Ponte di Legno

At 100 square kilometres this is the second-largest commune in the province of Brescia after Bagolino, a size that shows in how far its territory reaches: from the valley floor up into the park south and east of town and over the watershed into Trentino. The upper town has burned more than once in its history, rebuilt in wood each time along with the parish church that anchors the main square.

Ski Club Ponte di Legno was founded in 1911, one of the first in Italy, and a hundred years of investment turned that early club into the ski area whose lifts now serve both the pass and the glacier above it. Winter and summer use the same infrastructure differently: in season the lifts run skiers over forty-one runs and up onto the ice, and in summer the same cars carry hikers onto the plateau while the tables fill on Piazza XXVII Settembre in place of ski boots. The town's whole shape, valley floor, upper slopes, and the pass beyond, follows the terrain that a century of skiers and a century of soldiers before them had no choice but to work with.

From Milan (BGY), about 2h 9m by car.

Verona (VRN) is about 2h 46m away.

By car from the centre of Trento 1h 38m, Bolzano 2 hours or Brescia 2 hours.