Holiday apartment in Magasa: Nature, Culture and Cima Rest

Magasa is a mountain village in a green landscape at an altitude of 976 m. The Magasa area is rich in flora and fauna and is a natural oasis of Parco Alto Garda Bresciano.

Culture between the village centre and Cima Rest

In the historic centre of Magasa, the Church of Sant’Antonio Abate stands out with its 35-metre-high granite bell tower, built in 1768. On the eastern side, its portico projects over the valley. Inside, the high altar features an altarpiece created in 1763 by the Brescian painter Francesco Savanni. There is also a distinctive red-and-yellow floor made of ammonitic stone from the “Marmer” quarries on Monte Denervo.

Another way to explore the history of the area leads to the Museo Etnografico della Valvestino, housed in a characteristic barn in the hamlet of Cima Rest. The exhibition is divided into three areas: a hayloft on the upper floor, a stable in the basement and a dairy room on the ground floor. The collection mainly includes agricultural, craft and dairy-farming tools from the Valvestino area.

Nature experiences and stargazing

Cima Rest is set in a natural environment at an altitude of 1,200 m and offers opportunities for trekking and mountain-bike tours. From the chapel, the Cima Rest Observatory can be reached after a walk of about 20 minutes. Every year from May to October, it hosts the “Serate a Lume di Stella”. The experience includes a theoretical introduction by an educator, followed by sky observations with the telescope. For scheduling purposes around the stargazing, the approximately 20-minute walk from the chapel to the observatory provides a concrete point of reference.

The Ecomuseo della Valvestino also offers a special perspective on the landscape. Numerous paths of scenic and historical importance cross the Ecomuseo, connect lake areas via mountain ridges and pass former sites of battles in the First World War. They offer wide-ranging views. The reference to the First World War is explicitly historical: the paths pass former sites of battles.

Tombea and the taste of the region

Tombea cheese is part of the local character. It is produced from May to September and exclusively from raw milk supplied by cows of the Bruna-Alpina cattle breed, which are kept on the mountain pastures and in the stables in the area around the mountain of the same name. Tombea is a Slow Food Presidium. The two seasonal periods overlap from May to September; the “Serate a Lume di Stella” continue until October, while Tombea is produced until September.

Other places: Villa Dalegno, Sabbio Chiese, Supiane, Castel Mella, Soiano Del Lago, Cazzago San Martino, Fornaci and Corte Franca.

Brescia.