Rovereto and the MART: The Modern Art City That Alpine Tourism Forgot

Rovereto isn't on the road to the Dolomites. It sits in the Vallagarina, in southern Trentino, between Trento and Verona, at a point where tourists rarely stop. Yet it houses one of Italy's most important modern art museums, a World War I history that has left deep traces in the landscape and buildings, and an Austrian-style historic center of rare elegance that in Verona or Trento would be overrun by tour groups with colorful umbrellas. Here you walk freely.

The MART: Fortunato Depero and the Italian avant-garde

The Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art of Trento and Rovereto occupies a building designed by Mario Botta, inaugurated in 2002: a glass-and-steel dome that converses with the surrounding historic palaces. The permanent collection centers on Italian Futurism — featuring the extraordinary Depero archive, the Trentino painter who designed bottles for Campari and posters for Broadway — and extends to international contemporary art. Full admission costs 11 euros, reduced 8. Temporary exhibitions change every quarter and attract visitors from across Europe, but the halls are rarely as crowded as the Uffizi.

The Bell of the Fallen and Monte Miravalle

The Bell of the Fallen — called the Maria Dolens Bell — is among the world's most imposing bells by bronze weight (today the sixth-largest full-swinging bell in the world): 22,639 kilos, first cast in 1924 from the metal of World War I cannons and recast several times since, most recently in 1964. It rings every evening at sunset from Monte Miravalle, above Rovereto, and its sound carries across the entire valley. The walk from the city takes about 40 minutes on a panoramic path; alternatively, a drivable road allows you to arrive by car. Access is free.

The historic center and the arcades

Corso Rosmini and the parallel streets preserve good-quality late-Habsburg architecture: arcades, noble palaces, baroque churches. The Italian War History Museum, inside the restored medieval fortress of Castel Rovereto, tells the story of World War I from within. The local cuisine blends Venetian and Trentino influences: Trentino lardo di Colonnata doesn't exist, but the horse-meat salami and local carpione trout are authentic specialties to seek out in the center's trattorias.