The Cammino di San Vili from Madonna di Campiglio to Trento
The Cammino di San Vili is an ancient walking route that links the Brenta Dolomites to Trento along mid-mountain trails and rural villages. It is the slow, silent alternative to fashionable Madonna di Campiglio, a way to descend from the peaks to the city one step at a time.
Foto: Luca Capuccini (Copyrighted free use) — Wikimedia Commons
Madonna di Campiglio is one of the most fashionable alpine resorts in Trentino, all hotels, shop windows and ski lifts. Yet it is precisely from here that an itinerary sets off in the opposite direction to that kind of tourism: the Cammino di San Vili, a walking route that connects the Brenta Dolomites to the city of Trento, retracing the ancient roads that once linked the mountains to the provincial capital. The name recalls Saint Vigilius, patron of Trento, and the walk is designed to be done in stages, slowly, in touch with the villages and the woods.
The route
The route unfolds as it descends from Madonna di Campiglio along the Val Rendena, the valley of the Sarca river, touching villages such as Pinzolo, with its church of San Vigilio and the famous Dance of Death frescoed on its facade, and continuing downward along the valley. After Tione di Trento the walk leaves the main valley and winds among hills, plateaus and rural villages, crossing mid-mountain landscapes of meadows, chestnut groves and small settlements, until it looks out over the Adige Valley and finally drops down to Trento, with its historic centre, the cathedral of San Vigilio and the Buonconsiglio Castle.
It is a mid-mountain itinerary, not a high-altitude one, and this makes it accessible to anyone used to walking for several days. It runs along footpaths, mule tracks, old roads and short stretches of minor asphalt, with elevation changes that are present but never extreme. The beauty of the Cammino di San Vili lies precisely in its variety: you set off beneath the spires of the Brenta and arrive in a city of art, crossing a rural, little-visited Trentino in between, made of villages where life flows far from the spotlight of the ski resorts.
How to tackle it
You usually walk from north to south, making the most of the fact that the route descends overall, and you rely on the villages you pass through for food and lodging, choosing among hotels, guesthouses and establishments along the valley. It is a walk you can do entirely over several days or break into sections, covering only part of it, for example the descent along the Val Rendena or the final stretch towards Trento.
To organise yourself, the reference point is Trento, well connected by train with the rest of Italy and with the Adige valley. From Trento the valley buses climb back up towards the Val Rendena and Madonna di Campiglio, which makes it easy to reach the starting point and then walk comfortably back to the city. For this very reason many choose to take the bus up to the highest point and walk down to Trento, letting the journey end with their arrival in the heart of the city.
When to go
The best time is late spring and early summer, around June, and then September. In June the mid-mountain meadows are in bloom, the days are long and the trails are clear of snow even in the higher stretches. September offers ideal temperatures for walking, woods that begin to change colour and the first flavours of autumn in the villages. These are months when Madonna di Campiglio goes through a quieter phase, between the ski season and the height of summer, and the valley trails stay almost deserted compared with the better-known routes of the Dolomites.
A practical tip: get hold of the track and the route notes beforehand, because the waymarking of the Cammino di San Vili can be patchy in some stretches, and book accommodation in the smaller villages, where places are limited. Bring well-broken-in shoes and spare socks, because you'll be walking for several consecutive days. And allow yourself the time to stop in the villages along the way: the point of this walk is not to reach Trento as quickly as possible, but to rediscover, step by step, the thread that has always tied the Dolomites to their city.
Practical guides
Practical info
When is the best time to visit The Cammino di San Vili from Madonna di Campiglio to Trento?
The recommended time is June and September, when it is less crowded.
Where is The Cammino di San Vili from Madonna di Campiglio to Trento?
The Cammino di San Vili from Madonna di Campiglio to Trento is located in From the Brenta Dolomites to Trento, Italy.
