Egna: discovering the South Tyrolean Garden between folk history and luxuriant nature

Egna is a small village in the province of Bolzano, part of the so-called 'Garden of South Tyrol', which is the southernmost area of South Tyrol, characterized by luxuriant nature that grows with plants and trees typical of the Mediterranean climate: palms, cypresses, lemons , vineyards and numerous orchards. The village is also part of the list of the most beautiful villages in Italy, mainly for the historic center that testifies to the ancient history of the place with the different architectural styles that overlap and the many arcades that characterize it. Egna was a place of passage in the Middle Ages for commercial activities and the transport of goods on the Adige. It was an obligatory detention place with payment of duty, and today it is all visible in the library which preserves installations that represent it and documents of the time. The most important religious place is the Church of San Nicolò Vescovo, which stands out with its late Gothic style over the whole town. Via Hofer also starts from here, the oldest commercial street in the place where today there are still shops and craft shops. Here there is an interesting folk museum, an old house where a real old house is recreated with original furniture, clothes and objects. There are many bourgeois buildings still present, such as Palazzo Griesfeld and Palazzo Longo. The three hamlets of the place, Laghetti, Villa and Mazzon, complete the beauty of the place. In Laghetti there are two buildings that are interesting from a historical point of view: the hospice of San Floriano, in Romanesque style, apparently intended as a shelter for pilgrims and wayfarers, today the starting point of the Dürer path, (an important destination for hikers in nature) which reaches up to the earth pyramids of Segonzano; the second place is the church of San Floriano, also in Romanesque style, one of the few remaining in Alto Adige.