Every year, in mid-October, in Riva di Tures, in South Tyrol, one of the most beautiful and well-attended transhumance festivals in the Alpine region is organized, which becomes not only a moment of thanksgiving for the good outcome of the summer pasture, but also an opportunity to introduce an intact valley, full of good and genuine things, which the farmers themselves produce and sell in their small shops and colorful markets.
At noon, the first cowbells can be heard and immediately after the cows appear, one behind the other in single file, with udders swollen with milk and the small group of farmers in costume accompanying them. Although they have been marching for hours and the road descending from the high pastures is rough, it is not difficult to read happiness and satisfaction on their faces. The summer has gone smoothly, there have been no losses among the livestock and now that the cold is beginning to bite, it is time to return to the valley to celebrate and shelter the cattle in the barns. For this reason, every year, in mid-October, in Riva di Tures, a peaceful and picturesque village in the Tures-Aurina valleys, in South Tyrol, a magnificent Transhumance Festival is held, featuring not only cows, breeders, and costumed participants, but also the public, who from the early morning hours crowd along the parade route and fill the food stands set up on the square below the village. The opening of the parade is scheduled for 1 pm, just enough time to adorn 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 field behind the church and, helped by his wife Annemari, places on the head of his Sabine, a splendid queen with a light coat almost ten years old, a sumptuous diadem made with ribbons, sequins, beads, colored feathers, inscriptions, and symbolic motifs. To those who approach out of curiosity, he kindly offers a small glass of schnapps and the indispensable topfnudeln, the traditional soft fried dough balls. Sabine is almost ready, only the white and red ribbon is missing, which Hans passes under her belly and ties into a nice bow on her back to let everyone know that the pasture went well and to thank good fortune.
At 1 pm, the start signal comes from the powerful whip crack of the Goaslschnella, the alpine whip-cracking group from Terento. Surrounded by two wings of the crowd, cows and breeders triumphantly descend into the village and, between one group and another, the performance of the costumed participants takes place, who, transported on carts, reenact traditional scenes of peasant life: grandmothers spinning wool, shepherd boys cuddling lambs and kids, housewives doing laundry in old tubs, men carving wood, and elders smoking pipes in their warm stuben. A high altitude nostalgia that warms the atmosphere and energizes everyone, villagers and tourists alike. After the parade, the livestock is rested in the meadows around the stands and the breeders enjoy their well-deserved refreshment with local specialties: gerstesuppe (barley soup), speck, sausages and smoked sausages, the indispensable graukase (the grey cheese symbol of the valleys), tirtlan (fritters filled with ricotta and spinach), kirschtakrapfen, huge fried doughnuts; some also prepare melchamus, a typical dish of life in the alpine hut based on flour, milk, and butter. Under the large tent, a pleasant musical relay takes place: the Tyrolean orchestra, which started mid-morning, gives way to the members of the Campo Tures Band, who, in their impeccable red, white, and black costumes, sing traditional tunes and accompany the event to its final moments. Naturally, the Riva festival is not the only transhumance festival in the area; between September and late October, others are held in S.Giacomo, Villa Ottone, Molini di Tures, S.Pietro, Rio Bianco.
Thanking the heavens for the good progress of the pasture is a ritual as ancient as it is unbreakable and is also an occasion to exalt the customs of the farmers, who, precisely in these years, have taken on an increasingly active role in promoting their valleys. Among the many appealing initiatives, it is worth mentioning the markets and typical shops set up at farms and farmhouses. Small spaces, but full of good, curious, and sometimes rare things, managed by the producers themselves and a guarantee of quality and genuineness for consumers. <>. Descending from Riva, the panoramic road winds through some of the most beautiful corners of the Rieserferner-Ahrn Nature Park, animated by peaks, forests, and spectacular waterfalls. In the nearby Caminata, there is the warm little shop with a workshop of Helene Brusa, a lady with open and friendly manners, who, with the wool of her white alpine breed sheep, makes 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 up its widest and neatest profile, with an orderly geometry of fields and clearings announcing that the capital is only a few kilometers away. Right on the road, the Lahnerhof peeks out, the farm of the Fruch family, whose wood-fired oven releases an irresistible scent of freshly baked rye bread. Welcoming visitors and curious onlookers is Martina Fruch, who, besides cereals, potatoes, vegetables, and organic fruit, also offers her exquisite jams, fruit syrups, and syruped plums. At the entrance to the village, there is also the Peintenhof, the farm of the Moser family, where Peter, one of the sons, raises Pinzgau bulls, cows of various breeds such as the fine Sprinzen from Pusteria, calves, and pigs, which he slaughters himself and sells the meat directly, helped by his wife Angelica and sister Hildegard. The sausages and smoked speck, aged with the traditional method, are also excellent.
Campo Tures, in the center of an archaic alluvial plain, is a village with relaxing atmospheres, pleasant Gothic architectures, and little shops full of good and curious things. Although little visited by mass tourism, it boasts monuments of all respect, such as the powerful medieval gray stone castle overlooking the settlement or the 15th-century Parish church housing a fine 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, dry pasta made with pig’s blood, which, once cooked, is sautéed in butter and chives and accompanied by a sprinkling of very aged grey cheese. Also excellent are the apple vinegar, spreadable cheeses, blueberry and elderberry syrups, and tirtlan filled with potatoes, spinach, sauerkraut, or ricotta. The Wiesemann farm brings organic fruit 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 slippers in warm felt right before the eyes of passersby. This valley concentrates a remarkable and varied cheese production; every year, in February, Campo Tures hosts a crowded and prestigious Cheese Festival, which introduces the various specialties, many of which are produced in 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 mass, obtained with a natural curdling process and traditionally consumed with oil, vinegar, and fresh sliced onion.
In Selva dei Molini, a hamlet of Campo Tures framed by woods and watched over by the daring peaks of the southern slope of the 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 cheese wheels flavored with hay, nettle, garden herbs, pepper, and walnuts. From the valley floor, you can head to the western side of the area, called the Aurina Valley, which opens up views of intriguing beauty. Between the villages of Lutago and San Giovanni, on a small sunny slope, rises the old farm of the Leiter family, the Getzlechenhof, surrounded by a hectare of land where Mrs. Dora and her husband Franz grow herbs and medicinal plants.
Dora has become a deep expert on the virtues of mallow, calendula, lemon balm, mint, and also the damask rose, whose petals are used to extract very fragrant oils and essences. She cultivates them with love and organic methods, gathers them by hand when the moon advises, dries them in the appropriate workshop, and packages them in attractive little packages that she sells in the little shop. One last stop for the farmers’ shops is reserved for Predoi, almost at the end of the valley, a village known since antiquity for its copper mines, which monopolized life there until the late 19th century. Overlooking the road is the Wassererhof of the Innerbickler family, where Mrs. Paula has been making beautiful bobbin lace for over forty years, an ancient typical craft that saved many families from misery when the mine closed down, and prepares fragrant syrups and jams with produce from the farm, as well as an unusual and excellent dandelion honey, obtained by boiling the flowers in a little water and filtering the mixture.
SHOPPING
1 Lahnerhof – Fam. Fruh 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 shop is open only on Saturdays.
4 Farmers’ Market every Thursday, from 3 to 6 pm, at the Tubris Center of 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 most convenient railway station is Brunico, from where buses depart for the valley (hourly service).
BY CAR The Tures-Aurina Valleys are reachable via the Brenner motorway A22. At the Bressanone exit, take the Val Pusteria and just before Brunico, follow the signs for Brunico West and subsequent signs for Tures-Aurina Valleys or Falzes.
BY CAMPER Near the natural swimming pool of Campo Tures, tel.0474.678257, there is an equipped parking area with services.
