The atmospheric Italian town you've (probably) never heard of The Times Ben Machell The atmospheric Italian town you've (probably) never heard of new Rovereto, an hour by train from Verona, makes for an enchanting break, with rugged castles, eccentric art and no-fuss pizza spots The views from Castello di Rovereto are worth the price of admission alone DeAgostini/Getty Images Ben Machell Wednesday October 14 2026, 5.00am BST , The Times Listen 0:00 / · 9:06 min Share Share this article Email Twitter Facebook Link Save M y family and I had absolutely no idea what to expect when our train pulled out of Verona's Porta Nuova station and began its hour-long trundle north to the town of Rovereto. Sometimes your half-term Eurobreaks are planned out in obsessive detail. Sometimes they are not. This was definitely the latter. In my defence, one of the few genuine upsides of writing books is that very occasionally, an Italian publisher might acquire the rights to one and ask if you'd like to come and do some literary events? With your family? And when that happens, you don't really ask too many questions about where exactly you'll be going. You just say: “ Si . Grazie . Ti amo .” Rovereto was the final destination on a whistlestop tour that had included Milan and Genoa, which meant it was the one place we had never actually heard of and that we could spend a couple of days properly exploring. The train journey from Verona helped to establish a sense of what was to come. We followed the Adige River up into the Lagarina valley, where steep mountains strung with long wisps of slope fog rose above us. We passed small towns and villages, and at some point their church spires suddenly became onion-domed, a sure sign that we had entered what I could only describe to my children as “Moretti Man Italy”. But since they aren't familiar with continental lager branding, I had to explain that we were in the rugged, schnitzely, increasingly Alpine part of Italy where men in green felt hats drink their beer from big steins. “We're in Trentino,” my son said, having done some impromptu research on my phone. “That's what I meant,” I said. Top stories 1 Starbucks 'explores takeover' of Chipotle Mexican Grill US business Within a few moments of stepping off the train, a few things became clear. First, Rovereto is compact — it has a population of about 40,000, so think Salisbury or Bury St Edmunds — and the town itself is entirely doable on foot. Our accommodation, the Hotel Leon d'Oro, was a short walk from the station and moments from Rovereto's medieval core (B&B family room from ￡164, hotelleondoro.it). A mix of tight cobbled lanes, small squares, churches and fine Venetian-inspired façades and palazzos, it was quiet and deeply atmospheric. In summer it is a hive of mountain bikers, climbers and hikers. But in late October, save for the distant whirr of the odd cyclist, it was as though we were the only tourists in town. Castello di Rovereto is home to the town's Italian war history museum Alamy Fortresses, museums and afternoon strudels Dominating the skyline is the great pentagonal Castello di Rovereto, an almost geological slab of fortress that now houses the excellent Museo Storico Italiano della Guerra — the Italian war history museum (￡11, free entry for children; museomitag.it). The smug observation, often attributed to Churchill, that “Italians lose wars as if they were football matches, and football matches as if they were wars” does not remotely stand up to scrutiny within the sprawling exhibits. These in large part recount the horrendous mountain campaigns fought between Italy and Austria-Hungary during the First World War that ultimately saw Rovereto wrested from Habsburg control. Advertisement The museum contained more than enough weaponry, uniforms and photographs to keep a pair of primary-school children morbidly engrossed for a few hours and the views from the ramparts and towers were worth the ticket price alone. With mountainsides, rivers, forests and medieval roof tiles stretching beneath us and heavy grey clouds above, it was like looking out over an Albrecht Dürer landscape. Stop at Caffetteria Bontadi on Piazza Cesare Battisti for coffee and treats during your visit Alamy This sense of atmosphere only deepened as the daylight faded. There are, on twin hills to the south of the town centre, a pair of memorials to the war dead. One is the Ossuary of Castel Dante, a monumental shrine containing the bodily remains of more than 20,000 Italians, Austrians, Czechoslovak and Hungarian soldiers. The other is a 22-tonne “Bell of Peace”, which tolls 100 times each evening for the dead. It is, to say the least, a vibe. Both are free to visit, though we did not linger long because it was Halloween the next night and, under the circumstances, you don't want to expose children to too much death in one day if you can help it. So we found seats at Caffetteria Bontadi on Piazza Cesare Battisti for mid-afternoon strudels, pastries and coffee before shifting gears entirely with a short walk north to Rovereto's second great attraction. A neo-romantic oddball I had never encountered before Entry to the Museo di Arte Moderna e Contemporanea takes you beneath its steel-and-glass dome Alamy MART — the Museo di Arte Moderna e Contemporanea (family ticket ￡26; mart.tn.it) — is one of Italy's largest modern art museums, with 12,000 square metres of exhibition space spread across four levels that you enter beneath a steel-and-glass dome modelled on the Pantheon in Rome. There is a pleasing surreality to MART's very presence in Rovereto, a bit like going to Skipton and finding that someone put Tate Modern there. The exhibitions were varied and accessible, and I ended up a big fan of the painter and theatre designer Eugene Berman, a neo-romantic oddball I had never encountered before. My children were just quietly relieved that there was nothing obvious about war and death — although they really missed some subtext here and there — and they particularly enjoyed the photography exhibits with a focus on the mountain landscapes of Trentino. Top stories 1 Rental tracker: have rents gone up or down in your area? Property & Home After a few honesty-bar beers, it was a three-minute walk to dinner in the hotel restaurant Novecento, a local institution with what turns out to be a well-deserved reputation for silky pumpkin ravioli as well as simple, meatier offerings including pork cheek braised in red wine and grilled lamb chops (three courses from ￡41pp; hotelrovereto.it). We all slept like, well, the dead. An outrageously romantic hilltop fortification Casa d'Arte Futurista Depero is the house of the futurist artist Fortunato Depero Alamy In a sense, the following day provided more of the same: historical conflict, modern art and lots of good food. Because we were without a car, our ability to explore the mountains was limited. However, a ￡34 round trip in a taxi took us to the nearby Castel Beseno, an outrageously romantic hilltop fortification guarding the Lagarina valley between Rovereto and Trento (￡6, free entry for children; buonconsiglio.it). Again, we were the only visitors there. The helpful staff were delighted to see us and encouraged our dressing up in armour and the firing of what seemed like relatively safe crossbows at wicker targets. The castle had, we were told, belonged to the Trapp family for centuries, though, devastatingly, not the von Trapps from The Sound of Music . Advertisement Back in Rovereto, we had lunch at Caffè Gambrinus on Corso Antonio Rosmini, a cheerful spot with quick plates of bruschetta, cold meats and risotto (mains from ￡8). Then we went to find the Casa d'Arte Futurista Depero (free with a MART ticket; mart.tn.it), the house of the futurist artist Fortunato Depero tucked away in the lee of the town's great grey fortress. Once inside, however, it's like being in a vivid Technicolor dream as you encounter an entire home given over to his playful, mechanical style in the form of mosaics, furniture, painted panels, tapestries, toys and most thirst-inducing of all, his advertising campaigns for Campari. We bulk-bought reasonably priced Depero tote bags for a few euros each at the gift shop and began to think about more food — and, in my case, at least one negroni, possibly three. Read more 12 of the best Italian cities to visit in 2026 15 ways to find la dolce vita via an unforgettable Italian holiday The Italy expert's 30 favourite places to visit 11 of the most beautiful places in Italy We did not come to Rovereto expecting to do much shopping, although if you find European outdoor wear as exciting as I do, then you can easily lose an hour or two eyeballing tasteful fleeces and hiking boots in the shops that dot the town. And if you're fluent in Italian (or trying to learn), the Libreria Arcadia bookshop is an essential port of call and has as much the feel of a friendly community hub as a library (libreriarcadia.com). Most commented 1 Pope Leo facing more tests to see if lung cancer has spread Europe 129 comments 2 New cod on the block: the best British fish to eat sustainably Environment 11 comments 3 Sculpted stags in the garden — and other news in pictures Photography 23 comments 4 Three in ten of super-rich consider leaving Britain over tax fears Companies & Markets 12 comments 5 Tomorrow's world on display Universal Register 1 comment For our final meal, the Trattoria Putipù on Via Conciatori was recommended to us, a no-fuss, no-muss establishment that drew a big crowd of families and their giddy kids for pre-trick-or-treat pizzas (mains from ￡10). As darkness descended over the Lagarina valley and we were reduced to looming silhouettes, we fell in with a crowd of sweet little devils, ghosts and vampires, a dozen demonic bambini skipping along the cobbled lanes. For a moment, I thought I could hear the great bell on the hillside, tolling for the numberless dead. But if I did, the sound of laughter and little footfalls quickly obscured it. All recommendations within this article are informed by independent expert editorial opinion. This article contains affiliate links and links to our in-house travel agency, Times Holidays, all of which will earn us revenue. Ben Machell travelled independently. B&B family room at Hotel Leon d'Oro from ￡164 (hotelleondoro.it). Fly to Verona. Advertisement Our in-house agency Times Holidays can help you book your own fully customisable version of Ben's itinerary, tailored to your specific interests Travel newsletter Your weekly round-up of the best travel inspiration, guides, hotel reviews and advice from our experts. Sign up with one click You've successfully signed up to the Travel newsletter Explore our newsletters An error occurred. Please use the link below. 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