The grapes for the spicy “Sirmianer”, a white wine, grow in the sun-drenched vineyards of Sirmiano, or Sirmian, in German
Image gallery: Sirmiano
Above Nalles you can find a small mountain village with an excellent wine: It is Sirmiano, also called Sirmiano di Sotto (Lower Sirmiano) to distinguish it from the next hamlet, Sirmiano di Sopra (Upper Sirmiano). Here, the grapes of a Pinot blanc are grown on the exposed slopes between 500 and 700 m a.s.l., which then rise towards the Mendola Ridge. The local Nalles-Magrè Winery uses the grapes to produce a South Tyrolean wine: the single varietal "Sirmian", a compact white wine with notes of fresh hay and a hint of thyme.
The hamlet once belonged to Tesimo, today it is one of the three districts of Nalles. Sirmiano can be reached via the road that leads uphill from Stachelburg Castle on the edge of Nalles village. Some important mountain bike and vintage motorbike races are held on this route. Hikes also pass by here, such as the one on the Way of St. James from Andriano to Sirmiano. Further destinations are the little Church of St. Apollonia and the Burgstalleck viewpoint.
The Sacred Heart Church stands in the middle of the mountain village, and around it are the approximately 20 buildings - the hamlet has no more house numbers. An important witness to the long history of Sirmiano is Bavaro Castle from the 13th century, a complex built by the Lords of Payr on a rocky hilltop. On three sides the rock walls drop steeply down. There was already a fortress in Sirmiano earlier, which was called "Sermiana". It was destroyed by the Franks in 590 AD, but left behind its name, which was then used for the village that developed here.
