Trento
Trento, whose foundations date back to the Roman period, is set in the centre of the Valle dell’Adige, on the road that has always lead to the German-speaking world. For a few years at the time of the Council the city became a true European capital with courts and permanent delegations from the entire Christian community and traces of this can be seen in the architecture and urban decor. Today, administrative regional capital, home to a university and research institutes, full of cultural institutions and shows, it is a dynamic city, with elegant shops, restaurants and bars dotted around the historical centre with a Renaissance influence. Along streets paved with pink porphyry noble palazzi follow one after the other, frescoed walls and porticoes. The fulcrum is Piazza Duomo, where between Palazzo Pretorio and the imposing Gothic-Romanesque cathedral lays the elegant Neptune fountain. The mountains naturally dominate the horizon, including Bondone, whilst among the monuments the Buonconsiglio Castle marks the skyline and creates an elegant city landscape.
Water and mountains take over the landscape surrounding Trento. There is the large Adige River in the centre, lymph and heart of this region surrounded by the Bondone, Calisio, Marzola, Vigolana mountains and in the distance Paganella that prelude the Brenta massif. Over fifty paths clamber up the nearby dominating slopes, leaving the city and passing through the hills where the urban areas are intertwined with vineyards and vegetable patches. A pleasant cycle path winds along following the river to the north and south.