There are some very finely decorated buildings in the mountains and valleys of the Sud Tyrol, from tiny Romaneque churches to a grand Renaissance castle.
The main road in the tiny village of Tubre (Taufers) in Val Monastero, just inside the border of Italy, connects Val Mustair in the Graubunden region of Switzerland with Italian Val Venosta, an important route across the mountains in times gone by. The ruins of two castles stand above the village - Rotund higher than Reichenberg.
There was a building dedicated to San Giovanni associated with Reichenberg in the early 13th century. In 1218, while on a crusade in Egypt, the crusader Schwiker von Reichenberg gave it to the Knights Hospitaller. It was the Order which enlarged the church and decorated it with the lovely Romanesque frescoes that we can still see today, both inside and outside on the north wall.
This small medieval walled town lies east of Tubre in Val Venosta and is a pleasant spot to wander.
A useful guide in English is provided on the tour.
The castle was built in 1260 for Bishop Heinrich Count Montfort of Chur as a defence against the Matsch family, but to no avail - by 1297 a Bailiff of Matsch had peacefully acquired the castle.
The Matsch family had been in residence for over 200 years when the last male descendant died in 1504. His sister married Count Trapp and it has been in the Trapp family ever since.
Around the inner courtyard on the first floor are the most beautifully painted Renaissance arcades. Stretching along the ceiling are the Matsch and Trapp family trees. I believe the tree is laden with pomegranates, a symbol of fertility.
The walls are decorated with fables, jesters and illustrations of aphorisms of ancient Greek philosophers such as Socrates and Aristotle.
In one corner is a fabulous 16th century inlaid door.
The castle has a fine armoury with many full suits of armour as well as weapons and horse armour.
In general photographs of room interiors were not allowed but a couple in the group being shown around asked permission.
This exquisite Romanesque church stands in fields outside the village of Burgusio. A simple space with an off-centre apse for the altar, remains of 13th century frescoes on the walls and painted decoration on the wooden ceiling.
It is a very peaceful place, far more atmospheric than many a grand cathedral.
In the middle of the twentieth century a dam was built for a hydroelectric plant creating a huge artificial lake just south of the border with Austria and east of the border with Switzerland. In the process several villages were flooded including the small hamlet of Curon on the east side, whose church bell tower rising above the water is all that remains.
