Lessinia

Lessinia, also known as the Lessini Mountains, is a mountainous plateau in the Venetian Prealps of northern Italy, located mainly in the Province of Verona and partly in the Province of Vicenza and the Autonomous Province of Trento. Part of the area is protected within the Lessinia Regional Nature Park. It is bordered to the north by the Ronchi Valley and the Carega Group, to the east by the Leogra Valley, to the south by the course of the Adige River and the upper Veronese plain, and to the west by the Lagarina Valley. Its main elevations generally range between 1,500 and 1,800 m above sea level. The area is characterised by open high pastures, malghe, wooded valleys, karst landforms, fossil deposits, caves, Cimbrian cultural heritage and vernacular architecture based on local stone slabs. Its landscape was shaped by the long interaction between geology, pastoralism, forestry, stone quarrying, seasonal alpine grazing and rural settlement. Evidence of human presence in Lessinia dates back to prehistoric times. The availability of flint, caves and rock shelters favoured early settlement, while the spread of castellieri, small fortified hilltop settlements, is attested from the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC. Before the arrival of the Romans, between the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC, the area was inhabited by various peoples of Rhaetian origin, including the Arusnates.…

Lessinia, also known as the Lessini Mountains, is a mountainous plateau in the Venetian Prealps of northern Italy, located mainly in the Province of Verona and partly in the Province of Vicenza and the Autonomous Province of Trento. Part of the area is protected within the Lessinia Regional Nature Park. It is bordered to the north by the Ronchi Valley and the Carega Group, to the east by the Leogra Valley, to the south by the course of the Adige River and the upper Veronese plain, and to the west by the Lagarina Valley. Its main elevations generally range between 1,500 and 1,800 m above sea level. The area is characterised by open high pastures, malghe, wooded valleys, karst landforms, fossil deposits, caves, Cimbrian cultural heritage and vernacular architecture based on local stone slabs. Its landscape was shaped by the long interaction between geology, pastoralism, forestry, stone quarrying, seasonal alpine grazing and rural settlement. Evidence of human presence in Lessinia dates back to prehistoric times. The availability of flint, caves and rock shelters favoured early settlement, while the spread of castellieri, small fortified hilltop settlements, is attested from the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC. Before the arrival of the Romans, between the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC, the area was inhabited by various peoples of Rhaetian origin, including the Arusnates. In Roman times the lower plateau was largely wooded, while the higher esplanades were used for summer grazing. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the territory experienced a marked demographic decline, which began to reverse only in the early 11th century. From the Carolingian age until the rise of the communal age, much of Lessinia was under the control of the Veronese Church. This dominion entered into crisis with the growing power of the wool merchants, among whom the Della Scala family, future lords of Verona, became prominent urban representatives. In 1287 Bishop Bartolomeo della Scala allowed settlers of German origin to settle in the area of present-day Roverè Veronese, forming the first nucleus of the Cimbrians of Lessinia. After the Devotion of Verona to Venice in 1405, the plateau came under the rule of the Republic of Venice, which granted its inhabitants privileges in exchange for guarding the northern border. The arrival of Napoleon brought major changes in the administrative structure of the area, some of which were maintained under later Austrian rule. The years following the annexation of Veneto to the Kingdom of Italy were difficult for the local population, which suffered from famine and epidemics. Spared from the main events of World War I and World War II, the higher Lessinian municipalities experienced gradual depopulation in the second half of the 20th century, as many inhabitants moved toward urban areas.

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