through a sweet batter that’s simultaneously cooked and shredded in a skillet to make broken, fruit-studded pancake pieces.
A small town in the Villnöss Valley, about an hour from Alto Adige's capital, Bolzano.
If you only eat one dish Be it a homely gasthaus or a fine dining restaurant, canederli is a mainstay on all Tyrolese menus. Known as knödel in German, there are countless versions of these rib-sticking dumplings, which turn crusty chunks of bread into moreish, doughy balls with the addition of eggs, milk and butter. They might arrive to the table sponging up a clear chicken broth in a shallow soup dish; loaded with chopped speck and sprinkled with chives; served alone, laced with shredded spinach, cheese or porcini mushrooms; or paired with stewed prunes or apricots for a sweet finish.
Those in search of a culinary adventure should make the journey to the town of Latsch – about an hour’s drive from Bolzano – where a cable car ferries visitors to the mountaintop village of St. Martin. From there, follow the painted wooden signs on foot to . This family-run gasthaus and dairy grazes their herd of rare Tyrolean Grey cows on the surrounding pastures – turning their milk into raw milk cheeses aged on-site – while their outdoor tavern is perched on the mountainside’s very precipice. Take a seat at a bench for a filling post-trek lunch, mopping up their goat goulash with speck- and onion-laden canederli.
Bread dumplings, known as canederli in Italian or knödel in German, served with goat goulash at the Oberkaserhof tavern; and right, a tasting of locally made speck - a cured, smoked and aged leg ham - and cold-smoked kaminwurz pork sausage.
At home, try your hand at these topped with poppy seeds and honey for dessert or afternoon tea.
Must visits Alto Adige boasts many an ancient castle balanced on steep hillsides. Just 20 minutes’ drive from Bolzano, the medieval Castel d’Appiano (or Hocheppan Castle) dates back to the 12th Century and makes for a grand mountain lookout. Continue along to Caldaro to sample the town’s renowned limestone soil-grown pinot blanc, chardonnay and gewürztraminer at one of many local wineries, or follow a hiking path through the vineyards. During the warmer months, the village’s namesake lake is open for swimming, too.
How to get there Alto Adige’s capital, Bolzano, is well-connected to Milan by train. From there, rent a car to best navigate the winding roads and tucked-away mountain towns.
Photographs by Alecia Wood
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