Tonale Pass

A place on the border of Trentino Alto Adige and Lombardy, this tourist station, open to the sun and to marvelous panoramas, is the watershed between Val di Sol and Val Camonica, and represents and oasis of peace and relaxation.
Its name is probably the oldest place name of the Solandro dialect, its first documentation is in 774, when a diploma of Charlemagne set out that the Val Camonica extended up to the border “vocatur Thonale”. The name probably derives from Giove Tonante (“Thundering Jove”), a reference to the formidable storms that beat down upon it. On the old road there is an ancient hospice, with an annexed church dedicated to Saint Bartholomew, nominated for the first time in 1127.
The pastures of the pass were later places of transition for the shepherds of the Val di Sole and Camonica. The Tonale was one of the most well-known places of passage since antiquity, on Christmas night of 1800 there was a battle between the French troops of General McDonald and the imperial Tyrolese troops, in which the latter came out victorious.
The military history of out territory doesn't end there, it was in fact right in these places that the Kingdom of Italy and the Austro-Hungarian Empire fought during the white war (1915-1918).
The touristic adventure began in 1963, when the cable car of the Paradiso Pass was inaugurated, which allowed for skiing 365 days per year; in the seasons that followed the Cadì, Tre Larici, Tonalina and Alpino Ski lifts were completed, which directed the pass definitively towards its future in skiing.
Today the Tonale is definitely one of the most convenient stations in the Alps thanks to the proximity of its hotels to the slopes, and the width of the slopes. The recent completion of the ski-by-foot connection with Ponte di Legno and Temù, has amplified the skiable area to satisfy even the most demanding of skiing.
The result is that it's now possible to ski on over 100 km of downhill slopes and about 50 km of cross country tracks, from 1150 to 3100 meters of altitude, in fabulous panoramic scenery.
Other than downhill and cross-country skiing you can do snowboarding, off-piste skiing, freestyle, sledding, excursions with snowshoes, in snowmobile and alpine skiing.
In the summer the Tonale Pass is the meeting point of numerous alpine itineraries that allow one to get in contact with nature and the historical reality of the White War which has left here many marks still visible in the landscape.