On the outskirts of Bolzano, the two new districts of Firmiano and Casanova have emerged in recent years
Image gallery: Bolzano Firmiano-Casanova
On the border between Bolzano and Appiano on the Wine Road, green spaces and orchards have given way in recent years to two new districts. One of these is Casanova (Kaiserau) in southwest Bolzano, a completely new development with its own train station and numerous residential blocks, each clustered around a green area. From the houses around the Anita Pichler Square, you can see the wooded Monte Imperiale. It marks the northern end of the Monte di Mezzo, which rises between the Oltradige area and the Bassa Atesina.
Perched atop the Monte Imperiale is Firmiano Castle, home to the Messner Mountain Museum Firmian. Following the Via Resia road - one of Bolzano's main arterial roads - northwards, where the Passage of Remembrance serves as a reminder of a dark chapter in the town's history, you reach the next new district: Firmiano (Firmian). It lies opposite the Palaonda event hall and the Resia Sports Grounds and extends the residential complexes previously built there to the west.
Along with the houses, commercial spaces and a recreational area with a playground, skate park, and dog-walking area have been created. Both districts belong to the Don Bosco neighbourhood. The name Firmiano, by the way, has historical roots.
This was the name of Firmiano Castle centuries ago, and it is still the Italian name for the imposing complex: It is known as Schloss Sigmundskron in German. The large residential blocks between Casanova and Firmiano were the first to be built according to the highly energy-efficient ClimateHouse A standards. The ClimateHouse concept, a registered trademark developed in Bolzano, is applied extensively here, guaranteeing a high quality of life with low CO₂ emissions.
