Romallo - Novella
A two-level town and the San Biagio hermitage
Romallo is a delightful town both for its sunny position and for the mountain agriculture which has shaped its surrounding landscape for centuries. Monte Ozolo overlooks the town and was one of the first areas in the Val di Non valley to be inhabited on a permanent basis.
Romallo has been built on two levels, and featured scattered groups of houses interspersed with gardens. The lower part of the town is clustered around a wide square, and is known as Villa, while its upper part is known as Colomel and is located on the slope. Recent building works have primarily affected the North-eastern part of the town - called Villa Nuova. A sloping plain is located North of Romallo, and stretches all the way to Cloz. The nearby hill - called "zinc" - was used as a meeting place when town's youths used to plan the spring annual Trato Marzo - ancient Trentino tradition celebrating the beginning of the month of March.
The S. Biagio hermitage - an age-old hermitage with a Romanesque chapel and austere living quarters - is located next to the provincial road leading from Revò to Sanzeno. This highly striking and solitary complex is perched on the summit of a rocky spur, which is almost entirely surrounded by deep ravines forming the gorge of the River Novella.
Romallo is one of the three municipalities to have supported the establishment of the Novella River Park, which provides visitors with a canyoning experience they cannot miss.