Novale di Passiria

Novale near San Martino consists of Novale di Fuori and Novale di Dentro and stretches above Saltusio, which also belongs to the municipality. A few farms form the small settlement in this area, which is known for its hamlets, farmsteads, viewpoints and the Merano High Route. The multi-day tour along trail number 24 leads past Novale and the neighbouring hamlets of Montaccio and Cresta. Just like Novale, they are all located on the sunny western side of the Val Passiria.

The Via Novale road takes you to the farms on the slope. Adjacent are Vernurio and, to the north, the Valclava, making the Novale Mountain an interesting hiking area. The daily stage of the previously mentioned Merano High Route that passes here runs from Vernurio to Montaccio (or vice versa). In the Upper Val Passiria, the route then continues into the high alpine area to the Petrarca all'Altissima Hut. Towards Merano, however, you will find the slopes with the Muta Farms.

These historic mountain farms are mostly ancient "Schwaighöfe" - alpine dairy farms that had to pay fixed taxes in the form of cheese to the princely chamber. They form the perfect complement to the Val Passiria Shield Farms below Novale (Ried). These are also centuries-old buildings with a completely different story to tell. A cardinal comes from Novale itself: Johann Haller was born at the Greinwaldhof farm in Novale di Fuori in 1825.

In 1890, he became Archbishop of Salzburg, and in 1895, Pope Leo XIII appointed him cardinal. Johannes Evangelist Haller was buried in the crypt of Salzburg Cathedral in May 1900. Incidentally, the place name simply means wetland or moor (from the Middle High German "riet"), or land cleared for cultivation (from the Old High German "riod/riutja").