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'The most beautiful natural architecture in the world' – Le Corbusier, 1907.
From its perch in Northern Italy, South Tyrol/Süd Tirol or Alto Adige as it is also known is a small but wonderful pocket of Northern Italy that shares more than just a border with Austria; this is an Alpinist lifestyle that flirts with Dolce Vita. A jewel of ancient cultures set in the mighty crown of the Alps nestled among the Dolomite mountains – a UNESCO World Heritage site. A chameleon of the Mediterranean and the Alps - expect snow-capped peaks to sun-kissed palm trees, traditional Tyrolean huts to strike-a-pose sustainable architecture, pasta to Knödel, dapper Italian styling to Lederhosen, Habsburger Villas to sleek modernist architecture, Grappa to Schnapps and the ski piste to botanical gardens.
More than forty regional dialects are spoken; South Tyrol has three official languages: German, Italian and around the Dolomites region of Alta Badia, the traditional Ladin is spoken - also home to the oldest Rhaeto-Romanic people in the Alps.
South Tyrol is all about a marriage of cultures, languages, traditions, progressive architecture and spectacular mountain nature – home to the Dolomites and the Tre Cime di Lavaredo/Drei Zinnen - a triptych declared UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2009. Le Corbusier arrived in 1907, and he famously declared the Dolomites 'the most beautiful natural architecture in the world'. A further 332 Jurassic peaks storm into the sky; the highest mountain is the Ortles/Ortler in Val Venosta/Vinschgau at 3,905 m., and the highest plateau in Europe, Alpe di Siusi/Seiser Alm. South Tyrol covers 7,400 km and has over 13,000 km of hiking trails; road cyclists adore the region for its legendary climbs. The provincial capital of Bolzano/Bozen is a vibrant university city and home to Ötzi the Iceman, the 5,300-year-old mummy discovered in 1991, protruding from the glacier near the Giogo di Tisa/Tisenjoch Pass. Blessed with more than 300 sunshine days a year and faded Habsburg grandeur, the second city Merano/Meran has been a tropical hotspot since the days of Empress Elisabeth of Austria. She came for the mild Mediterranean mountain air and healing waters. Thirdly, Glorenza/Glurns in the south of Malles/Mals is one of the world's smallest cities – a wonderful melange of narrow medieval streets, churches, and its famous castle.
Get straight to the heart of the action with a new SkyAlps ski flight that lands directly from London, Brussels, Copenhagen, Berlin, Dusseldorf, Rotterdam & Hamburg into Bolzano, the Alpine capital of South Tyrol and perfectly placed for ski escapades in the UNESCO protected Dolomites.
An architectural-statement, this minimalist hideaway in the Dolomites is the perfect basecamp for those who appreciate design, food, comfort and doorstep nature.
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Wrapped by the Dolomites, this modern eco resort pairs mountain lifestyle with simple elegance and luxury wellness vibes. An authentically pastoral location accented with the local Ladin culture that feels at once both holistic and fun.
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Affectionately known simply as ‘Magda’, personality flows from this mountainous bolthole of style framed on all sides by glorious greens, thanks to its location in choc-box Bolzano within the South Tyrolean Dolomites. Magda will soon become your New Best Friend.
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The chilled design hotel Miramonti sits perched atop Merano, nestled in forestry with spectacular, Bond-like views. Modernity subtly reigns whilst snuggling up to Alpine traditions – the vibe is relaxed, chilled and most definitely easy-going.
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A groovy icon from the seventies, Seehotel Ambach presides over the shores of Lake Caldaro in Italy’s South Tyrol with its perfectly formed, curvaceous marshmallowy walls of laid-back glamour and a canvas of tangerine, vert and oxide reds which drape mid-century furniture pieces.
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A fabulously chilled 1920s villa with just ten gorgeous suites is set to a rhythm of vineyards, vegetable gardens, velvets, rattans, good food, pool – and a past decked in creative glamour wrapped in mustard yellow
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Ceramics, pencil-lead greys, putty linens and aged furnishings headline at this restored design guesthouse of original simplicity in the cute market of Lana, South Tyrol.
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A fabulous retro-design, five bedroom holiday home of smooth vintage in Merano, this design vacation-rental is gorgeous, a luxury haven dotted with thoughtful mid-century design pieces, layered with love.
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Small, delicate, exquisite; this creative residence is fully-stocked with vintage family pieces and curatorial heritage, and includes a fabulous orangerie thriving between the greenest of Mediterranean gardens and whitest snow-capped peaks.
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Rising up like delicate meringue-whipped peaks, mirroring the Dolomites panorama that surrounds it, the architecture and design of Hotel Milla Montis create an impact.
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With mountain eye-candy stretching out in every direction, this nest egg of casual style is the perfect bolthole for urbanites who love the rural idyll framed by modernity and crowned by its fabulous rooftop infinity pool of sheer wow.
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A design pad of style, the interior is eminently simple: floor-to-ceiling windows, bespoke carpentry, and a clean Alpine aesthetic that borrows from Italian design, the Danish principals of Hygge and a touch of sweet sophistication in the Japonesque detailing.
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The vigilius mountain resort, created by architect, Matteo Thun, reclines in effortless eco style set to a fragrant Alpine landscape of larch trees, mountain pine, foxgloves and alpine roses.
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Birch and smoked oak hug the thick walls and capture the house’s DNA from the days as a farmhouse barn. Once a resplendent Renaissance home to the Bishop and favoured lodgings for the merchant traders heading along the Romanesque Via Claudia Augusta.
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An eye-catching designer hillside bastion of cool contemporary interiors framed by lush alpine forests and snow-capped mountains, where simple luxe shakes hands with age-old tradition, this is Hotel Bühelwirt Ahrntal in Italy’s stunning Valle Aurina.
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A fabulous new hotel, excitement builds for the opening of Parkhotel Mondschein, a new design hotel addition to the red-roofed Bolzano skyline in South Tyrol, ready for guests to pass through its newly painted doors.
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Sleep under medieval frescoes, sweep down labyrinthine corridors, lord it up on the lofty ramparts or stroll through the Mediterranean garden, admiring the ivy-clad castle backdrop.
History, design, calmed wellness and an interior of modern heritage make this hotel-apartment refuge close to Merano the perfect pitstop for some downtime and closeness to nature.
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With mountain eye-candy stretching out in every direction, this nest egg of casual style is the perfect bolthole for urbanites who love the rural idyll framed by modernity and crowned by its fabulous rooftop infinity pool of sheer wow.
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Caramel timbers, robust chunky stone and larch shingled rooftops amplifies Alpine charisma buttered across the three ‘Malghe’houses of the Borgo Eibn which are draped in the views of the Sauris plateau and the Dolomites.
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With the feel of a hip in-the-know club for lido-lovers, Aqva Boutique Hotel’s modular alabaster white building is fronted by a turquoise pool surrounded by sleek decking. Like a pointing finger, a private pier juts out onto the lake - perfect for those celeb moments.
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Crossing Corso Apartment is a luxury design pad in the heartlands of Rome set within a historic 18th-century palazzo townhouse, which poignantly resides behind the Piazza di Spagna.
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A sleek modernist mansion sitting front row on the Lezzeno shoreline of Lake Como, backed by a mountainous canopy forest. A homage to Italian custom, style and native craftsmanship, Filario flirts with time-past decadence and chilled luxury – an elegant paring of design and heritage overlooking Bellagio, Villa Balbianello, and Comacina Island.
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A small designer outpost that is both rustic and sophisticated in its design simplicity – conceived to mirror the surrounding vineyards and Arco Mountains of Trentino, this rural idyll is an architectural bolthole that gives nature a stylish makeover, irresistibly close to Lake Garda.
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A smooth design den pearled in white with an interior design that is eminently simple: a clean alpine aestheticism that borrows from Italian design, the Danish principles of hygge and a touch of sweet sophistication in the Japonesque detailing.
read more
Birch and smoked oak hug the thick walls and capture the house’s DNA from the days as a farmhouse barn. Once a resplendent Renaissance home to the Bishop and favoured lodgings for the merchant traders heading along the Romanesque Via Claudia Augusta.
read more
Small, delicate, exquisite; this creative residence is fully-stocked with vintage family pieces and curatorial heritage, and includes a fabulous orangerie thriving between the greenest of Mediterranean gardens and whitest snow-capped peaks.
read more
Rising up like delicate meringue-whipped peaks, mirroring the Dolomites panorama that surrounds it, the architecture and design of Hotel Milla Montis create an impact.
read more
A groovy icon from the seventies, Seehotel Ambach presides over the shores of Lake Caldaro in Italy’s South Tyrol with its perfectly formed, curvaceous marshmallowy walls of laid-back glamour and a canvas of tangerine, vert and oxide reds which drape mid-century furniture pieces.
read more
The vigilius mountain resort was created by architect Matteo Thun, inspired by a fallen tree and the surrounding beauty of San Vigilio’s mountaintop landscapes. This wellness sanctuary rewrites the blueprint for an eco-design hotel, reached appropriately only by cable car.
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