One apple a day takes the doctor away!
Every year about 300 million kilos of apples are picked in Trentino and
most of the production comes from Valle di Non, the garden of the sweet
smelling Golden Delicious and the Renette Canada, perhaps the best known
and liked of this mythical fruit.
The people of this valley owe their fortune to apples and a thriving
agriculture, although the tourist activity, run on family lines in 38
communes lying between 400 and 1200 metres a.s.l., has contributed
considerably to improving the appearance of many villages.
Valle di Non is the most populated valley in the province of Trento with
about 38 thousand inhabitants. It extends from the Rocchetta gorge, at
the side of Valle dell'Adige and the Piana Rotaliana, to the Palade and
Mendola mountain passes going to Alto Adige.
Among the most noted mountains surrounding the valley are the Maddalene
Chain and the Brenta Group, but many other peaks, from Roen to Peller,
are easily accessible. These balconies offer an impressive panorama of
the whole of Trentino.
The Characteristic morphology of this vast area consist of a succession of three highlands, divided by gorges and ravines furrowed by rivers and
shaped, in ancient times, by the combined action of glacier and rivers.
Besides the coltivation of apples, the very fertile soil of this valley
permits good zootechnics. Cheese excells among the local products ( in
demand the strong Grana Trentino) and many kind of sousages. Valle di Non
is one of the Trentino areas where the 'gropel' grape is still harvested
to make the characteristic mountain wine to drink with "tortel de patate"
(potato pancake) a typical Valle di Non dish.
Craft work, especially woodwork, is vital and is flanked by some small
industries.
The widespread welfare, reached in recent decades, has led
to more care and attention of the land an environment, and not only of
the villages. And so it is lovely to walk among the green expanses in
summer and witness the ancient farming ritual of mowing grass or gathering hay. The offer of accomodation in the whole valley covers all demands
and it is easy to fill one's holiday with sport and outdoor exercise, or
motivate it with many outings to castles and sanctuaries.