Upper Venosta Valley is one of the most important stages of the
Stairways to Heaven project,
also called the Romanesque Road, which leads from Switzerland through
South Tyrol to Trento. Here can be found important churches and
monasteries from the Carolingian era to the High Middle Ages. The
history of these sacred buildings with their fresco cycles and
bestiaries is unique.
Treasures such as
St. Benedikt in Malles/Mals and
St.Veith on the Tarces hill, St. Johann in Tures/Taufers, St. Nikolaus at Burgusio/Burgeis or St. Stefan near
Marienberg Abbey
reach back to the Early Middle Ages, between the 8th and 12th
centuries. They survived the wars of the times. St. Pankratius and the
oldest chapel of St. Jakob in Tyrol near
Glorenza/Glurns
with significant Romanesque wall paintings date back to the 13th
century. It is worth seeing St. Leonhard in Laudes/Laatsch with its
precious winged altar.
Great excursions lead to Marienberg Abbey above Burgusio, to the nearby
Swiss monastery of St. Johann in Val Müstair,
which is part of the UNESCO world cultural heritage, and to St.
Prokulus in Naturno/Naturns, whose frescoes date to the 8th century, and
is complimented by a new museum.