Oltradige folklore costume

The Oltradige, that’s to say the geographical area west of the Adige river including Appiano and Caldaro, has its own traditional costume, simply called “Tracht” in South Tyrolean dialect. Such as in the entire Alpine area, still today it is highly appreciated and the first-choice robe on feast days, for private festivities and on other occasions. Also associations such as the traditional Schützen and the village bands wear it at each of their performances and contribute in this way to keep the traditions alive in South Tyrol. The Caldaro and the Termeno costume are similar in appearance - the male costume of Termeno, for instance, represents the yellow colour instead of the red one.

The traditional costume of women in the Oltradige area is made up of a long black, pleated skirt over which women wear a cotton apron. The mentioned skirt is stitched together with a lushly decorated rose and green top. Underneath it, women wear a beautiful white linen blouse with mighty lace at the collar and the sleeves. A black jacket, called “Tschoapele” in South Tyrolean dialect, completes the outfit and allows to wear it all year round. Also the hat must not be missing: As with men, it is flat, black and expanding.

Men, however, normally wear the historic costume that is made up of a white shirt, a green and red vest as well as dark green braces, called “Heber”. Furthermore the male costume consists of short light brown leather trousers, the “Lederhosen”, with white long knee socks, the “Stutzen”, as well as black shoes. The main characteristic of the costume, however, is the broad leather belt decorated with precious quill embroidery using peacock tail feathers. Often the name of the association and the founding year are also written on the belt, which is called “Fatschn” in dialect.