[A view of the town square from the park in Lavarone.]

Lavarone: Its Overview

Lavarone is a city with a population of just over 1,100 people in the Trentino-Alto Adige region. Like many small towns, it faces the problem of disappearing as younger generations leave the town and few people move into the town each year. The town has fractions, which can be described as neighborhoods or perhaps even subdivisions within the larger city of Lavarone. Each fraction is named for the family who settled and lived there. The city includes much colorful architecture, an old school and three new schools, and a lake where people can swim or paddle boat around in. 

[The view from the trip to Fort Belvedere in Lavarone, including a small house and a cow.]

Lavarone: Its People

Lavarone is working on helping people stay in the town through a number of initiatives including: building more child and family-friendly areas, inviting people to live in Lavarone for little cost, and potentially setting up a satellite university in the region to invite students. One of the best initiatives clearly seen on the walking tour with locals was the inclusion of more child and family-friendly areas. A small tourist train carries locals and visitors alike around the town, and a small local park has innovative playground equipment varying from a large slide that goes from the top of the hill to the bottom, a number of swings, and even a reimagined glockenspiel. For only two euros, kids can buy a wooden ball from a small machine and send that ball as many times as they would like down the glockenspiel path. The bells are an inviting, bright sound. 

[The balls able to be purchased to play the glockenspiel.]

[A view of the houses and the mountain surrounding Lavarone.]

Lavarone: Its Fort

Forte Belvedere is one of the forts employed during World War One as a guard to the old border between Austria-Hungary and Italy. The fort was actually used in battle as it was hidden from the eye but able to communicate with other forts in the region. The fort underwent heavy bombardment during the war, though nothing compared to a neighboring fort which, after three days of bombardment, began to lose air and water supply, consequently surrendering until more reinforcements could protect the men inside. Forte Belvedere, though not placed under those conditions, was still not a comfortable place to live. Men could not leave the fort, instead opting to stay inside and rotate who was asleep, who was guarding, and who was… waiting. Our guide, Carl, asked if we would rather be in the fort or out in the trenches. Before the tour, the majority wished to be inside the fort; after, the majority wished to be in the trenches. The food was unvarying and abysmal, and the amount of stairs to climb up and down periodically throughout the day was extreme. In one area, there were 66 stairs to climb to reach a different part of the fort. After World War One, when the government began to take steel from various sources, the fort was not spared as a source. Steel beams were taken from the fort for the next war effort. The fort demonstrates the unglamorous living for soldiers who were not in the trenches through its impressive preservation, as well as the importance of the hidden fortress during World War One. 

[A view of the small tunnels used to move around Forte Belvedere. ]

[A view of the town below where Forte Belvedere stands.]

Lavarone: Its Cheese Lab

The cheese lab took place on a family farm on the hill above Hotel Miramonti. The farm has been in the same family for generations, with the daughter-now-owner running the farm and the cheese lab with a mix of traditional and modern methods. The traditional methods employed at the farm include allowing cattle to graze on the open field as they had when the owner was a child herself. Some of the more modern methods employed on the farm come from technology utilized to ensure the safety of the animals. For example, when a cow is pregnant or close to giving birth, monitors are placed on the cows to notify the farmers if the cow has any complications before, during, or after the birth. If there are no complications, the cow gives birth without the aid of humans as is traditional; if there are complications, human help is given. Cows are also fed through a system which weighs them, scans their “code”, and allots the correct amount of food to them. 

The cheese lab itself was exceedingly interesting. The fresh milk used to make the cheese was fatty and rich, and the methods of incorporating ingredients and straining were simple and easy to follow. The local nature of the ingredients help with the task of sustainable farming and production. The cheese we made was not the only local use for the milk as, for example, some of the milk was employed to create cheese in the dairy in town, and gelato at the gelato stands nearby. The freshness of the product, the safety of the animals, and the sustainable goal are all valuable aspects of the farm. 

[Cows being fed a hay mixture during feeding time at the farm.]

[The cheese made at the farm using the fresh milk from the morning.]

Overall, this portion of the visit in Lavarone provided insight into the people, traditional practices, and memory throughout the region. The town offers activities for people of all ages, and, with time, will hopefully grow in population size.

[Some of the buildings in Lavarone and their colorful nature ranging from a light orange, to a bright green, to a soft white.]