From the mountain village, a path takes you to St. Helena in front of the Catinaccio, the little church with the oldest bell in the valley
Image gallery: Nova Ponente village
Nova Ponente village (Deutschnofen Dorf), the centre of the municipality of Nova Ponente on the sunny Monte Regolo, consists of various facilities, bars and cafés, shopping opportunities and playgrounds. In summer the starting point for numerous hikes and excursions, Nova Ponente is only a few km away from the winter sports facilities of Obereggen and the Carezza Pass in winter. Most of the municipality consists of forest, and in between are the idyllic alpine pastures with their small mountain huts, which offer an alpine breakfast as well as traditional South Tyrolean dishes.
The trails lead from Nova Ponente village to the Laab and the Capanna Nuova Mountain Huts, to the Bel Riposo or Schönrast (litertally: Beautiful View) Tavern, and on the Wölfl circular path on a journey of discovery through the surrounding meadows. In winter you can take your sledge with you. The small St. Helena Church with its Gothic frescoes of the Bolzano school from the 15th century is worth seeing: The oldest bell in the region hangs in the church tower.
The area of Nova Ponente has been settled for a long time. Traces from the Middle Stone Age indicate that people lived here already between 5000 and 5700 BC. Oetzi was not yet born at that time, but wandered through the Alps two millennia later. In 1145, "Nove" was then mentioned for the first time - the Italian place name today is Nova Ponente (Deutschnofen, in German). The venerable Thurn Residence in the centre of the village now houses the Territory Museum, which tells of this long history, but also of the former court and legends of the saints.
