The most important theatres and museums and the oldest alleys of Bolzano are located in the centre of Bolzano and in Piani
Image gallery: Bolzano Centro-Piani
The agricultural area, which today is called Piani (Bozner Boden), is known for the market hall and the Cineplexx cinema. It was already mentioned in the 15th century as "Poden pey Botzenn". Piani then stretches into the Old Town of Bolzano, which we have described in an article of its own, and as far as Roncolo Castle and Rafenstein Castle at the entrance to the Sarentino Valley - where the Talvera Meadows form the green lung and recreational area of the town.
Most of the museums are situated in this area, such as the Municipal Museum and the Museum of Archeology with Oetzi, the Nature Museum, which features a coral reef and special exhibitions and is therefore particularly popular among families, and the Eccel Kreuzer House Museum. The Assumption of Our Lady Cathedral with the Cathedral Treasury then follows at the Walther Square. Some of the oldest streets and alleys can also be found in Centro-Piani. In the Via Bottai road at the eastern end of the old town, the wine industry and wine trade used to be lucrative sources of income, while in the Via dei Conciapelli road animal skins were processed into leather.
The town walls once stood at the Piazza delle Erbe square, at the other end of the Arcades, and today you can buy fruit. In between are some of the quaintest places to stop in Bolzano, such as the "Fischbänke" tavern, where people like to meet for an aperitif and enjoy the balmy summer evenings in Bolzano. Together with Rencio on the eastern edge of the town, the centre of Bolzano and Piani form the largest and easternmost district of the South Tyrolean provincial capital.
