Winter wellness in The Dolomites
Thanks to the Alpe Cimbra location of the Trentino Dolomites, it offers more than just a standard ski holiday. On a short break here Rebecca Miles finds wellness, culture, and gastronomy all on the menu.
This is a feature from Issue 13 of Charitable Traveller.
Music worthy of the most epic of Hollywood blockbusters is playing and the lights dimly glow green then red as the topless Aufgussmeister, our sauna host, swirls and twirls a large towel through the air, creating waves of hot, steamy air to wash over us. I’m in an Aufguss sauna with four others, spread out on the sauna’s amphitheatre-like wooden benches, sweating, glowing and wondering what scent will be wafted over us next – delicate alpine flowers, hay and citrus all take a turn.
With a triumphant final flourish, the Aufgussmeister brings the sauna theatre to a close. We exit the sauna for the exhilarating cool night air, stars sparkling above us, and the snow under my bare feet is a delightful, invigorating contrast to the heat of the sauna. The Aufguss sauna is just one part of Malga Millagrobbe, a former dairy farm on a plateau among the Cimbrian forest in the Trentino region of the Italian Dolomites, surrounded by Nordic cross-country trails when we visit in the middle of winter.
Also in the ancient stone buildings are five guest bedrooms and a typical Trentino wood-lined stube, where we head next for a dinner of local flavours, including lots of polenta, porcini and salami. The Aufguss (a German word for infusion) sauna is a rarity in the Dolomites, so all the more reason to seek it out. They’re more usually found over the border in Austria, so it’s another reminder of just how entwined this Trentino region, along with its northern Italian sister Alto Adige, is with the Tyrol over the border. The strong Austrian influence on the Italian food, architecture, and language gives this region a fascinating edge.
Easy-Going Slopes
It’s easy to get back to nature here and experience the benefits of winter in the mountains without racing up and down snow-covered pistes (although it’s good enough to be the official training base of the US Ski and Snowboard team), and the resort offers a lot more than simple snowy slopes.
The Path narrows and climbs along the side of a ridge before bringing us out at the top of Monte Maggio, at 1,850m. From a mindfulness point of view, it certainly works.
Peace and quiet
Alpe Cimbra is so spread out over what’s known as the Great Highlands of Trentino that it’s easy to escape the crowds and find solitude. First stop to achieve this is Passo Coe, a mountain pass 10 minutes drive from Folgaria and at the edge of the ski area. Here, we hire e-mountain bikes with overly fat tyres to grip the snow,
and battery packs to help with the climbs and set off on a snow-covered track into the pine forests. The path narrows and climbs along the side of a ridge before bringing us out at the top of Monte Maggio, at 1,850m. From a mindfulness point of view, it certainly works – in a couple of places the drop to one side is enough to focus the mind without scaring myself silly, and the view from the top stretches across rolling valleys to Venice in the (very) far distance.
Fancy Flavours
While not strictly wellness in the truest sense of the word, a visit to this part of the world can also involve some art and culture – which aren’t usually front and centre on a ski holiday either. But Folgaria is just 30 minutes drive from Rovereto, Trentino’s second city and similar to Verona, but on a smaller scale and with fewer crowds. Narrow streets lined with Venetian houses wiggle between elegant piazzas, and broad Palladian avenues stretch out of the centre, framing views of the surrounding mountains. For an apres-ski session, it’s certainly different to the norm, and would be well worth a short stay in its own right. Independent bars and cafes dot the historic centre and it’s a chance to taste some of the region’s delicious produce.
Rovereto is home to Caffè Bontadi, Italy’s oldest coffee roaster, so expect to see its beans on the menu everywhere, while the town’s surrounding hillsides are home to plenty of vineyards, many producing the local tipple of choice Trentodoc, a light sparkling wine that makes an ideal aperitif.
Art and culture run throughout Rovereto, but the focal point is the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art of Trento and Rovereto, or Mart for short. Opened in 2002, its pale terracotta atrium is domed with a glazed geometric lattice, and sets the tone for the style within. Its permanent collection is home to 30,000 works from the mid-19th to mid-20th century, and its temporary exhibitions are ambitious in their scope. When I visited, a retrospective of Fortunato Depero, the father of Futurism and Rovereto resident, was on; currently showing is Banksy, the artist of the present, which looks at the artist as if he were one of the great classical artists.
Within the museum’s atrium is one of the region’s greatest restaurants, Senso. Run by Michelin-starred chef Alfio Ghezzi, another Rovereto local, he takes his inspiration from the museum’s exhibitions and serves a tasting menu called The Cooking of the Senses, where he travels through the region, cherry-picking ingredients and presenting them in unexpected but delicious ways. For dessert, olive cream and chicory make an appearance alongside meringue.
From an unusual sauna and some peaceful mountain slopes, via an e-bike ride and a snowshoes walk, to a contemporary art gallery and an imaginative restaurant, Alpe Cimbra is the place to fully reset and restore your winter wellbeing.
Get in touch with our expert travel agents to plan your winter wellness escape to the Dolomites today!
This is a feature from Issue 13 of Charitable Traveller.
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