Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ordinary-looking Duomo; it's also where you can pop into the
tourist office
(Via
Manci, 2;
%
0461-983880; www.apt.trento.it; daily 9am-7pm).
Pick up the euro-
saving
Trento Card
for
9 here, which allows free entrance to all museums, and
saves on public transport for a 24-hour period (there's also a 48-hr. version with
added benefits for
€
14). The card also allows free bicycle rentals and discounted
meals at some restaurants.
Construction of the
Duomo
(
%
0461-234419; free admission, although there's
a
€
1 admission to the crypt; Mon-Sat 9:30am-12:30pm and 2:30-6pm)
was initi-
ated in the 13th century, and it was here that the Council announced many of its
decisions, particularly after its most important meetings were held here in the
Chapel of the Crucifix, recognizable by its massive cross. Beneath the altar of the
main church are the foundations of the 6th-century Basilica Paleocristiana, an early
church where the remains of some of the first prince-bishops of Trent are buried.
There's a museum in the Palazzo Pretorio attached to the Duomo; the
Museo
Diocesano Tridentino
(
%
0461-234419; www.museodiocesanotridentino.it;
€
3
adults,
€
.50 teens; Wed-Mon 9:30am-12:30pm and 2-5:30pm)
is in a 13th-century
palace where the city's prince-bishops lived like nobility. Besides a collection of
artistic treasures from the Duomo, the museum provides a pictorial account of the
proceedings of the Council of Trent; the paintings here documenting its activities
are akin to our modern “artist's renditions” of courtroom proceedings.
From Piazza del Duomo, follow the
palazzo
-lined Via R. Belenzani until it
meets Via Roma, where you turn right to head east until you reach the Piazza della
Mostra, across from which is the
Castello del Buonconsiglio
(
%
0461-233770;
www.buonconsiglio.it;
€
5; Apr-Sept Tues-Sun 9am-noon and 2-5:30pm, Oct-Mar
9am-noon and 2-5pm),
on the eastern outskirts of the center. A repository for the
city's art treasures, collected by Bernardo Clesio (a powerful ruler of Trent), this
was another venue for the Council of Trent. Comprising two castles in a single
complex, the original medieval Castelvecchio was extended in the early 16th cen-
tury when the Magno Palazzo was added. Within the Castello complex is the
Museo Provinciale d'Arte,
and within its Torre dell'Aquila (Eagle Tower) is the
Ciclo dei Mesi (Cycle of the Months),
a marvelous fresco cycle presenting 15th-
century court and country life. To ascend the Eagle Tower, you need to reserve in
advance and cough up
€
1 extra.
Between the Duomo and the Castello, you can also visit the
Roman ruins
of the Tridentum
(Piazza Cesare Battisti; www.provincia.tn.it;
€
2; June-Aug
Tues-Sun 10am-noon and 2:30-7pm, Sept-May 9am-noon and 2:30-6pm).
Discovered by archaeologists during the 1990s, the ruins date back to 1000
B
.
C
.,
and include extensive Roman roadways and sewage systems. This important site
is on view from a new visitor center.
For a superb bird's-eye view of Trent, you can catch a ride in the
Funivia
Trento
(
%
0461-822075;
€
.80),
a cable car departing every 15 to 30 minutes
from Ponte di San Lorenzo (southwest of the train station) to ascend to the lofty
heights of the mountain village of Sardagna on the slopes of Monte Bondone.
A further attraction that can be added to your visit to Trent is the
MART
(Corso
Bettini, 43, Rovereto, 25km/16 miles south of Trent; www.mart.trento.it; Tues-Sun,
10am-6pm, Fri until 9pm),
Italy's largest modern-art museum, which opened in
December 2002. Over and above the permanent collection of almost 10,000
paintings, sculptures, and other works, there's a lineup of temporary exhibitions.
€
