Between suburbs, hamlets and prehistory: from Melta to Martignano

The itinerary connects the northern part of Trento, born during the recent urban expansion (dated back to the last two decades of the last century), with the historic suburb of Martignano, characterised by wide antique vineyards. 

Nevertheless, the real historic surprise of the trail is Riparo Gaban in the middle of the ascent. It is an important archeological site that shows how these places have been attended by men for more than 10.000 years. Indeed, thanks to the rich stratigraphy it is possible to trace men presence from the Mesolithic to the Bronze Age, witnessed by marvellous artefacts and votive objects.  

Along the first part of the path it is possible to appreciate other interesting aspects of the local landscape. From above the first stretch that runs alongside the Solteri quarter you can see one of the last cultivated red stone quarries of Trento. It is one of the last craft laboratories for stonework, material once used to build most parts of the historic city and the 19thcentury city. 

Immediately after that, going back to the plain, you will pass by Melta park, a big contemporary urban park that answers to the contemporary need of recreational and green areas. 

Going up to the hill and leaving Melta's houses, you will finally enter the terraced vineyards' landscape that is typical of the hillside between Centochiavi and Martignano. The exposure and the soil have favoured the presence of wide cultivations of vines that, where the ground is steeper, are placed on big terraced steps. 

The street that winds between the countryside allows a unique view on the spontaneous local flora and crops: clematis vitalba and ivy-covered walls, maples, manna ashes, hazelnut trees and other local essences of the lean sunny slopes. 

On the trail you will find some historic buildings (the Chapel of Casa Angeli and the Church of S. Isidoro) that show how the hill was a place of expansion and representation of the rural nobility and the rich city bourgeois during the 17th-18thcentury. 

At the end you will reach the square of Martignano, commonly knows as square of "Canopi" (i.e. the old miners that used the metallic resources of Argentario and Calisio) and you will finish your walk in the beautiful garden that surrounds the suburb's multifunctional center.