Everyone knows Ötzi. The man from the ice has been on display at the South Tyrolean Museum of Archaeology for years and is unofficially regarded as Bolzano's most famous resident, with a story stretching back more than 5,000 years. Anyone hoping to understand how the city at the confluence of the Talfer and Eisack rivers ticks in 2026, however, will not get very far with a museum visit alone. Bolzano reveals itself today in the workshops, studios, kitchens, and vineyards of a new generation working among medieval arcades, the tech park on the city's outskirts, and the vineyards surrounding the valley basin.
Hosts with Vision
Few addresses in Bolzano embody the connection between history and the present quite like the Parkhotel Laurin in the city center. Since 2023, Dario Tornatore has been in charge of the kitchen, a chef whose biography explains his approach: London with Gordon Ramsay, Rome, Japan, and finally Bahrain, where he led the culinary projects of the ruling Al Khalifa family. At the fine dining concept ConTanima, housed in the hotel's historic glasshouse, he brings these influences together into a cuisine that travels between continents while remaining firmly grounded in the product. The format is currently evolving: rather than regular service, ConTanima will focus on exclusive gourmet evenings with guest chefs, with the first three dates for 2026 already set for September 15, October 20, and November 24.
A few minutes' walk away, the boutique hotel Eisenhut on Bindergasse reopened in May 2025. Host Sophie Dellago conceived the listed historic building as a "We meet" destination, where the vibrant old-town life outside is left at the door and green inner courtyards inside invite guests to breathe and unwind. The hallmark of Bolzano artist and illustrator Elisa Capellari gives the property a distinctly individual character. "I love my city and I love being a host," says Dellago, and that sentence makes the concept tangible: a home away from home in the heart of Bolzano.
From Loden to Smart Fiber
Textiles are as much a part of Bolzano's history as its arcades. What was once traded and woven is now being reimagined. Few names embody this continuity as clearly as Oberrauch Zitt, whose flagship store under the Bolzano arcades has been family-owned since 1848. The decisive impulse came from Heinrich Oberrauch in the 1950s: inspired by a trip to Scandinavia, he reinterpreted Loden and traditional costume, turning the classic fabric into an ambassador for South Tyrol. His son Heiner Oberrauch has led the company since 1999 and, through projects such as Oberalp and Sportler , has carried South Tyrolean ideas well beyond the region's borders.
How far the journey from Loden into the 21st century can reach is demonstrated a few kilometers away at the NOI Techpark, the city's research campus. In the Sustainable Smart Textiles Lab at the Free University of Bolzano, engineers and designers are developing materials that do far more than look good: car seat covers that detect driver attention, jackets with integrated lighting elements for road safety, and T-shirts that monitor bodily functions. Sustainability and resource conservation are central to the work, making the lab one of the most compelling sites shaping the future of textiles.
Art as Dialogue
A city's appeal is sustained by people who create new perspectives. One of them is Bart van der Heide, who has served for several years as director of the Museion, South Tyrol's museum of modern and contemporary art. For him, the institution is not merely an exhibition hall but a bridge between past and future and a public space with social responsibility. International exhibitions, research projects, and collaborations are consistently building the Museion into a platform for cultural change, one where art is not only shown but discussed and questioned.
Working more quietly, yet with a distinct vision, is Antonio Dalle Nogare. The Bolzano collector developed an early fascination with Conceptual and Minimal Art of the 1960s and 1970s, as well as the work of young contemporary artists, and in 2011 he established his own private museum in Bolzano. The Fondazione Antonio Dalle Nogare, which grew from this initiative, now positions itself as an open space for interdisciplinary event formats, educational programs, and exhibitions where the most diverse perspectives can meet.
Craft from a Second Life
Those exploring Bolzano's artisan scene encounter people who look not at what something is, but at what it could become. David Duzzi, a Bolzano native, describes himself as a "Multi Crafts Man." In his studio in the old town, car seats, vacuum cleaners, milking pails, and bathtubs are given a second life, transformed into furniture, objects, and installations. His signature is unmistakable: a blend of product design, upcycling art, and a healthy respect for materials that already carry a history of their own.
Working in a different vein is Manuel Tschager, trained in Val Gardena and raised between the mountains of Nova Levante and his family's art gallery. The sculptor engages with wood, stone, metal, and glass, combining traditional craftsmanship with contemporary forms of expression. His Christ figures in particular impress through their presence and emotional depth.
Four Paths to Wine
The vineyards are as integral to Bolzano as its arcades, yet it is the people behind them who turn grapes into distinctive wines. On the sun-drenched southeastern slope of the St. Magdalena hill, Katharina Martini works at the Sonnleiten winery on a wine that represents Bolzano like few others: the St. Magdalener, a blend of Vernatsch and a small proportion of Lagrein. After studying agriculture in Bolzano and Vienna, she has turned a childhood spent among the vines into a profession, and what ends up in the glass is the character of the hillside where the wine grows.
Far more radical in their thinking are Martin and Marion Gojer of Weingut Pranzegg. On their estate surrounding the Bolzano valley basin, they cultivate around four hectares of steep Vineyards according to biodynamic principles, together with family, staff, and friends. From pruning to harvest, everything is done by hand; in the cellar, spontaneous fermentation, extended lees aging, and minimal intervention reign. From Vernatsch, Lagrein, and Gewürztraminer, characterful natural wines emerge that taste a little different each year, reflecting the rhythm of the vintage, the terroir, and the family's way of life in an ever-changing interplay.
Weingut Schmid Oberrautner in Gries
Entirely different timelines hold sway at Weingut Schmid Oberrautner in Gries, one of Bolzano's oldest hereditary estates, managed by the same family since 1363. The focus here is on Lagrein and St. Magdalener, the two varieties that have always defined viticulture in Bolzano, and sustainable farming comes almost naturally with that depth of generational knowledge. An even longer history belongs to the Josephus Mayrestate, which has been cultivating vines on the eastern edge of the Bolzano basin since 1629, now in its eleventh generation. Since 2025, Josef Mayr has been running the estate together with his parents Barbara and Josephus, his sister Katharina, and his wife Franka. Special attention is devoted to Lagrein; every step from vineyard to bottle is handled in-house. The fact that the estate also grows figs, apples, and olives, from which one of South Tyrol's first olive oils is produced, illustrates just how holistically agriculture is understood here.
Those who want to venture beyond Bolzano and further through the Etsch valley will find a natural continuation in our feature on Merano in autumn with Törggelen, chestnuts and the Merano wine culture as a seamless extension of Bolzano's wine world. And for those interested in the bigger picture, our overview of Italy's wine regions provides the broader context in which Bolzano, with its St. Magdalener and Lagrein producers, rightfully belongs.
