The visitor centre offers a range of informative publications produced by the National Park, with an expert on hand to provide visitors with handy hints about the programme of events and walks. There is also an exhibition area featuring some of the animals most commonly found in the park, along with a dedicated meeting room within the centre which can also be used to show films. On proud display in the centre of the exhibition space is the recreation of an 18th century Venetian sawmill, which stood on the banks of the Rabbies river that flows past the visitor centre. The virtual journey through the National Park is completed by a photographic exhibition of the protected species of plant life and information boards describing the life cycle of mushrooms and the characteristics of eagles and grouse. The tour continues into the next room with paintings representing the four seasons, with a view over the peaks that encircle the Val di Rabbi. In front of the pictures is a recreation of the landscape at different times of the year, with the tracks left by animals. As you enter the room, you hear background noises: the gurgling of water, the calls of Alpine choughs and the whistling of chamois, giving the impression of standing in front of a real landscape. Il Gioco del
Parco educational play area
Learn about the park through play in Colèr Learn more about the park whilst having fun in an immersive journey in the Val di Saènt with the sounds and colours of nature. The key themes of the Gioco del Parco are discovery and sensory experiences, in an educational play area which gives children the chance to fully experience the sensations created by contact with nature. The activities available require the use of a number of different materials: iron, stone, wood, water and the air we breathe, telling the story of this protected area, the land, the flora and the fauna. How do you play? By putting yourself in the place of the animals which live in the National Park such as deer, marmots, eagles and human beings, using your imagination and information provided on worksheets and display boards, learning how to observe wildlife and, at the same time, understanding the importance of the National Park. The educational play area stands in a zone which is covered in rocks and rubble brought down the valley by a landslide in September 1999 which devastated the Val di Saènt.
Malga Stablét Visitor Centre
The information point all about marmots! The visitor centre at Malga Stablét is dedicated to the life and habits of marmots, a large rodent which is very commonly found in the high Alpine pastures. The centre is housed in a recently renovated mountain dairy. With the help of some simple information boards, visitors are taken on an educational journey through the building, learning all about marmots and how they live. The images depict their winter hibernation, their “awakening” in spring, their family structures and the day-to-day “work” of these loveable little rodents. There is a large model of one of their burrows, where they hide themselves away. To learn more, the centre also has a small room where visitors can watch a special film all about these creatures that are a symbol of the Alps. The Malga Stablét Visitor Centre is situated at the foot of the famous, spectacular Cascate di Saènt, in Prà di Saènt, a meadow also know as the “field of marmots”, close to the staircase to the ancient larch trees footpaths.
Casèl di Somrabbi, Rabbi Fonti
An exhibition set out in an old cooperative dairy dating from 1858 The old cooperative dairy, built in 1858, houses an exhibition featuring more than 127 special tools and pieces of equipment traditionally used at the time for processing milk.The old cooperative dairy at Somrabbi stands testament to the incalculable value of the Val di Rabbi’s history and culture. It is an important reference point for the small community, a place of work and an example of an Alpine village’s social and economic structures. The exhibition laid out in the Casèl di Somrabbi is interactive and is part of a larger network of museums, which tell the story of an economy, way of life and value system that are inherently linked to conservation and the use of natural resources.The museum has been carefully laid out in order to retain the special features of this former creamery, highlighting the traditional tools and processes as part of an exhibition that takes visitors through the cheese and butter making cycle. In the entrance hall, the visitor's attention is grabbed by a huge fireplace and the cauldrons, which are the symbol of the museum. Alongside are information boards and evocative images which depict the key stages of milk processing. The exhibition room next door features the tools and furniture which would normally have been found in such a creamery at the time.
The Venetian sawmills
Ancient masterpieces of engineering The Venetian sawmills are one of the valley’s best known landmarks. The ancient water-powered machinery, once used for the first cutting of the wood, are now little individual museum exhibits which add a special charm to the environment and landscape of the Val di Rabbi. The perfection of the mechanisms are testament to the skill of the craftsmen of the past who had an expert understanding of construction techniques and should still be regarded as masters of their art.
Rabbi Vacanze has launched a new rating system for holiday homes in the Val di Rabbi using ‘nests’. The aim is to provide full transparency about the information provided and the facilities on offer. Download the document to find out more about how they are graded.