The Montassilone circuit: a mountain bike tour showing you the beauty of the area around Gais and Perca
Image gallery: Montassilone
Like Rio Molino and Lana di Gais, Montassilone (Tesselberg) is one of the small hamlets on the slope that, together with Gais and Villa Ottone, form the municipal area of Gais. You can reach the small hamlet from the village of Gais at the entrance to the Tures and Aurina Valleys or from Perca, slightly above Brunico. This road is part of the popular Montassilone Circuit, a mountain bike tour on asphalt that is also suitable for road cyclists and takes about three hours.
Impressive in Montassilone are the traditional paired farmsteads with their hipped roofs, which, along with the other houses, are clustered around the Church of Saints Chrysanthus and Daria. Montassilone has few inhabitants, and everyday life seems distant here. From the village, mountain hikes can take you to the summit of Mt. Geige or the Bel Colle hill, with the return route via the Montassilone Mountain Hut, where a stop for refreshments is worthwhile.
A somewhat easier option is a downhill route, for example, on an excursion from Montassilone through the Valle dell'Orso or Bärental - literally the Bear Valley - to the legendary Chela Castle in Gais. You can take the bus back. Several legends tell of Montassilone. According to these legends, on your way to the Montassilone Mountain Hut, you might encounter the "Tesselberger Männlein", who once dug for mineral resources. They are small, helpful Heinzelmännchen, similar to gnomes.
Legend has it that they still live in the old mining tunnels today and are said to be connected to the Untersberg mountain near Salzburg. Another legend tells that Emperor Barbarossa - also known as Redbeard - will pass through Montassilone when he re-establishes his empire in the south.
