Tonezza del Cimone: Nature Trails, History and Patona

Tonezza del Cimone brings together very different travel interests on the Tonezza Plateau: paths through natural and historic landscapes, winter sports, an ethnographic museum and local cuisine. For you, the appeal of the place therefore lies less in a single attraction than in the combination of these themes. Depending on your travel plans, circular routes, Monte Cimone, the history of the First World War or Patona may take centre stage.

Circular Routes and Paths across the Plateau

The Sentiero Excalibur is a circular route approximately 2.5 kilometres long. Its generally gentle terrain, typical of a plateau, presents no technical difficulties. Along the way, there are ten stations for educational and recreational activities.

Sentiero No. 547 connects the centre of Tonezza del Cimone with Monte Cimone. It passes through beech forests and by places of natural and historical interest. Together with Routes 536 and 539, it can be combined into a circular route that starts and ends in Tonezza. This provides not only an individual path but also a combined route option.

La Valle dei ciliegi is an approximately 2.5-kilometre educational nature trail in the heart of the Tonezza Plateau. The focus here is on natural history. Together with the Sentiero Excalibur, the route demonstrates two different approaches to short circular walks in Tonezza.

Cycling and Winter Sports

The Tonezza Plateau offers mountain bike routes for different preferences and fitness levels. Winter sports options in Tonezza del Cimone and on the Tonezza Plateau include downhill skiing, snowboarding, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing. The range of sports therefore extends from cycling tours to several forms of winter sports.

Remembrance and Local History

With its ossuary and numerous paths commemorating the First World War, Tonezza del Cimone is one of the stops on the Alta Via della Grande Guerra project, known as AVGG for short. The Sacrario Militare del Monte Cimone stands at an altitude of 1,226 metres and was inaugurated on 28 September 1929. It holds the remains of 1,210 unknown Italian soldiers who fell in the First World War.

Ethnography and Cuisine

The Museo Etnografico “Caselo dei Grotti” is located at Contrada Grotti 1/a, 36040 Tonezza del Cimone (VI). The multimedia exhibition presents the processing of milk and meat, as well as a traditional kitchen, a parents’ bedroom and agricultural and forestry equipment. The museum is housed in the last communal caselo turnario on the Tonezza Plateau and represents the local dairy and cheese-making tradition.

The cuisine also has a clear connection with the area. Patona di Tonezza del Cimone is a De.Co. dish: rustic polenta made from potatoes and flour, refined with onion soffritto and pork cracklings.

Discover More Places

Further places for your travel planning: Castegnero, Asiago, Creazzo, Thiene, Monticello Conte Otto, Arsiero, Castana and Carré.

For the overarching travel overview: Vicenza.