The chief village of the municipality is a famous pilgrimage site and starting point for hikes in the Gruppo di Tessa nature park
Image gallery: Rifiano village
Driving from the Val Passiria to Merano, at Rifiano you can perceive a climate change, that is to say the mainly rough climate becomes milder, the air gets warmer and you approach the mild conditions prevailing in the city of Merano. In the landscape the rather mild climate is reflected by the vineyards and the chestnut trees surrounding the village of Rifiano.
Rifiano is located at 504 m asl and represents the most famous pilgrimage site of Merano and surroundings. According to a legend, once upon a time a farmer saw a light coming from the Passirio river. Together with another farmer, he detected a picture of the Dolorous Mother of God and so they decided to build a church in this place. However, several accidents overshadow the construction period, until a flock of birds brought bloody strands to the cemetery of the parish church where, without further accidents, the present-day chapel was built.
The pilgrimage chapel “Zu den sieben Schmerzen Mariens” (The seven dolours of Maria) is a Baroque construction of 1671 by Franz Delai, its Baroque high altar created by Bartlmen Grätl is one of the most beautiful high altars of Tyrol. Also the remarkable Gothic frescos of 1425 are worth to be visited.
Our tip: stop in one of the original cellars in the period of Toerggelen, a South Tyrolean tradition, after having visited the archeological excavation “Burgstall” dating back to the late Ice Age.
