Ossana description and photos - Italy: Val di Sole (Topic)

Ossana description and photos - Italy: Val di Sole. Detailed information about the attraction. Description, photographs and a map showing the nearest significant objects. The title in English is Ossana.

Photo and description

Ossana is a first-class summer tourist resort in the Val di Sole, attracting with its rich history and numerous monuments. The village, lying at the foot of the Presanella peaks at the very beginning of the Val di Peio, has experienced a real boom in recent years. Today it combines the functions of a tourist resort and an important agricultural, commercial and craft center.

Since time immemorial, Ossana has been the political, administrative and religious center of the upper Val di Sole, due to its location at the confluence of the Vermillo and Peyo valleys. The first written mentions of it are found at the end of the 12th century - then it was known as Castrum Vulsane. Archaeological excavations recently carried out on the hills of San Michele suggest that people lived here even in the Bronze Age. Throughout the Middle Ages and into modern times, Ossana was a thriving village, mainly due to the nearby iron mines in Fucine and trade with Lombardy. Its history is closely connected with the history of the castle, the ownership of which was contested by the bishops of Trento and the Tyrolean counts, and which was inhabited by many noble feudal families - from Federici to Heydorf and Bertelli. In 1525, a bloody peasant uprising broke out here, and in 1918, at the very end of the First World War, Italian troops from Tonale started a fire, during which the old house of the parish priest of the 12th century burned down. p>

Today, one of the most exciting sights of Ossana is the massive structure that attracts the attention of all tourists without exception - the castle of San Michele standing on a hill. The castle is a classic observation post located in a strategically important location. It is probably of Lombard origin, although it was first mentioned only in 1191. Until the end of the 13th century, it was owned by the bishops of Trento, and then it was captured by the Tyrolean Count Mainardo. Today the castle belongs to the government of the Autonomous Region of Trentino-Alto Adige, which initiated restoration work. The castle is surrounded by two rows of walls and a 16-century bastion that dominates the entire valley and is the best-preserved part of the complex.

Among other attractions of Ossana, it is worth exploring an old house in the very center of the village, in which a cycle of frescoes from the 15th-16th centuries was recently discovered. At the top of the valley is the parish church of San Virgilio. The current church building was built in the late 15th - early 16th centuries on the site of an older church, from which only the large Romanesque bell tower has survived. On the Renaissance facade of the temple, you can see the inscription "1536". Inside, in a single nave, there are three altars. The main one is made of wood in the 17th century, the right one is marble - the creation of the Verona sculptor Marchesini, and the left one, also marble, is the work of artisans from Trentino.

Outside Ossana, on Tomino Hill, there is another interesting church - Sant Antonio, built in 1686-1718. It is surrounded by 13 sites of the Way of the Cross and is considered the most important Baroque building in Val di Sole. Inside, you can admire the stucco moldings of Komaska, frescoes by Dalla Torre and paintings by Domenico Bonor.

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Topic: Ossana description and photos - Italy: Val di Sole.