Today the autonomy granted by Rome in 1992 and the region’s evident prosperity seems to have taken most of the sting out of the bitter disputes about language and identity. Signs are all bilingual – as are most of the population (apart from the region’s Ladin population, who speak an older language, who are trilingual). Locals seem to do a quick guessing game before greeting each other with Buon Giorno, Gruss Gott or the more neutral, ‘Allo. And whatever grief they caused in the past, the cultural complications play out well in the region´s restaurants, with their mix of Tyrolean and Italian, Alpine and Mediterranean.

We even grow olives here, a local told me proudly, and it´s worth remembering that while for many Brits, the big appeal of this part of the world has generally been winter sports, those implausably beautiful landscapes can equally well be enjoyed during the rest of the year. As Reinhold Messner explains, “much of the kind of expertise that was developed for people to live and do agriculture high up in the mountains is no longer needed, because of globalisation.”

Messner’s intention is to preserve that knowledge, as well as celebrate the disparate peoples who have made their homes here. But some of the work of previous generations still has its uses, such as the ‘waals’ - channels built centuries ago to bring water from the glaciers down to the vineyards and dairy farms below. Today the path alongside them is perfect for walkers, providing both steady gradients AND running water when you’re feeling parched. There’s also mountain-biking, wind-surfing on the lakes - or simply enjoying a late afternoon ‘marende’ of speck, local cheeses and pinot noir in the sun.

ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT SOUTH TYROL

Visitors to the Alta Badia get to enjoy great skiing in the Dolomites, plus some seriously swanky hotels and three Michelin-starred restaurants all in one valley. For surely the funkiest, sexiest on-piste accommodation, head to the Las Vegas Mountain Refuge. Families might prefer Meran 2000, above Merano town.

The Vigilius Mountain Resort, the award-winning hotel designed by Matteo Thun, is a destination in its own right, 8km from Merano, on the Vigilijoch mountain and reached by cable car (read the review in Travel Intelligence). Snow permitting, there is a skiing further up the mountain and excellent walks for snow-boot-walkers close at hand. But the resort is popular all the year round, a great base for hiking, with good fitness and spa facilities, plus an excellent restaurant overlooking the Valle d’Adige and a traditional wood-panelled ‘stube’ room housing a cosy restaurant and bar, as well as the more swanky eaterie perched on stilts above the valley.

South Tyrol produces some of the best wine in the world – little of it exported – including excellent whites (mostly from the Pinot Blanc and Chardonnay grapes) and Lagrein, a fine red produced near Bolzano. Arlbaster & Clarke is planning to launch a wine tour of the area – or to have your own wine tour from the comfort of your bar stool, head to the Pillhof Vinothek outside Bolzano, with the option of great food upstairs.

There are countless good restaurants in South Tyrol. Kaiserkron in Bolzano and Kallmunz in Merano are good, but the useful search engine in the gastro sectopm of the official South Tyrol website enables you to search by district, cuisine and even by awards (including Michelin).

Franz Pfeil´s sculpture garden at Cermes is a delight, whether you’re into contemporary art or not, and fun for kids too. It´s open March to November and once there, be sure to pick up a bottle or two of his excellent Kranzel passito dessert wine; then maybe take the short drive a short drive to the award-winning botanical gardens at Trauttmansdorff castle, Merano.

If you’re in or near Bolzano, visit the South Tyrol Museum of Archaelogy to see ‘Otzi’, the mummified and frozen remains of a man more than 5,000 years old found by accident, complete with clothes and equipment, in 1991. It´s a fascinating, strangely moving exhibit.

For more information, the new, concise but useful Marco Polo guide to South Tyrol is out now.

GETTING THERE

The official South Tyrol website has good, up-to-date advice for visitors, including travel options, accommodation and car hire.

By air you can reach the region by flying to either Verona (Valerio Catulla), Verona (Brescia), Innsbruck and Venice (Treviso) or Venice (Marco Polo), followed by a 1-2 hour drive, with car-hire available from all airports.

BA flies to Verona from Gatwick. Inghams offers direct flights to Bolzano during the winter season. Alitalia fly to Bolzano via Rome. Alternatively, Ryanair flights to Verona (Brescia), Venice (Treviso) and Milan (Bergamo) are met by buses providing very affordable transport to the major towns and ski resorts, which can be booked online.

Most major ski tour operators, including Inghams and Thomson go to South Tyrol. To book your own ski package, including flights, transfers, hotel, ski pass and ski rental, visit www.suedtirol.info/transfer

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