- Canal San Bovo (758 m asl) is the best-known village of the Valley of Vanoi; located on a gentle slope of moraine terraces at the confluence of the Valley of Lòzen and the Valley of Vanoi, the village is nicely exposed to the sun.
- The origin of Canal San Bovo‘s name is quite unique, as it has nothing to do with saints, but with the Sambuco plant – from “Canale del Sambuco” -, which was once widespread throughout the valley (called “Valle del Sambuco”). Canal San Bovo in the past was best known for its cattle fairs.
- Canal San Bovo / Canale is an ideal place for walking and hiking, with its network of narrow streets and paths between the various hamlets of Gobbera, Pràde, Cicóna, Zortèa, Revedèa, Battistoni, Murèri, Rónchi and Caoria (the second most important village in the Valley of Vanoi).
- In Canal San Bovo, over the centuries, populations speaking Italian, German and Slavic cultures (probably Slovenes and Czechs) mixed. This diversity of origins of the population of Canal San Bovo can still be seen today from the surnames of its inhabitants and cultural evidence.
- The forest heritage of Canal San Bovo is particularly significant, and the Municipality is the largest producer of timber in Trentino. Before the Great War, Vanoi timber was transported to Venice through the waters of the rivers of Vanoi, Cismón, and Brenta.
- The entire territory of Canal San Bovo was one of the most tragic theaters of the Great War, fought between Italians and Austro-Hungarians along the Lagorai Range. There are numerous monuments in the valley commemorating the tragedy.
- Over the years, the area was tragically affected by numerous floods. In 1825 a series of landslides precipitated from the Rebrùt Valley, which descends from the Massif of Cima d’Asta, and closed the course of the Vanoi stream, creating a lake; a first tragic dam break occurred in 1826, when the hamlets of Ponte and Remesori were swept away, causing 52 casualties. The natural dam remained intact until 1829, when a second flood took with it the recently rebuilt Church of Canale, designed after the one in Pieve (Fiera di Primiero), which was rebuilt higher up (Church of San Bartolomeo, 1850). A third flood (1882), which completely collapsed the lake’s bank, swept away the cemetery and part of the village of Canal San Bovo. Evidence of the lake can be found on a fresco on the old “Osteria al Lago”, along SP 56.
References
- Battisti, C. (1912). Guida di Primiero. Studio Bibliografico Adige. Trento.
- Scalet, S. (2013). Camminare. Sentieri nelle valli di Primiero, San Martino, Pale di San Martino, Rolle e Vanoi. Versante Sud.
- Cappello, T. Tagliavini, C. (1981). Dizionario degli etnici e dei toponimi italiani. Ed. Pàtron. Bologna.
- Romagna, F. (1975). La valle del Vanoi. Comitato Turistico Locale. Canal San Bovo.
