In the highland of Bleggio, stands this ancient village, with a rural urban layout from a time when peasant life flowed at a rhythm linked to the nature of the mountains.
The hamlet of Bleggio Superiore, Rango, was included in 2006 among the Most Beautiful Villages in Italy for its timeless features, which make it even more suggestive during the Christmas period, when it is populated thanks to a typical alpine market.
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What to see in Rango
Among haylofts, cobbled streets, old woodsheds, adjoining houses, porticoes, inner courtyards, and fortified walls: in Rango, you can experience a dive into the past, and for many, it could also be a very romantic travel opportunity. Because the village, already in its location, is a place to reach to “isolate” oneself from chaos. Rango in Bleggio is located between the mountains of Trentino, half an hour by car from Lake Garda, with which it is connected by a road that in the past led from the lake to Val di Sole.
The houses of the village are located near the historic parish church of Bleggio and were houses characterized by the rural peasant architecture of this area.
A structure that includes cellars where salami and the famous Bleggio walnuts were kept cool; the androns for passages, stone houses where the chimneys were built into the walls because stoves would have set fire to the straw bundles that made up the ceilings.
Along the village, you can visit the small School Museum, where there are relics from the early 20th century regarding teaching. Because this is considered the village of children, where there are several appointments to make them play, visit the shop and the game room, or take a ride on a donkey.
In the central square, there is a granite fountain, once used as a watering trough for animals, and from there, you can start a visit to the alleys where ancient crafts are evoked. From the balconies, corn cobs often hang, and there are inscriptions that lead to the shops of the knife sharpener, the grinder, the umbrella maker, the caregheta, who wove the chairs, up to the calier, the shoemaker.
The history of Rango: between buildings and legends
Another interesting place is the 15th-century parish church, which marks the history of the village.
Actually, Rango in Bleggio was supposed to have been inhabited since Roman times by the Etruscans of the Po Valley – they challenged the climate of the Dolomites to take advantage of the fertile plains and escape the invasions of the Gauls.
Over time, the village fortified itself, including about twenty houses carved into the rock that lean on each other to give greater stability. It became a place of agriculture and breeding, but also a passage for pilgrims and shepherds who followed the flocks.
Many may have spent one or two nights in Rango and then continued on alpine passages such as Passo Duron. This is because around the year 1000, Rango was on the so-called Imperial Road and was located on its margins (Randa, in Celtic, means border).
As mentioned, the church was the fulcrum of this village, and the ancient parish was dedicated to the Annunciation of Mary. The foundation of the church, on the outer edges of the inhabited center and towards the road to Cavaione, dates back to the Renaissance period. It is thought to have been built in the fifteenth century, but the first news of its presence dates back to 1537. The bell tower was completed only in the seventeenth century, and the church was then expanded in the eighteenth century.
At the folklore level, on the other hand, a house in the village is famous, which in the nineteenth century seems to have been inhabited by a girl considered possessed by the devil. For this reason, one of the porticoes of her house in Rango in Bleggio is now called Portec del Diavol. It seems to have been a case of spiritualism known also in the surrounding territory and has fueled several “dark” stories.
It should be remembered in the history of Rango that the structure of houses so close and adjoining was not a good thing in case of fires, which devastated it especially in the nineteenth century.
Local products and the market of Rango in Bleggio
When you arrive in Rango, make sure to try the famous walnut cake! Because this village is famous for its most delicious product: the Bleggio walnuts.
The fertile plateaus around Rango are the perfect growing ground for walnut trees, which have populated the valley since the sixteenth century. The Bleggio walnut is now known all over the world for its thin shell, easy to open, the fleshy inside with a pleasant taste and a spicy flavor.
It is hand-picked, eaten raw, or added to the famous regional walnut cakes. Furthermore, it is often transformed into a strong-tasting liqueur, called nocino.
In other cases, it is used in the production of a very rare, exquisite, and typical walnut salami from this area of Trentino.
In addition to walnuts, the osterie ai vòlt, i.e., in the ancient stone cellars, also make many other dishes of Trentino’s cuisine, such as polenta carbonera, local cheeses, mountain salami such as Ciuìga del Banale (turnip salami). In addition, famous are canederli, tripe in broth, orzetto, strudel, and other typical desserts.
The most famous moment to taste these specialties is perhaps at Christmas when Rango in Bleggio is tinged with wonderful colors and lights. It starts in December among alleys and low arches, a Christmas market hosted mainly in the vòlt.
In this farming village, it seems to be carved directly into the mountain when Christmas lights are turned on, and you can also discover the beauties of local craftsmanship.
Since the Renaissance, the production of engraved and glazed vases, stove tiles, and other particular creations that can be evoked in the annual market has been famous and requested.
Explore the surroundings of Rango
If you venture into this area of Bleggio Superiore, you can also go to the Comano Thermal Baths, as well as descend to Lake Garda.
A white road that is located in the upper part of Rango in Bleggio, also allows you to reach the Passo del Durone, in an undemanding path that reaches over 1000 meters above sea level.
A nearby village is Balbido, famous for the murals that have now been painted on the walls of many houses and for the famous Stria di Balbido, a bamboo and wood witch sculpture that entered the Guinness World Records.
With its over 10 meters, it is the largest witch sculpture in the world. The “strie” (witches in the local dialect) of these places are not malignant but jokesters with their pranks!
