Bosco Chiesanuova
Bosco Chiesanuova is the main town of the Lessinia plateau, the mountainous area north of Verona that stretches between roughly 1,...
Updated 12 July 2026
The story
The story of Bosco Chiesanuova
History and origins
The Lessinia plateau was settled from the thirteenth century onward by German-speaking communities from Bavaria, known as the Cimbri, brought in by Veronese lords to clear woodland and cultivate the then-uninhabited high ground. This colonisation left a cultural and linguistic imprint still perceptible in various place names and in the traditions of some plateau settlements. Over time Bosco Chiesanuova established itself as the main reference town of the Verona Lessinia, a gathering point for the forestry and pastoral economy that shaped life on the plateau for centuries, before becoming, over the course of the twentieth century, also a summer and winter holiday destination for people from Verona.
What to see, main places
The centre of Bosco Chiesanuova is built around the main square, a starting point for excursions onto the surrounding plateau. Nearby are numerous malghe, some still active in summer cheese production, along with the typical dry-stone walls and karst sinkholes that characterise the Lessinia landscape. A few kilometres away, at Naiss di Campofontana, stands the Osservatorio Astronomico Parco della Lessinia, opened in 2021 and run by the Astrofili Lessinia Orientale association, equipped with a telescope weighing over half a tonne and open to the public for observation evenings.
Nature and surroundings
Bosco Chiesanuova is the most direct gateway to the Parco Naturale Regionale della Lessinia, over ten thousand hectares of plateau between the Piccole Dolomiti and the Adige valley, rich in beech woods, high-altitude pastures and karst features such as sinkholes and caves. In winter the San Giorgio ski area, on Monte Tomba, offers alpine ski runs and routes for cross-country skiing and snowshoeing, while in summer the plateau lends itself to long walks and mountain biking, with the cool high-altitude air as the main draw for visitors coming up from the Verona plain.
Food and local produce
Bosco Chiesanuova's cuisine follows Lessinia's dairy and pastoral tradition, with malga cheeses, butter, smoked ricotta and mountain cured meats produced on the plateau's farms. Dishes based on mushrooms, game and polenta round out a typically mountain gastronomy, quite different from that of the nearby Verona plain, and tied to the seasonal calendar of alpine dairy farming.
Events and traditions
The Osservatorio Astronomico Parco della Lessinia regularly organises public observation evenings and events for astronomy enthusiasts, including gatherings under the stars during the clearest months. The town's life also follows the calendar of forestry and pastoral activities, with summer alpine grazing as a central moment, and the rhythm of the tourist seasons, winter skiing and summer hiking, which shape Bosco Chiesanuova's year more than any single local festival.
How to get there and location
Bosco Chiesanuova lies about twenty kilometres north of Verona, reachable by car along the road that climbs up from the Valpantena, gaining over a thousand metres in elevation from the city. There is no direct rail link; the reference station is Verona Porta Nuova, from where regular buses continue up to the plateau. The access road, scenic but winding, is passable year-round, though extra care is needed in the winter months when snow and ice are present.
Local life and economy
Bosco Chiesanuova's economy rests on mountain tourism, livestock farming and cheese production, with an important role played by second homes owned by people from Verona who for generations have chosen the plateau as a refuge from summer heat. Winter tourism linked to skiing rounds out an economy that remains tied to the seasons and more fragile than that of the major alpine resorts, yet able to keep a mountain community alive within easy reach of a major city like Verona.
Experiences not to miss
- Walk among the mountain dairies and sinkholes of the Lessinia plateau
- Join a stargazing evening at the Osservatorio Astronomico Parco della Lessinia in Campofontana
- Ski or snowshoe in the San Giorgio area on Monte Tomba
- Taste malga cheeses at a plateau farm
- Discover traces of Cimbrian culture in Lessinia's place names and traditions
- Ride the summer mountain-bike trails through beech woods and high pastures
To see
What to see in Bosco Chiesanuova
Routes · Trovido Route
Routes in Bosco Chiesanuova
Jobs · JobFlow
