The moyen age and the renaissance

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The oldest medieval written document that mentions the Ledro Valley is the Noterius’ testament of 928 A.D.. Noterius was a bishop in Verona and in his testament it was written that he owned properties in "Giudicarie" and in "Tilarno" (Tiarno). In 1027 Ledro was included in the district of "Principato Trentino", which Corrado II il Salico gave as a present to the bishop of Trento, Udalrico II. But the Ledro Valley always succeeded in preserving its territory free from any feudal ascendancy: actually in the bishops reports of that period we already find the official name of "Republic of Ledro",later the denomination was changed into "Comune Generale". A strong pursuit of freedom survived also in the following centuries: no trace of castles is to be found on the Ledro’s spurs. A fairly serious quarrel with the bishop of Trento concerning the annual census reaches back to the year 1323. In 1348 the Ledro Valley, together with Riva del Garda and Tenno, was surrendered to Mastino II della Scala and inevitably it got involved in the fights between Scaligeri and Viscontis. In 1404 the Bishop of Trento, Giorgio di Lichtenstein, ransomed the Ledro region. But unfortunately only a couple of years later it was occupied by the Earl of Tyrol, then by the Viscontis and finally in 1426 by Venice, the Serenissima. So it happened that the Ledro Valley often turned into a battlefield theatre for the wars between Venice and the Viscontis: in 1438 a well known battle took place in the "Val dei Morti" (Valley of the Dead) on the mountains surrounding Concei, where the Venice troops, guided by Captain Sanseverino, massacred the Viscontis. Anyway the Venetian domination in the Ledro Valley (1426-1509) proved to be prosperous: the trade relationships with Venice were intense, the inhabitants of Ledro got important privileges and special exemptions from the Doges and consequently there was a strong increase of local handicraft. In 1509 the valley came again under the domination of Trento and for about two centuries it could enjoy a quiet life. The first Statutes and the Ordini of the Comune Generale were published in 1535. During the Spanish War of Succession a column of French soldiers, guided by General Vendome, ravaged and set on fire almost all the villages of the Ledro Valley.