Piazzola

Piazzola, or Plazölô in the local dialect, is the highest village in Rabbi, dominating the whole valley from its vantage point at 1,314 m.

Each little group of houses which makes up Piazzola has its own name: Cotorni, Marachjàgn, Mas, Somrabbi, Luci d'Albe, Bogine, Cosi, Chjasôrotô, Chjauriöi, Serra, Maset, Caneve, Cavallar, Vinövô, Matarei, Plaze, Petér, Nistelô, Crespion, Viletô, Mori, Pontarô, Aque, Plan, Rotondô, Plaze dei Forni, More and Masnöf.

ART

The village church, dedicated to Saint John of Nepomuk and the Madonna di Loreto, towers over the houses below. It was built in 1836, to replace an older one dating from 1753 erected by the inhabitants of the neighbouring hamlets of Crespion, Piazzola and Somrabbi. The gabled façade features four white pillars and a horizontal strip, topped by the pitched roof. Inside, there is a single nave and two side chapels that precede the apse. The vault and semi-dome of the apse feature 20th century frescoes by Barcatta and Egger. The three wooden altars, painted to look like marble, date from the 18th century. The altar dedicated to Saint John of Nepomuk is taken from the old San Biagio church in Malè and was donated by Count Innocenzo Thun in 1794. The paintings of the Stations of the Cross are from the workshop of Matthias Lamp.

MUST SEE

In the nearby hamlet of Somrabbi, there is the old “Casèl di Somrabbi” dairy which has been converted into a museum telling the story of cheesemaking. With the help of the Stelvio National Park, the building has been restored and guided tours are available. The museum is laid out across two rooms which feature more than 120 pieces of traditional farming equipment, such as churns, cauldrons, a huge fireplace and sliding panels with images image of milk being turned into butter and ricotta. The exhibition takes you through the process step-by-step, from milking the cows to transporting the milk to the creamery in containers which, over time, have evolved from wood to copper to aluminium, the filtration and skimming process and the production of butter, using a churn, and other traditional agricultural products such as ricotta (and smoked ricotta) and cheese.
From Piazzola, there are several paths leading to mountain huts: Rifugio Dorigoni at an altitude of 2,437 m and Rifugio Stella Alpina al Lago Corvo at 2,425 m, close to Passo Rabbi, the mountain pass leading to the next valley.

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