The Dürer Path starts above Salorno/Salurn and leads through the Trudner Horn Nature Park. Flanking the route, on land belonging to an unconventional family business by the name of Noál, there grows a most diverse collection of medicinal and wild plants, aromatic herbs, berries, fruits and vegetables. Both native varieties and those introduced from across the world can be found here.

The farming family, made up of Elisabetta, Alice, Simone and Alfeo Zeni, cultivates its plants in line with the principles of organic agriculture and sustainability. Attention is paid to this at every stage of their work, from the seeds that are planted to eco-friendly packaging. Alongside syrups, herbal salts, vegetable mixtures, dried fruits, spreads and cosmetics, the farm’s main products are herbal infusions and edible flowers with the South Tyrolean seal of quality.

The biodiversity fostered here is astonishing: “There are more than 200 different types of trees, shrubs and plants growing around our farm. Some have been here forever, others were introduced from around the world, some grow wild, others are cultivated by us.” Gentle techniques, observation, expertise and continuous learning all feature in the way Noál manages this plant diversity.

“I love having contact with the earth, tending to my plants and sharing this passion with others”, enthuses Alfeo Zeni. And, indeed, this connection with the land and the region is reflected in the name Noál. It is a long-forgotten dialect word, once used in these parts to describe the area of land between farm and forest. “In other words, the spaces where, before, we used to play as children, and where today we grow our plants”, says Alfeo Zeni.