A late Gothic winged altar carved in 1490 by Hans Klocker, a master sculptor of the Brixen school, stands in a village church at just over 400 m. No signage, no ticket desk, no queue. Pinzano appears on nobody’s must-see list, which is exactly why it is worth a morning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In South Tyrol, the German-speaking Alpine province of northern Italy, half an hour south of Bolzano on the rim of the Dolomites. Pinzano \u2014 Pinzon in German \u2014 is a hamlet in the municipality of Montagna<\/a> (Montan) on the South Tyrolean Wine Road, its centre between 390 and 430 m. Below lies the flat floor of the Adige valley; above, the slopes climb towards Gleno. Everything in between is vineyard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A practical note: every place here has two names, German and Italian, and both appear on signs. Pinzano is Pinzon, Gleno is Glen, Montagna<\/a> is Montan, Ora is Auer. The province is officially bilingual and locals switch freely between the two.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Wine explains the rest. The microclimate gives hot days and cool night winds, which suits a delicate red grape: it ripens in the daytime heat and recovers overnight, keeping its acidity. Hence so many small producers on a few square kilometres of hillside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 6.4 km, 2 hours, 208 m of ascent and the same of descent, graded easy. The loop starts at Caf\u00e9 Sportbar in Montagna<\/a> (410 m) by the sports ground, passes through Pinzano, climbs to Gleno at 613 m and returns downhill. It is the best way to see the village, arriving on foot from below rather than by road.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Spring and autumn are the best seasons; in summer the chestnut woods help, but the first section is open to the sun. Three places along the route serve food and wine: Pinzonerkeller<\/strong>, Hofschank Lexnhof<\/strong> and Planitzer<\/strong>. A Hofschank<\/em> or Buschenschank<\/em> is a legally defined South Tyrolean institution: a working farm serving its own wine and food on its own premises, for a limited number of days per year. That cap is why one may be open in October and shut in May, so check before building a walk around lunch. Bring cash.<\/p>\n\n\n\nWhat is there to see in Pinzano?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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The Montagna \u2013 Pinzano \u2013 Gleno walking loop<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Why does the return path follow a dismantled railway?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n