Laives

The small city of Laives is located at 260 m above sea level and only about 8 km from Bolzano. The city is surrounded by vast fields offering ideal climatic conditions for orchards and vineyards. This even terrain is one of the biggest surfaces in Bassa Atesina and has always been valued for its fertile soils and the large harvest. Already during antiquity, the noble population of the neighbouring villages concentrated the most part of their cultivation to Laives, even though most of the area at that time was marshland. Its position as a connecting point between north and south was ideal for the construction of fortresses. Some of these can still be admired today. Examples of historic sites are the tower "Tinzelleiten" in the vicinity of the district S. Giacopo, the San Pietro Church directly above Laives (where once Liechtenstein Castle once stood), the ruins Laimburg and Leuchtenburg in the immediate vicinity of Vadena.

Laives has preserved many architectonic symbols of the past, which make the city an interesting destination for excursions and pilgrims. One of the first to be mentioned is the San Pietro Chapel and the S. Giacopo parish church, which dates back to medieval times. During the following epochs, mainly towards the 19th century however, the S. Antonio Abate and S. Nicolo parish church, which hold   the Pietà Alabaster statue since 1987, and the S. Henry Church, located in this small village district and dating back to the 18th and 19th century, have been used as religious places.

During the past few years, Laives has experiences a strong cultural development, because the inhabitants of the village have formed groups and associations. The Monti Pallidi Choir and the Filodrammatica theatre group are the most important. Furthermore, the numerous leisure time offers of the Don Bosco centre with library and cultural events provide support and entertainment for old and young alike.