Escaping the rain to Trento and Muse

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One thing that has been different during this summer is the weather. Everyone who I have met in Arco agrees that they haven't seen a summer like this before. And this is the first time for us too that the weather has been so unpredictable over the last 12 summers at Lake Garda. Unpredictable rains, low temperatures and sudden weather changes are more than common. Cooler temperatures are fine for sports but heavy rain and storms makes almost all outdoor activities hard or hopeless.

Today constant rain changed again our plans and it was time to come up something else to do. After few ideas we decided to head towards Trento. Initial idea was to see the city or some museums. As a city Trento is an interesting mix of the Italian and German cultures. That shows up on the street level clearly on the architecture that changes dramatically between city blocks. But hanging around the city in the rain is not too much fun for long. Luckily we heard a tip from the local climbers at Arco that Trento has a new and impressive museum MUSE - Science Museum so we decided to head down there.

MUSE-museum is located in a fresh and modern building and exhibition covers all the main aspects of the science from biology to electronics. Majority of the exhibition area was dedicated to the massive nature and animals collection from past to present. For outdoor people
the exhibition was impressive, especially the replicas of huge dinosaur skeletons. Modern part of the exhibition is designed around personal experiences, you can lay on a spike mat, test your balance or see a 3D printer in action. That suites well for fellows and families who are not that much into traditional museum tours.

Climber's skeleton.

Among other things alpinism was covered too and of course we saw climbing fashion and gear from 30's to present, oh I miss the lost feeling of the real mountain adventurers. I would be rather
outside in the nature but MUSE was still worthwhile to visit, especially when it rains too much for outdoor activities.

 



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Trento, Muse, 8.7.2014

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Castello di Rovereto - Museo Storico Italiano della Guerra

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Weather has been a bit more unpredictable during this summer than usually. Forecasts have been showing rain and thunderstorms and colder for the whole week which is uncommon. Luckily most of the forecasts have been wrong and only small occasional rains haven't  prevented us from outdoor activities. But today was different, the rain started in the early morning and it was clear that we should come up something else to do than outdoor sports.

Luckily we had got Guest Card Trentino from our apartment. The guest card offers free entries to museums, nature parks and castles and free public transportation in the Trento province. It was obvious choice, we decided to see one of the museums and winery nearby and we decided to visit Castello di Rovereto.

The castle is located in Rovereto about 25 kilometers from Riva del Garda. Castello di Rovereto is built in medieval times and upgraded later during renaissance era. At that time it was turned into an alpine fortress by Venetians. Nowadays the castle houses Italian Historical War Museum - Museo Storico Italiano della Guerra. The war museum has been founded just after the great war in 1921 and it focuses on the Great War. On top of the WWI the exhibitions museum has also impressive collection of medieval, renaissance and Napoleonic era's arms and military gear.

Majority of the museum still focus on the World War I and pre-WWI era. Exhibitions gives a great overview of the Austro-Hungarian empire's and Italy's activities over the WWI in the region. The Great War had a strong impact to the region and some of the excellent mountain trails of the region are from that era.  Lot of the trekking and mountain biking itineraries in the province are made just in the pre-WWI or during WWI era by the the Austro-Hungarian and Italian armies, like the infamous via Ponale and King Tremalzo's war roads.  And on top of that majority of the via ferratas were initially designed for helping soldiers to move safely at the mountains. The Great War and major fights happened just 100 years ago which is not that long time a go, a good reminder for all of us of the dark days human nature and the value of peace.

Castello di Rovereto was only the first half of the day. Second half was more relaxed in a local Balter winery at Rovereto. More about that in the next article.

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Rovereto, Castello di Rovereto, 25.6.2014

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