Lessinia
Some photos of Lessinia. From top to bottom: winter view of upper Lessinia with the ski slopes of San Giorgio, Ponte di Veja, the village of Giazza, a flower in the Fraselle valley, summer pastures, a typical Lessinian stone building (lastame).
Geography
Country	Italy
Province	Province of Verona, Province of Vicenza and Trentino
Parent range	Venetian Prealps

Lessinia, or Lessini Mountains, is a plateau and alpine supergroup located mainly in the province of Verona and partially in the provinces of Vicenza and Trento.

Part of the Lessinia territory constitutes the Lessinia Regional Nature Park. It is bordered to the north by the Ronchi Valley and the Carega Group, to the east by the Leogra Valley, to the south by the course of the Adige River and the upper Veronese plain, and to the west by the Lagarina Valley. Its peaks reach an altitude between 1,500 and 1,800 m above sea level.

From the earliest times Lessinia saw the presence of man, who could easily find flint there and take refuge in its many caves and shelters. The spread of castellieri, small fortified settlements placed on the top of the hills, of which only a few traces remain now scattered throughout the territory, dates back to the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC. Before the arrival of the Romans, which occurred between the 3rd and 2nd centuries B.C., the area was inhabited by various peoples of Rhaetian origin, including the Arusnates. At that time the plateau was almost entirely occupied by forests for the lower part, while the esplanades higher up were used for summer grazing. Following the fall of the Roman Empire, the territory went through a noticeable demographic decline, which was not interrupted until the early 11th century.

From the Carolingian age, until the advent of the communal age, much of Lessinia was under the control of the Veronese Church, a dominion that went into crisis with the rise of the wool merchants of which the Della Scala family, future lords of Verona, were the city exponents. In 1287, Bishop Bartolomeo della Scala allowed a group of settlers of German origin to settle in the area of present-day Roverè Veronese, forming the first nucleus of the Cimbrians of Lessinia. With the devotion of Verona to Venice in 1404, the plateau also came under the rule of the Serenissima, which proceeded to grant the inhabitants various privileges in exchange for guarding the northern border. The arrival of Napoleon brought about major changes in the administrative structure of the area, some of which were maintained by subsequent Austrian rule. The years following the annexation of Veneto to the Kingdom of Italy were very hard on the population, which experienced famine and epidemics. Spared from the tragic events of World War I and World War II, the end of the 20th century was characterized by a gradual depopulation of the Lessinian municipalities in favor of emigration to the city.

Toponym

Historical names used in Veronese documents for this territory are Luxino, Lixino, Lesinio, Lissinorum and Lissinia, always with the meaning of "land used and prepared for pastures." The earliest known document in which the term appears is a deed dated May 7, 814, in which the gastald Ildemanno of Verona donated "campo meo in Luxino ad Alpes facienda, una cum capilo pasquo" to the Veronese monastery of Santa Maria in Organo.^[1] It may also have originated from the Veronese dialect word le sime, i.e., peaks, or from the Venetian lisso or lissio, i.e., a channel of beams for plants to slide down.^[2]

Geography

Boundaries and landscape

Enclosed on the north by the deep and wild Val di Ronchi and the majestic Carega Group, bounded on the east by the Val Leogra, on the southeast by the hills of Monteviale,^[3] on the southwest by the course of the Adige and the upper Veronese plain, and on the west by the Val Lagarina, it is almost a unit in itself within the Venetian Prealps. It is furrowed by numerous valleys that descend from the high pastures and fan out toward Verona and the plain.

Proceeding from west to east are the valleys of Fumane, Marano and Negrar (which together constitute a unit that has more historical than geographical character: the Valpolicella) and then the Valpantena, Squaranto, Mezzane, d'Illasi, Tramigna, d'Alpone, Chiampo and Agno valleys. Its heights to the west fall within the Venetian Pre-Alps, with peaks between 1,500 and 1,800 m, and the Carega group to the northeast (which exceeds 2,200 m). In contrast, the central range is between 1000 and 1300 m.

Some of the peaks include: Corno d'Aquilio, Monte Tomba, Cima Trappola.

The landscape of the High Pastures of Lessinia has been officially recognized as an agrarian landscape and included in the National Register of Historic Rural Landscapes, prepared by Decree No. 17070 of November 19, 2012, of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry Policies.^[4]

Hydrography

The phenomenon of karstification typical of the limestone rocks that form Lessinia has made its hydrographic network highly articulated and varied, characterized by a great ramification of streams that during the glacial and quaternary periods have contributed to carve out the stream valleys that make up the territory. Throughout the plateau there are a number of springs, both temporary ones related to snow melt and rainfall, and permanent ones, which flow mainly at the outlet of the valleys between the upper and lower plains. The most notable ones are found on the Trentino side in the Ronchi valley, about 11 km long and crossed by the Ala stream, and in Val Bona, while on the other sides those in Val di Illasi and between Velo and Val di Mazzano are the most substantial.^[5]

Below is a list of the main watercourses present in Lessinia starting from the west and going eastward. At Fumane transits the progno of the same name (a term in Veronese dialect for a stream), which after originating from Mount San Giovanni and Mount Loffa travels about 14 km of the Progni valley receiving water from numerous tributaries.^[6] The Marano di Valpolicella valley, just 7 km long, is traversed by the Marano stream coming from Vajo Camporal and whose source is located at Mount Noroni. Further east, the 11-km-long Negrar di Valpolicella valley is traversed by the stream of the same name, which originates from the Fane stream and has as tributaries the Fiamene, Prun, Mazzano, San Ciriaco, Sieresol, Pozzetta, Quena and Cancello streams, among others. In the lowlands, the Negrar and Marano streams join and then flow into the Adige River.^[7]

Near the city of Verona, the Quinzano stream and the Avesa stream reach the plains, both of which then flow into the Adige.^[8] East of Verona is the great Valpantena valley, oriented north-south and extending for about 26 km with a catchment area of 150 km², ending in the north with a bifurcation that divides the Alta Valpantena from the Vajo dell'Anguilla.^[9] The stream of Valpantena, after passing through the built-up area of Borgo Venezia, flows into the Adige west of San Michele Extra.^[10] Further east, from Cima Trappola originates the Vajo Squaranto, which joins the Vajo Illasi after receiving several tributaries including the Fibbio and Marcellise streams, at San Martino Buon Albergo and then terminates in the Adige before Belfiore.^[11]

The Val d'Illasi, with its 22 km, bisects the Lessinia plateau going all the way into the Carega group. The valley is very narrow in its northernmost portions, recording just under 200 meters in width at Selva di Progno and then opening up at Illasi to about 3 km. Near Giazza a valley opens up in a westerly-easterly direction, the Fraselle valley traversed by the stream of the same name.^[12]

The last major valley in the province of Verona is the Val d'Alpone in which the Alpone torrent flows for about 32 km, which, originating at Mount Purga, ends its course in the Adige 7 km after passing through San Bonifacio.^[13] Finally, in the province of Vicenza, the Val del Chiampo extends for about 31 km entirely traversed by the Chiampo torrent, which also ends in the Adige after adding to its waters, originating at 1650 m above sea level, those of numerous streams.^[14]

Climate

Climatically, Lessina can be divided into three belts: a humid temperate one, sometimes tending to sub-Mediterranean climate allowing cultivation of olive trees, which extends from the foothills to about 700 m above sea level, a subsequent fresh temperate one between 700 m and 1 500 m, and finally a cold temperate one beyond 1 500 m. Average temperatures range between 5 °C and 13 °C with an average decrease of about 0.5 °C for every 100 m of altitude gained. The coldest month is January, with average lows often below -1 °C, while the hottest period is between July and August when highs reach between 22 °C and 29 °C. Relative humidity is between 50% and 70%.^[15][16]

Average precipitation around 850 mm is recorded at the valley floor, which increases significantly in a northerly direction. The lowest rainfall coincides with the months of January and February, and the secondary rainfall between July and September, with the exclusion of August when intense convective activity results in increased rainfall. The highest rainfall occurs in the months of October and November, while there is a secondary highest one between April and June.^[15] Snow, which is more frequent in the central and eastern zone, occurs in the winter months between December and mid-February, not exceeding 80 centimeters on average.^[17]

Climate tables for Velo Veronese (at 1 074 m a.s.l.) and Grezzana (at 267 m a.s.l.) are given as examples: