Above the village lies the Laranza Forest, a fairy-tale wood and local recreational area with the “King’s Keep” viewpoint
High above the Valle Isarco and south-west of the main village of Castelrotto, Sant'Osvaldo (St. Oswald) is situated on a sunny slope. Like many small villages in the Sciliar area, Sant'Osvaldo also consists of just a few houses, a school, a fire station and three places to eat and drink.
Nevertheless, it has a few special features that add a cultural touch to a quiet stay. One of these special features is the Tschötscher Farm Life Museum, one of the three aforementioned places to eat and drink. Opened in collaboration with the Castelrotto Museum Association in the historic barn, it vividly tells you, across two levels, about the hardships of mountain farmers in past centuries and the often curious-looking tools and implements they used.
The most famous resident of Sant'Osvaldo is Norbert Rier, the singer of the "Kastelruther Spatzen" folk music band, who runs a successful Haflinger breeding at the Fuschghof farm. A small road leads down the valley from Sant'Osvaldo towards Ponte Gardena in the Valle Isarco. From here, the onion dome of the small St. Oswald Church is clearly visible - a building with beautiful frescoes in the middle of the village. Slightly out of the way, next to the Rovereto ruins, lies the Pflegerhof.
It is widely known as it was one of the first farms in South Tyrol to have practised organic herb cultivation. The farm, a paradise of colours, aromas and fragrances, also houses a nursery with a range of young plants - the farm shop is open all year round.
