A snow-white nativity scene near the slopes

New Year's Eve: it's always hard, especially if you're a group of friends, to decide on a destination. Yes, because you have to find something that doesn't cost too much and that can please those who want to ski, those who simply love the idea of being in the mountains without getting too dirty and those who want to stay indoors but not in four square metres.

And so in the end we found a solution able to please everyone: Ronzone, this little village that looks like a nativity scene, unknown (at least to us), a stone's throw from Andalo - where you ski - and near interesting places to visit such as San Romedio (see )

We rented a house, with the help of an uncle of one of the group who lives in the area, we did the shopping and spent three days having fun. Partly for the company and partly for the truly beautiful place, where we spent the fine days outside among the snow, the photos speak for themselves.

The only problem came with the queues on the motorway heading back to Milan. So here's a bit more information about this small village with its wooden houses of old-fashioned but well-kept charm.

? The present layout of Ronzone is the result of the village's reconstruction, after a fire that broke out in 1891. A summer and winter tourist resort, launched about a century ago with the building of the first hotel structures, including the sumptuous "Regina del Bosco", once a hunting residence of the Habsburg court, Ronzone boasts an ideal position, facing the sun and open onto the whole valley. The settlement is divided between the old part, to the south, and the tourist-residential area with small houses and modern apartment blocks, in the upper part. At the centre stands the new parish church in a modern Romanesque style, distinguished by a tall bell tower with a pointed spire, adorned with triple-mullioned windows and detached from the main building, in the typical Anaune inspiration.

Inside, the Stations of the Cross by Bonacina stands out, the same author as the frescoes at the back of the apse. A little further away rises the old sacred building, first consecrated to the Immaculate Conception and later to St Anthony. First recorded in the 14th century, it was seriously damaged in the aforementioned fire. Between the two churches is a small chapel (1692-93) that preserves a precious and anatomically perfect Christ at the Column, a life-size wooden work probably made within the School of Cavalese.

Ronzone is home to the famous museums of wildlife, costume and postcards.