Messner Mountain Museum: Six Places, Six Exhibitions, Six Experiences

Arrive in Bolzano / Bozen on your own (private transfer available on request) and check into your hotel. Bolzano (240m / 787') is the capital city of the province of South Tyrol (Südtirol in German and Ladin, Alto Adige in Italian). The city sits in a valley, surrounded by green vistas. It’s quite something to gaze up from the main square of pretty Piazza Walther, at the forest-clad slopes and ridges of jagged limestone that surround it! But Bolzano’s biggest attraction may be Ötzi: a mummy discovered in 1991. After spending the 5,300 years frozen in mountain ice, he was found completely by chance. You can see Ötzi at the Museum of Archaeology, where he is kept in a frozen state at 21F (-6C). The exhibit also includes a thrillingly vast quantity of artifacts found with him,. The chance to come face to face with a man who lived some 500 years before the building of the Pyramids makes the journey to Bolzano worthwhile on its own!

If you are taking a guided trip, you will meet with your guide in the morning for a trip briefing. If you are taking a self-guided adventure, you will meet with a Dolomite Mountains representative who will provide a trip briefing and orientation, as well as maps and everything necessary for your self-guided adventure. 
Transfer to MMM Firmian, the first of the Messsner Mountain Museums to open in 1995. As the centerpiece of the Messner Mountain Museum, and the largest of the six museums, MMM Firmian explores man’s encounter with the mountains. Through works of art, installations, and relics, this spacious museum provides the opportunity to explore the depths and origins of mountains. Relics range from vintage postcards to Nepalese crystals, mountaineering equipment to Everest “refuse.”

In the afternoon, you have the option to explore the Renon High Plateau, just above Bolzano. The area of Renon / Ritten, towering above Bolzano to the north. This can best be experienced on foot, leveraging the more than 350 kilometers (217 miles) of marked hiking routes that make it possible to enjoy the amazing panoramic views of the Dolomites and beyond. Not a hiker? Not to worry! There are plenty of driving, cable car, and train options to aid you in your journey!

MMM Juval is dedicated to the magic of the mountain, exploring the nature of mountains and their religious significance around the world. Messner’s fascination with peaks that have special meaning to local cultures inspired the focus of museum: Mount Kailash in Tibet; Mount Fuji, or Fujiyama, in Japan; Uluru, or Ayers Rock, in Australia. You will experience this religious dimension of mountains through exhibits that include Tibetan culture and history, Buddhism, animism, and through several fine art collections. The Juval property also houses a small mountain zoo, a tavern, a winery, and a farmhouse estate shop.  

In the morning, transfer to Val Venosta (~45 minutes), and hike on the Waalweg to MMM Juval. The so-called “Waalwege” are paths, or “weg,” along irrigation channels, or “waal.” These paths originated in ancient times, when local farmers built special irrigation channels to water their fields and meadows. Today, as in the past, these channels offer beautiful hiking paths, lined with colorful scenery.
(~2.5 hours hiking, 310m / 1,017' ascent. Option to transfer directly to the museum.)
In the afternoon, after your museum visit, transfer to Sulden (~1 hour).

Today you’ll explore the world of ice at MMM Ortles, an underground museum in Sulden am Ortler. Set in the valley beneath the main peak of the Ortler Range, at 3,905 meters (12,812') Ortler is the second highest mountain in the Eastern Alps, the highest point of the Italian province of South Tyrol. As a visitor, you’ll find yourself inside the mountain, but with the glimmering relief of light coming from on-high – a crevasse-like opening with views of the snowy Ortler peak and it’s mountaintop glacier. 
At MMM Ortles, Messner tells of the Terrors of Ice and Darkness, Snow People and Snow Lions, Whiteouts, and the “Third Pole” – Mount Everest. Skiing, ice climbing, and expeditions to the Poles are the themes.
After your museum visit, transfer to Brunico / Bruneck (~2.5 hours). Situated at 827 meters (2,712') above sea level, Brunico enjoys a central location, and because of this, this picturesque town is the heart and soul of the verdant Val Pusteria (Puster Valley).

Bruneck Castle, which houses the MMM Ripa, overlooks the town of Brunico / Bruneck and is visible from afar. It is surrounded by mountain farms, with rural vistas that stretch north across the Ahrn Valley to the mighty Zillertal Alps, and views to the south of the popular Kronplatz area, which you will visit tomorrow.
This museum’s focus is “The Heritage of the Mountain,” examined through mountain peoples across the planet (in Tibetan: ri=mountain, pa=man). Cultures, religions, and tourism activities are reflected in the daily lives of mountain peoples from Asia, Africa, South America, and Europe, who impart life and history to the mountains of the world.

In the morning, you’ll ride the Plan de Corones / Kronplatz cable car to reach the MMM Corones. The view from Kronplatz is one of the most beautiful in the Alps, and offers vistas across all points of the compass.
Opened in 2015, this is the final installment of the Messner Mountain Museum project, and fittingly the crowning piece of his museum project (“Corones” is the Ladin word for “crown”, as is “Krone” in German). This museum, created by the late Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid, is dedicated to traditional mountaineering, which has strongly influenced – and been influenced by – Reinhold Messner. It is devoted to mountain history, and offers unique views of the great mountain walls of the Dolomites and the Alps.  
Built entirely of concrete and glass, it further blends into the environment, and seems that it has always belonged as part of these mountains.   

The autumn of 2024 will see the opening of the new and final MMM, located on Monte Elmo in Sesto. The Roca (Spanish and Ladin for ‘rock’) will tell the story of mountaineering from its beginnings in the Elbe Sandstone Mountains to today’s free soloing. As always, Reinhold Messner will be focusing on fears, near-death experiences and exposition – all parts of climbing enormous rock faces. The ‘Goddess of Protection’, a Himalayan bronze statue symbolizing the safety measures that have been central to extreme rock and ice climbing for nearly 200 years, will stand at the heart of the museum.

Breakfast and departure on your own (private transfer available on request).