Borgo Valsugana

Borgo Valsugana sits on the Brenta river thirty kilometres east of Trento, in the lower part of the Valsugana valley that carries the road and the railway between Trento and the Veneto plain. The Roman settlement of Ausugum stood on the same site, on the Claudia Augusta Altinate road from Altino to Tridentum. Borgo is the only town in Trentino built on both banks of a river: the centro storico straddles the Brenta with painted facades reflected in the water and arcades opening onto the quays, which is why locals and visitor guides call it the Little Venice of Trentino.

Castel Telvana, whose square watchtower goes back to the twelfth century, rises on Mount Ciolino above the town. The Val di Sella, a side valley west of the centre, is the setting for Arte Sella, the open-air contemporary art project active since 1986, with works including the Cattedrale Vegetale and the installations around Malga Costa. The valley was the front line in 1915 to 1916 and much of the historic centre was rebuilt after the war.