South Tyrol’s newest town features the Rio Vallarsa recreation area, sports facilities, playgrounds, and a vibrant community
Image gallery: Town of Laives
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From the Val d'Ega village of Nova Ponente, the Vallarsa valley descends southwards. Where it meets the Adige Valley floor lies Laives, South Tyrol's newest town. The area has been inhabited for millennia: The Raeti, a Gallic tribe, cultivated grapes here. You can see the remains of one of their farmsteads, unearthed in recent years, at the playground in Via Galizia road.
The sports facilities are located on Via Vallarsa road, at the end of which Lord Baden-Powell Park commemorates the founder of the Scout movement. This fascinating blend of past and present characterises the entire centre. The old Parish Church of St. Anthony the Abbot and St. Nicholas has been extended with a modern annex, and the town hall, built from reddish Laives porphyry, is also part of the urban redevelopment. The Town Hall Square hosts the annual autumn rock festival, "Laives Rock". A vibrant community spirit has blossomed in Laives over recent decades.
Among the most renowned associations are the Monti Pallidi choir and the "Filodrammatica" theatre group, which keeps the tradition of Italian dialect theatre alive. On a hill above the town sits the "Peterköfele" - the Chapel of St. Peter - which also graces the municipality's coat of arms. It stands on the old pilgrimage path connecting Laives to the Pietralba Pilgrimage Site.
Since 1787, the original statue of the Madonna di Pietralba has adorned the altar of the parish church in Laives. Another intriguing, albeit steeper, route with some sections secured by ropes also starts at the parish church: the hike on the Alta Via di Laives, the Laives High Route. It leads beneath the steep porphyry walls of the Vallarsa valley to Flavon Castle high above Bolzano.
