Campodenno

Discover Campodenno

Campodenno is a municipality of about 1516 inhabitants in the province of Trento, Trentino-Alto Adige, occupying roughly 25.39 square kilometres on the right bank of the Torrente Noce in the lower Val di Non. Its municipal centre sits at 534 metres above sea level, while the territory stretches from a low point of 534 metres at Cressino up to 534 metres at Cima Santa Maria — an altitudinal range of more than 534 metres that takes in alpine pastures, forested slopes, and the outermost spurs of the Dolomiti di Brenta. The comune includes several distinct settlements — among them Dercolo, Lover, Termon, Quetta and Segonzone — whose earliest written records date to 1276, when a deed recorded the transfer of a local serf to the bishop of Trento.

Straddling medieval history, mountain landscape and a living agricultural tradition centred on the Val di Non’s renowned apple-growing culture, Campodenno village in Trentino-South Tyrol rewards visitors who look beyond the better-known resort towns of the region. A restored medieval castle, a cycle of fifteenth-century frescoes, protected riverside habitat along the Noce, and a network of trails linking high-altitude malghe to the valley floor give this compact community a range of experiences that belies its modest size.

Campodenno village in Trentino-South Tyrol: history from medieval lords to modern municipality

Campodenno’s documentary record opens in 1276, when the nobleman Oldarico de Enno transferred his serf Bontempo della Palma — together with all of Bontempo’s heirs — to the bishop of Trento, Enrico II, establishing the earliest written trace of the settlement. Control of the village shifted across successive noble families over the following two centuries: a document of 1282, preserved in the Archivio Thun at Castel Bragher, records how the Flavon counts Riprandino and Ramberto shared lands and men across the villages of Termon, Lover and Campodenno. The Flavon line lost its local holdings during the fourteenth century; by 1385 the right of decima was held jointly by Enrico — nephew of the notary Walter of Flavon and resident at Castel Corona — and Giovanni of Spormaggiore, covering Campodenno, Quetta and Lover. In 1394 the Castel Corona family transferred those assets to Matteo II Spaur.

The twentieth century brought administrative upheaval. After the First World War the area became part of the newly annexed Venezia Tridentina, and in 1928 a Fascist-era reform merged Campodenno into a larger entity centred on Denno. A referendum held in 1951 allowed the villages of Campodenno, Dercolo, Lover, Quetta and Termon to separate from the Comune di Denno, and the Regional Law no. 31 of 23 August 1952 formally constituted them as an autonomous municipality. In November 1944, amid Allied bombing raids targeting the Brenner corridor, an American B-26 Marauder, having taken off from Corsica, was shot down by German anti-aircraft fire and crashed near the hamlet at a site known as Faé-Grum; the crew, who had parachuted out, were captured by German occupation forces, and the unexploded ordnance recovered from the wreckage was placed beside the war memorial in front of the church of Santi Maurizio e Compagni.

Churches, a Castle, and Historic Buildings across Campodenno and Its Villages

Campodenno and its surrounding villages offer a castle, five parish churches, several smaller chapels, two historic palaces, and a protected natural area along the Noce torrent — all within a compact territory spanning roughly 25.39 square kilometres.

Castel Belasi

Built in the late thirteenth century near the village of Segonzone, Castel Belasi passed in the second half of the fourteenth century to the Khuen-Belasi family, who gave it their name. Since 2000 it has been the property of the Municipality of Campodenno and is open to visitors during the summer months.

Chiesa dei Santi Maurizio e Compagni

The main parish church of Campodenno, which assumed that role in 1959, holds on its right lateral altar a painting by Domenico Udine Nani commemorating the cholera epidemic of 1836, from which the village was spared. In front of the church stands the war memorial, beside which the unexploded bombs recovered from the American B-26 Marauder that was shot down over the locality of Faé-Grum in November 1944 were placed.

Chiesa di San Pancrazio

Documented as early as 1363 and situated above the village of Campodenno, this church served as a hermitage from the seventeenth century until the end of the eighteenth. In the course of the seventeenth century the hermitage was enfeoffed to the de Oliva family, lords originally from Nanno.

Chiesa dei Santi Filippo e Giacomo, Segonzone

A subsidiary church in the village of Segonzone, built during the fifteenth century. Its interior preserves frescoes dated 1473 by the brothers Giovanni and Battista Baschenis.

Chiesa di Sant’Egidio, Quetta

The parish church of Quetta was rebuilt during the sixteenth century. Inside, the main altar is a wooden structure attributed to Simone Lenner and dating to the seventeenth century. A sixteenth-century wooden relief of the Adoration of the Magi, formerly housed here, is now held at the Museo Diocesano Tridentino.

Chiesa di San Michele Arcangelo

Located in the locality of Maso Sant’Angelo, this church was most probably built in the thirteenth century. A document of 1289 records that Oldarico de Enno granted a wooded plot of land to the monk Dalavanzio in connection with it, and on 15 April 1331 Pope John XXII granted an indulgence of forty days to those who visited it. In 1892 the building passed into the ownership of the Beatrici family.

The Municipal Palace and Casa Sicher

Cappella dell’Addolorata, Crescino

A small chapel built in the nineteenth century in the locality of Crescino.

Biotopo La Rocchetta

Established in 1992 as a protected natural area, the Biotopo La Rocchetta covers 88.86 hectares along the final stretch of the Noce torrent, preserving a riverine and peri-riverine environment. It is the lowest point of the municipal territory, near the locality of Cressino at 534 metres above sea level.

Flavours of the Val di Non: What Campodenno and Its Area Produce

The lower Val di Non, where Campodenno sits, is apple country above all: the Mela Val di Non DOP and the broader Mele del Trentino IGP are the most recognisable certified products of this territory, and the orchards that line the Noce valley give the landscape much of its seasonal character. No single speciality can be claimed as exclusive to Campodenno’s municipal boundaries, but the area shares in the wider Trentino table of certified foods.

Among them, Carne Salada del Trentino IGP — thinly sliced salt-cured beef seasoned with herbs — is a staple of trattorie throughout the province. Grana Padano DOP and Asiago DOP represent the aged cheeses of the region, while the Garda DOP designation covers olive oils produced on the lake shores to the south.

Beyond the certified labels, the Trentino tradition of distilling runs through the area: fruit distillates, acquavite di ginepro, sciroppo di sambuco and sciroppo di lampone are all part of a long artisan heritage shared across the valleys. These belong to the regional PAT category and should be understood as territorial rather than local.

Reaching Campodenno and Planning Your Stay in the Val di Non

Campodenno is most easily reached by car from Trento, approximately 30 kilometres to the south along the Val di Non, a drive of around 30 to 35 minutes. The village sits at 534 metres above sea level on the right bank of the Noce torrent, within a territory that stretches across a municipal area of roughly 25.39 square kilometres and rises from 534 metres at Cressino to 534 metres at Cima Santa Maria — an altitudinal range of more than 534 metres.

Spring and early summer are well suited to visits: the apple orchards are in bloom, Castel Belasi opens to visitors during the summer months, and the Biotopo La Rocchetta — a protected fluvial area of nearly 89 hectares along the lower Noce — is at its most lively. The Dolomiti di Brenta Bike circuit, a long-distance cycling route that loops around the Dolomiti di Brenta, passes through the area and includes the historic Lez irrigation canal, making autumn also a rewarding season for cyclists. The village lies within the Parco Naturale Adamello Brenta, so walkers have direct access to trails leading up toward the Campa subgroup of the Dolomiti di Brenta.

Those exploring the broader Trentino-Alto Adige region might combine a stop here with a visit to Albiano, further along the Adige valley, or with the panoramic landscapes of the Altopiano della Vigolana to the southeast of Trento.

These practical references help organise the journey clearly, while the village itself is best understood slowly and on foot once you arrive.

📷 Photo Gallery — Campodenno

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