CULTURE

Molina di Ledro

The village of Molina di Ledro is located on the eastern shore of Lake Ledro. The Ponale stream cuts the village in two. On the right bank is Legos, on higher ground. On the left bank lies Molina, which sits on lower ground. In 1929, more than 10.000 piles were found in Molina, testimony of the pile-dwelling settlement which used to exist on the shores of Lake Ledro during the Bronze Age, more than 4.000 years ago. By the beach in Besta there are toilets, a beach volley field, tennis courts and a playground.

Etymology: Molina owes its name to the many water mills which used to exist and be powered by the Ponale stream. Legos, from the Latin ad lacos, to the lakes, because of the many paths which lead to the lake.

Nickname: The inhabitants of Molina are called mosche molinere, horse flies, those of Legos are called cagnù, hounds. As the saying goes: 'In Molina they sting, in Legos they bite'.

What to see: The church of St Vigil in Molina. The shrine of the Madonna delle ferle (i.e. Madonna of the crutches), above Barcesino, a locality of Molina. The shrine is so called because it was once believed that it was a place of holy healing,  accessible through a staircase. On the walls of the shrine it is still possible to see the votive gifts of the many faithful that have prayed to the Madonna over the years.
Pile-Dwelling Museum of Lake Ledro, UNESCO World Heritage.

Village festivals and traditions: Feste vigiliane, mid-June, in honour of the patron saint. Quarantore (i.e. Forty hours), in memory of the vow which saved Valle di Ledro from the plague.

V.I.P.: Molina was also the birthplace of Andrea Maffei (Molina di Ledro, 1798 – Milano 1885), famous poet and translator. Maffei, a classicist and connoisseur of foreign languages, translated several works of German and English literature into Italian: the theatre pieces of Schiller (including I Masnadieri, Die Räuber) and Shakespeare’s Othello and The Tempest. Maffei was also a writer in his own right, having written the libretto of Verdi’s I Masnadieri and reworked some verses of Francesco Maria Pieve’s Macbeth.

Recommended walk:

Biacesa

Strada del Ponale

The winding Strada del Ponale, constructed according to the unbelivable plan of Giacomo Cis from Bezzecca (1782-1851) to connect Valle di Ledro with Riva del Garda, offers now unique view on...

Lago di Ledro

Lake Ledro

Lake Ledro is one of the cleanest lakes in Trentino and during the summer it reaches a temperature of 24 degrees, which allows nice swim and a lot of relax in one of the four beaches around the lake. One...

Molina

The Pile-dwelling Museum

The history of human settling in Valle di Ledro is thousands of years old. 4.000 years ago, during the Bronze Age, the shores of Lake Ledro played host to a pile-dwelling village. In the last century,...