Rio Pusteria
Rio Pusteria is an ancient town which signs the boundary between Isarco and Pusteria Valleys.
Since it lies in a strategic position, the town has always been crowded by travellers and trademen which moved from north to south Europe. To testimony these movements there are the ancient walls, several buildings, the bourgeois houses and the market which has been made since 1269, and the parish church dedicated to Saint Elena. Inside the church, built in the Romanesque and gothic styles, the frescoes of the XV century made by Friedrich Pacher, can still be admired.
Only 5 km far from Bressanone-nord motorway exit, Rio Pusteria is easily reachable, and from here you can start for wonderful excursions, for example in the Valles Valley with its old farmhouses, its fair inns and the fabulous landscape.
Many are the paths, which lead to the mountain huts, to the old maso and to the glaciers in the Alpi Aurine. And again, in a few minutes a cableway leads from Rio Pusteria to Maranza.
If, in summer, Rio Pusteria means walks, mountaineering, climbing and relax, in winter the snow covers everything and transforms the whole area in a well-equipped skiing district divided into the three areas of Plose, Maranza and Vals-Jochtal, all equally beautiful and able to offer a wide range of downhill ski runs, cross-country tracks and paths covered with snow for charming walks.
Maranza, with St. James Church (13. century) lies on a sunny tableland, at an altitude of 1414 m., among boundless fields, meadows and farms. The ski paradise Gitschberg-Maranza offers 22 km of slopes with snow-making facilities. However, Maranza is a nice place for the lovers of cross-country, ski mountaineering, snowboard and hikes, too.
The ski centre Jochtal – Valles is really suitable for families. You find 22 km of ski runs with snow-making facilities, sledge slopes and facilities for children.
Gischberg-Jochtal, the widest alpine region in South Tyrol, is a place to enjoy in summer, too! Km of paths lead to cosy mountain huts and refuges, where you can taste alpine cheese and South Tyrolean speck.
