Erbezzo
Erbezzo is the highest municipality of the Verona Lessinia, set on a plateau stretching between woods, pastures and limestone outc...
Updated 12 July 2026
The story
The story of Erbezzo
The highest municipality in Lessinia
Erbezzo lies at the heart of the Lessinia Regional Nature Park, in the province of Verona, and is the highest-altitude municipality of the entire plateau. The territory spreads over gentle karst slopes, beech woods and wide pastures, in a landscape where the shape of the land reveals the limestone nature of the Verona mountains: sinkholes, swallow holes and underground cavities dot the plateau, making it one of Italy's most studied karst territories. Its proximity to the border with Trentino and to the Val d'Adige gives Erbezzo a genuine mountain climate and landscape, quite different from the Verona plain that stretches further downhill.
The Spluga della Preta, among Italy's most famous caves
Within the Corno d'Aquilio massif opens the Spluga della Preta, one of the world's most famous karst cavities and a fundamental landmark in the history of Italian speleology. With over 877 metres of vertical development explored, it is among the deepest abysses in Italy, and its entrance, clearly visible from outside, has drawn generations of speleologists since the earliest explorations. Access inside the cave is reserved exclusively for expert speleologists holding the necessary permits, but the surrounding area, reachable by a hiking trail, allows anyone to get close to this extraordinary karst phenomenon and understand its scientific and historical importance.
Corno d'Aquilio and the view over the Val d'Adige
Corno d'Aquilio marks the north-western boundary of the Lessinia plateau, with cliffs plunging directly towards the Val d'Adige. Its summit, reachable via a moderately difficult hike that also touches the Rocca Pia pass and the Spluga della Preta, is marked by an iron cross that greets hikers and, on clear days, offers panoramas stretching from the Adige valley to Monte Baldo. It is one of the most appreciated hiking routes of the Verona Lessinia, able to combine in a single itinerary nature, karst geology and extraordinary views over the Veneto and Trentino mountains.
The alpine pastures and Monte Veronese cheese
Erbezzo's traditional economy has always been tied to alpine pasture farming and cheese production, in particular Monte Veronese, a protected designation of origin cheese produced right on this plateau and in the neighbouring areas of Lessinia. The malghe scattered across the municipal territory continue, during the summer months, to host grazing livestock according to practices handed down over generations, and still represent one of the most authentic experiences for those visiting the area: the chance to see milk processing up close and to buy cheese made directly at altitude. This dairy tradition, together with livestock farming, remains one of the pillars of the local economy alongside hiking and caving tourism.
A plateau to be experienced slowly
Erbezzo is not a town with major monuments or a structured tourist offer: its richness lies in the natural landscape, the silence of the plateau and the chance to practise hiking, caving and food-and-wine tourism linked to dairy products. It is a municipality to be experienced slowly, perhaps choosing one of the malghe as a stopping point during a hike towards Corno d'Aquilio, or organising a day dedicated to discovering the karst phenomenon of the Spluga della Preta. For those seeking an authentic, uncrowded mountain strongly tied to pastoral traditions, Erbezzo is one of the most genuine destinations of the Verona Lessinia.
Experiences not to miss
- Hike to Corno d'Aquilio for views over the Val d'Adige
- Get close to the entrance of the Spluga della Preta, among Italy's deepest caves
- Visit an alpine pasture farm and taste Monte Veronese cheese
- Walk the karst trails of the Lessinia plateau
- Enjoy the panorama from the Rocca Pia pass
Routes · Trovido Route
