Every year, in mid-October, in Riva di Tures, in South Tyrol, one of the most beautiful and well-attended transhumance festivals of the Alpine region is held. It becomes not only a moment of thanksgiving for the successful summer grazing season but also an occasion to showcase an untouched valley, full of good and genuine products that farmers themselves produce and sell in their small shops and colorful markets.
At noon, the first cowbells ring out and then the cows appear, one behind the other in single file, with udders full of milk and a group of farmers in traditional costume accompanying them. Although they have been on the move for hours and the path descending from the high pastures is steep, it’s easy to read contentment and satisfaction on their faces. The summer has gone smoothly, there have been no livestock losses, and now that the cold begins to bite, it’s time to return to the valley to celebrate and shelter the cattle in the barns. For this reason, every year, in mid-October, Riva di Tures, a peaceful and picturesque village in the Tures-Aurina valleys, South Tyrol, hosts a magnificent Transhumance Festival, starring not only cows, farmers and costumed participants but also the public, who gather in large numbers from early morning along the parade route and crowd around the food stalls set up on the flat area below the village. The parade opens at 1 p.m., just enough time to dress the queen (the most beautiful cow with the best “bearing”) and lead her to the starting ribbons. Hans Mairhofer, a local breeder, gathers the livestock in the meadow behind the church and, helped by his wife Annemari, places a splendid headdress made of ribbons, sequins, beads, colored feathers, writings, and symbolic motifs on his Sabine, a magnificent nearly ten-year-old queen with a light coat. He friendly offers a shot of brandy and the inevitable topfnudeln—traditional soft fried dough balls—to curious onlookers. Sabine is almost ready; all that’s missing is the white and red ribbon, which Hans passes under her belly and ties in a beautiful bow on her back to show everyone the grazing season went well and to thank good fortune.
At 1 p.m., the start signal comes from the powerful whip crack of the Goaslschnella, the alpine whip-crackers group from Terento. Surrounded by cheering crowds, cows and farmers triumphantly descend into the village, and between groups, theatrical reenactments of traditional rural life take place on carts: grandmothers spinning wool, shepherd boys cuddling lambs and kids, housewives washing laundry in old tubs, men carving wood, and elderly men smoking pipes in their cozy parlors. A high-altitude nostalgic recall that warms the atmosphere and energizes everyone, locals and tourists alike. After the parade, the livestock rests in the meadows surrounding the stalls while farmers enjoy well-deserved refreshments featuring local specialties: gerstesuppe (barley soup), speck, sausages and smoked wurst, the indispensable graukase (grey cheese, a symbol of the valleys), tirtlan (fritters filled with ricotta and spinach), kirschtakrapfen, enormous fried doughnuts; some even prepare melchamus, a typical alpine hut dish made of flour, milk, and butter. Under the large tent, a pleasant musical relay unfolds: the Tyrolean orchestra that started mid-morning hands over to the Campo Tures Band, clad in their impeccable red, white, and black costumes, playing traditional tunes and accompanying the event to its finale. The one in Riva is not the only transhumance festival in the region; several others occur between September and late October in S. Giacomo, Villa Ottone, Molini di Tures, S. Pietro, Rio Bianco.
Thanking the heavens for a successful grazing season is a ritual as ancient as it is unbreakable and also an opportunity to celebrate farmers’ customs, who have taken an increasingly active role in promoting their valleys in recent years. Among the many attractive initiatives, the markets and typical shops set up at farms and homesteads are worth mentioning. Small spaces but full of good, curious, and sometimes rare things, managed by the producers themselves, guaranteeing quality and authenticity to consumers. <>. Descending from Riva, the panoramic road winds through some of the most beautiful corners of the Rieserferner-Ahrn Nature Park, shaped by peaks, forests, and spectacular waterfalls. In nearby Caminata, you’ll find the warm little shop and workshop of Helene Brusa, a lady with open and friendly manners who, using the wool from her white Alpine sheep, crafts beautiful sweaters, cardigans, scarves, hats, rugs, and quilts, proudly showing her ancient machines and the entire processing method. Continuing towards Campo Tures, the valley opens into a wider, more tidy profile, an ordered geometry of fields and clearings announcing that the capital is just a few kilometers away. Right on the road stands the Lahnerhof, the Fruch family farm, from whose wood-fired oven wafts an irresistible scent of freshly baked rye bread. Welcoming visitors and curious guests is Martina Fruch, who, in addition to organic cereals, potatoes, vegetables, and fruit, also offers her exquisite jams, fruit syrups, and preserved plums. At the village’s entrance, there is also the Peintenhof, the Moser family farm, where Peter, one of the sons, breeds Pinzgau bulls, cows of various breeds like the prized Pusteria Sprinzen, calves, and pigs, which he slaughterhouses himself and sells directly, helped by his wife Angelica and sister Hildegard. Excellent are also the sausages and speck smoked and aged by traditional methods.
Campo Tures, located in the center of an ancient alluvial plain, is a village with a relaxing atmosphere, pleasant Gothic architecture, and shops full of good and curious products. Though little traveled by mass tourism, it boasts notable monuments, such as the imposing medieval grey stone castle overlooking the town or the 15th-century parish church, home to a precious museum of sacred art. Among the weekly events, there is the Farmers’ Market, where you can find particular local products: the Oberhollenzer family from the Hochgruber farm in Selva dei Molini offers, for example, dried pasta made with pork blood, which, once cooked, is sautéed with butter and chives and sprinkled with well-aged grey cheese. Also excellent are the apple vinegar, spreadable cheeses, blueberry and elderberry syrups, and tirtlan filled with potatoes, spinach, sauerkraut, or ricotta. From the Wiesemann farm come organic fruits and vegetables, tasty poppy seed doughnuts, linden flowers for infusions, hay wreaths, dried flower centerpieces, and much more. Meanwhile, Peter Feichter, an eclectic farmer from Lutago, makes colorful felt slippers under the eyes of passersby. This valley concentrates a remarkable and varied cheese production; every February, Campo Tures hosts a crowded and prestigious Cheese Festival, showcasing various specialties, many produced at local farms. One of these is the Knollhof, in nearby Lappago, where Hilde Niederkofler offers natural yogurt, butter, sour ricotta, and Graukase, the typical grey cheese with a low-fat content obtained through a natural curdling process and traditionally enjoyed with oil, vinegar, and fresh sliced onions.
In Selva dei Molini, a hamlet of Campo Tures framed by woods and watched over by the daring peaks of the southern Zillertal Alps, the Steiner family of the Eggermairhof farm produces the Steiner Zwerg, a soft and tasty cheese ready to eat after four weeks, and a series of fresh small cheeses flavored with hay, nettle, garden herbs, pepper, and walnuts. From the valley floor, you can head to the western side of the region, known as the Aurina Valley, revealing glimpses of intriguing beauty. Between the villages of Lutago and San Giovanni, on a sunny little slope, stands the ancient Leiter family farm, Getzlechenhof, surrounded by an acre of land where Mrs. Dora and her husband Franz cultivate herbs and medicinal plants.
Dora has become a profound expert in the virtues of mallow, calendula, lemon balm, mint, and even damask rose, whose petals provide highly fragrant oils and essences. She cultivates them with love and organic methods, harvesting by hand when the moon advises, drying them in the dedicated workshop, and packaging them into attractive little packets sold in the little shop. One last stop at the farmers’ shops awaits in Predoi, almost at the valley’s end, a village known since ancient times for its copper mines, which monopolized its life until the late 19th century. Overlooking the road is the Innerbickler family’s Wassererhof, where Mrs. Paula has been making beautiful bobbin lace for over forty years, an ancient craft that saved many families from poverty when the mine closed, and prepares fragrant syrups and jams with the farm’s fruit, as well as an unusual but excellent dandelion honey, obtained by boiling the flowers in a little water and filtering the mixture.
SHOPPING
1 Lahnerhof – Fam. Fruch Caminata 26, Campo Tures (Bz), tel. 0474.678229
2 Helene’s wool processing Caminata 2, Campo Tures (Bz), tel. 0474.679581
3 Peintenhof – Fam. Moser Parrocchia 25, Campo Tures (Bz), tel. 347.5410134, the butcher’s shop is open only on Saturdays.
4 Farmers’ Market every Thursday from 3 to 6 p.m., at the Tubris Center in Campo Tures (Bz), information at the local tourist office tel. 0474.678076.
5 Eggermairhof – Fam. Steiner Selva dei Molini (Bz), tel. 0474.653205
6 Knollhof – Hilde Niederkofler Lappago/Selva dei Molini (Bz), tel. 0474.685003
7 Getzlechenhof – Fam. Leiter San Giovanni in Valle Aurina (Bz), tel. 0474.671205
8 Wassererhof – Fam. Innerbichler Predoi (Bz), tel. 0474.654235
GETTING THERE
BY PLANE The nearest airport is Bolzano about 100 km away.
BY TRAIN The easiest train station to reach is Brunico, from where buses leave for the valley (hourly service).
BY CAR The Tures-Aurina Valleys can be reached via the Brenner motorway A22. At the Bressanone exit, take the Pusteria Valley road and just before Brunico, follow signs for Brunico West and subsequent signs for Tures-Aurina Valleys or Falzes.
BY CAMPER Near the natural pool of Campo Tures, tel. 0474.678257, there is a car park equipped with facilities.
