Badia, S. Leonardo, Pedraces

Discover your hotels in Badia

Badia is the main village in the valley. This fascinating mountain village is located at 1,324 m above sea level at the bottom of the imposing Sasso Croce Mountain. The village attracts numerous guests in summer and winter.

A small chair lift connects this small village in Alta Badia with the ski resort in the valley and the Sella Ronda. Hence, this is an ideal place for thousands of winter tourists, but also an ideal starting point for mountain tours in summer.

Two districts are part of the village of Badia: Pedraces and S. Leonardo, two enchanting villages.

Above Pedraces you'll find Sumpunt Lake at 1460m above sea level, a typical alpine lake, where you can even ice-skate in winter. A visit to the Paraciora game reserve with an area of 7 hectares with meadows and forests is ideal for a family excursion. On the two kilometre long round tour you can observe deer in free nature. And finally you can also visit "Residenz Sompunt", a manor which was the home of the noble Mayrhofer zu Koburg family from 1700 to 1859. On the outer walls facing Sasso Croce, you can see decorations dating back to the 16th century. In the cellar vaults you can admire wooden pillars from the Late Gothic period.

Above S. Leonardo you'll find the place of pilgrimage S. Croce, a holy place with a long history. The small village also has one of the most beautiful parish churches in South Tyrol. The baroque S. Leonardo Church was constructed by Franz Singer from Götzens from 1776 to 1778 on the remains of a gothic church. In this village district of Badia you'll also find the place of birth of the first Saint in South Tyrol, namely Father Josef Freinademetz. Freinademetz was born to a mountain farmer family in 1852 in the harbour Oies, which is part of S. Leonoardo. He became a priest and went to China as a missionary, where he lived a life full of dangers, prosecutions, illness and poverty. In 1908 he died from typhoid. In 2003 he was declared a Saint by Pope John Paul II. Every year numerous pilgrims come and visit his place of birth with various relics, Chinese clothing, and letters from the Saint.