An interesting building stands a bit south of the main village of Vadena: the lonely Romanesque bell tower at the Birti Farm
The district of Birti consists of a few houses along the small road between Vadena Nuova, the main village, and Castelvarco, which is also popular among cyclists. A water ditch flanks the street on its way to the south. The tower of the former Church of St. Mary Magdalene rises like a monument in the centre and towers over all the other buildings with its height of 24.6 metres. The tower and the church, which no longer exists, date back to the 12th century.
This church was secularised by Emperor Joseph II in the 18th century and converted into a residential building. Shortly afterwards it was demolished. Today, another building stands there, while the Church of St. Magdalene in the centre of Vadena Nuova was rebuilt. It is also an interesting building, because in the medieval castle courtyard, steps lead up to the church, which is an independent structure, but seems like a part of this puzzle of buildings.
In the bell tower there were frescoes from around 1410, which are kept in the town hall. You can see the originals in the Bolzano Municipal Museum. Birti lies only 15 km from Bolzano, but the houses are surrounded by the colours of nature: The apple blossom makes the orchards glow white, followed by the most beautiful green in summer, before autumn turns the vines and the Monte di Mezzo mountain above Birti into shades of gold and ochre.
