Dimaro
The town of Dimaro, at the foot of the Dolomites, extends partially along the road that goes to Madonna di Campiglio and partially along the road that goes to Passo Tonale. It’s a charming town that together with its two hamlets of Carciato and Folgarida, has a population of almost 1300. Until the sixties, the poor economy of the valley, based on low level agriculture and timber, forced people to emigrate from Val di Sole. It was thanks to the surrounding territory and its excellent location that in 1965, the Folgarida ski resort, which is a hamlet of Dimaro, began to be constructed. This transformed the town into an interesting tourist destination for both the winter and summer season. This gave way to one of the most famous skiing districts in the entire Alps when the Folgarida slopes were connected to those of Marilleva and Madonna di Campiglio.
Today, thanks to the brand new Daolasa cable lift that opened in December 2007, Dimaro is just a few minutes from the slopes of the Skirama Dolomiti Adamello Brenta skiing carousel. But that’s not all! In June 2008, the Mountain Bike World Championships took place right near Dimaro, in fact the bicycle path that runs along the entire valley, beside the Noce River, passes right through Dimaro. This bicycle path intersects with various stops of the Dolomiti Express train, which offers train + bike service in the summer and train + ski in the winter. Dimaro is also part of the Dolomiti Brenta Bike, a brand new trail especially for those that are never tired of biking. In the surrounding areas of Dimaro you will find many trails, suitable for every level of training, which you can try on a bike or with snowshoes in the winter or by simple going for a walk.
The Val Meledrio is definitely worth mentioning, a picturesque and wild valley filled with brooks and streams that starts from the town. The “Strada dell’Imperatore” (Emperor’s Road), which was an ancient communication route used by the emperor of Austria and Hungary Francesco Giuseppe when he would stay in Madonna di Campiglio (his last stay dates back to 1902), runs through this valley. This route has now become a popular trail that is recommended by the best mountain biking and trekking guidebooks. Val Meledrio is also the door that opens into the Adamello Brenta Natural Park. Here you will find a network of Nordic walking trails that connect to the other towns of the valley and many hidden corners in which nature shows its beauty and charm that have remained untouched through time.
An outline of Dimaro’s history. It is very likely that Dimaro was inhabited in the pre-Roman and Roman age. This was determined after an archaic bronze sword and a coin, dating back to Antonino, were found. The town was called Imaio in documents from 1211 and then villa Jmarii in the middle of the 1300’s. During the medieval and modern age it was part of the Parish and the Gastald of Malè, it then was under the District Judgement of Malé during Austrian rule. It was flooded many times by the Meledrio and Rotian streams, since it lies between the two. The town was very important because it controlled the road to Madonna di Campiglio. The ancient “casa del Dazio” (customs house) which belonged to the noble de Mazzis family during the 16th century, still exists today. It is definitely worth visiting the San Lorenzo church, in which a piece of a mural dating back to the Carolingian age was found. In the apsidal area, it is possible to see a part of the frescoes from 1488 by Giovanni and Battista Baschenis. The seventeenth-century wooden altars were carved in the artisan Ramus and Bezzi workshops in Val di Sole. The mural paintings date back to 1937 and are works of art by the Trentino, Matteo Tevini (1869-1946).
