It is the westernmost municipality in South Tyrol, stretching along the Rio Ram between the Ortles Massif and the Swiss mountains
In the Upper Val Venosta, the Val Monastero or Val Müstair branches off, connecting the Val Venosta with the Swiss Canton of the Grisons. The greater part lies on Swiss territory, where Rhaeto-Romanic is spoken - in South Tyrol it is sparsely populated. Actually, the South Tyrolean Val Monastero consists of a single municipality that stretches from Rivaira Bassa on the Rio Ram all the way up to the mighty Sesvenna Alps, where the sheer cliffs already reach more than 3,200 metres in height.
The main village of the municipality is Tubre village, which is surrounded by old churches: The Romanesque St. John, the Gothic St. Michael, the St. Blaise Parish Church, St. Martin, St. Anthony, St. Nicholas, St. Roch and St. Valentine tell of past centuries. In between are the ruins of Castel Rotund and Castel Reichenberg. They served as residence palaces for the bishops of Coira from the 12th century onwards. In addition to Tubre village, there is the above-mentioned Rivaira, the farms of Tella, the beautiful Val d'Avigna valley and Pontevilla, the new settlement on the border, which was built as a checkpoint during WWI and at that time consisted of only a few buildings. Today, the farms are spread out in the idyllic greenery of the Val Monastero.
The location at the transition between Val Venosta and Engadine, between Italy and Switzerland, opens up interesting possibilities here: Hikes and mountain tours in the Sesvenna area and in the Avigna Valley or on Mt. Cavallaccio are just as much a part of the offer as the Hours' Trail, which until recently connected the Swiss Saint John Abbey in Müstair, a famous World Heritage Site, with the majestic Benedictine Abbey of Monte Maria in the Val Venosta. By bike you can tackle the Forno Pass or explore other parts of Italy via the Stelvio Pass and the Umbrail Pass. In winter, the Avigna Valley invites you to a snowshow hike and to go sledging and cross-country skiing.
