MART (Museo d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea di Trento e Rovereto) is one of Italy's most important contemporary art museums, housed in a Mario Botta-designed building (2002) with a glass-domed piazza, a permanent collection spanning Futurism to Arte Povera, and temporary exhibitions that draw from international collections. The Campana dei Caduti (Bell of the Fallen, "Maria Dolens") — the largest ringing bell in the world (22 tons), cast from bronze cannons of the nations that fought WWI — tolls every evening at sunset for the war dead of all nations. The Sacrario di Castel Dante (WWI ossuary) on the hill above town holds the remains of 20,000 soldiers. Rovereto is also the hometown of Fortunato Depero — the Futurist artist whose museum (Casa d'Arte Futurista Depero, the only museum designed by a Futurist) is a hidden gem of 20th-century Italian art. Trentino →
Plan my Trentino trip →MART (Mario Botta, 2002): The building — a 40m glass-and-steel dome over a circular piazza. The collection: Italian 20th-century art (Futurism, de Chirico, Morandi, Fontana, Burri, Arte Povera), plus major temporary exhibitions. €11. Casa d'Arte Futurista Depero: Fortunato Depero designed the museum himself — tapestries, advertising art, furniture, paintings. The building IS the art. €7 (or €15 MART + Depero combo). Campana dei Caduti (Colle di Miravalle): The bell tolls at sunset — 100 strokes. The sound carries across the valley. Free to visit the site. Sacrario di Castel Dante: The WWI ossuary — 20,000 soldiers (Italian and Austro-Hungarian) in a castle above town. Free. The view from the terrace over the Adige valley is panoramic. The old town: Via della Terra (the medieval main street), Palazzo Pretorio (now Museo Civico), and the silk-making tradition (Rovereto was a silk center — the Filanda is a former silk mill now cultural space).
Getting there: Rovereto station (Brennero-Verona line, 20min from Trento, 1h from Verona). Stay: €50-90/night. Eat: Novecento (€30-40 — creative trentino), Osteria del Pettirosso (€25-35). Combine with: Trento (20min), Lake Garda/Riva (30min), Bolzano (1h), Dolomites (1h).