Telve (Telf in German) is a municipality in Valsugana, located at the foot of Mount Salubio, in a sunny area, rich in woods and pastures. The old town has a special and original urban structure, organized into districts (called "cormèi"), a series of buildings that lean one against each other and that, generally, provide the framework for a large courtyard or an open-air space.
The discovery of prehistoric artifacts leads historians to say, with absolute certainty, that the area was inhabited since the Bronze Ages. Subsequently colonized by the Reti, a local population which, in turn, was gradually absorbed into the Roman culture, from the I century B.C. onwards. The Romans realized a better redistribution of the land use and built a very important communication route, the Via Claudia Augusta Altinate.
After the fall of the Empire, the valley was easy prey to the Barbarians, until in the VI century it was assigned to the Lombards, later defeated by the Franks. The first documents that report of the existence of the village date back to 1160, when the domain was granted to the "de Telvo" who, at the end of the XIII century, after reaching a certain importance in both political and economic spheres, erected a castle, which still stands today. Over the centuries the domain of the lands was assigned to the Della Scala, to the Da Carrara, to Duke Frederick IV of Austria and to several local noble families, including the Buffa who kept hold of the rule until 1825. The town was scenario of several battles during both the III Revolutionary War and WWI.
Sites of Interest:
- the Church of the Assumption, decorated by Francesco Chiletto, a famous post-war illustrator. The building is the merger of two existing churches, of which the oldest, dedicated to St. Michael, dates back to the XIII;
- the Church of Santa Giustina, decorated in late Gothic style;
- the Main Square (Piazza Maggiore), on to which face several elegant buildings of the XVI and XVIII centuries;
- the Oasis of Valtrigona, a unique WWF protected area between the Alps.