| 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.