Auna di Sotto

In the Middle Ages, the Isarco Valley was still a swampy valley basin, uninhabitable and impassable. Crossing the Renon Plateau was the only way to get to Rome at that time, and so an important path that led past several now historic sites. In the course of centuries, more than 60 emperors travelled through this area, meanwhile pilgrims found shelter in the hospice in Longomoso. When the Valle Isarco Valley became passable and the Renon was discovered by wealthy merchants from Bolzano as a summer resort, the landscape changed.

Today Auna di Sotto is a popular and central holiday village on the sunny Renon. It is only a few kilometres away from Bolzano and a bus line connects it regularly with the provincial capital and the main village of Collalbo. South Tyrolean companies such as the window manufacturer Finstral and the wafer producer Loacker are located in the industrial park on the edge of Unterinn, its German name. Auna di Sotto consists of the village centre around the St. Lucy Church and the farms of Lastebasse, Laste Alte, Eschenbach, Gasters and "die Eicheln". St. Lucy is the oldest church on the Renon, but today hardly anything reminds of the original building. In the 18th century it was converted to Baroque style and in the late 19th century to Neo-Romanesque style.

There are many things worth seeing here for culture and nature lovers, including the 14th century St. Sebastian Church, which was built as a sign of gratitude for the fact that the plague spared Auna di Sotto. Near the village stand some of the curious-looking Renon Earth Pyramids, earth columns with a capstone that protects them from collapsing in the rain. The Isarco Valley Chestnut Trail, simply known as "Keschtnweg", also leads past the village and its rustic farm restaurants in two stages: Stage 1 ends in Auna di Sotto, stage 2 starts in Auna di Sotto and is considered the most beautiful one.