Making cheese and mending fences. Sensing when the rain is coming as you mow with a scythe. We’ve lost touch with many of the talents of our ancestors. But we don’t mourn the natural evolution that has shaped Runa through the ages. On the contrary! Every person who has lived and worked up here has left their mark and contributed to what our nature hotel has become today. Here’s how it all happened…
The Runa
From rotting tree trunks to a dream of blissful alpine living.
There are more flattering names out there. But Runa is Runa. No-one can change the fact that in the local dialect, ‘Runa’ refers to rotten, decaying tree stumps. The exact story of behind our house name has disappeared over time, like so much else in the many summers that have passed through this area. The alpine expanse of Rodengo-Luson has been inhabited since time immemorial, with people coming up here since the Mesolithic Age. The exact age of Runa remains a mystery, people up here had more important things to do than document their lives. All the more remarkable and wonderfully bizarre is the famous photograph of the Runa Alm residents from 1930. Back then, appearances could be deceiving. While life on the mountain pasture could be fun at times, the farmhands and milkmaids had little to amuse them apart from hard work. Perhaps the good old days were just a myth. Perhaps, in the end, it is the here and now that counts. But as proud as we are of today’s Runa, we Widmanns know that our nature hotel stands on the shoulders of giants.
The beginnings
Brave Genovefa sets sail and lays the foundation for our nature hotel in the alpine region of Rio Pusteria
She’s something like the heroine of our family saga, or at least a very courageous woman: the Unternofner. Her real name was Genovefa Volgger, she married a Widmann and in 1952, in a bold move of courage and determination, she saw an opportunity and seized it. She bought the sloping Runa Alm from the farmer Liner. And the surrounding 22 hectares as well. From then on, things took off. The old alpine hut buzzed with activity. In the 1960s, the Italian military stayed here from time to time, perhaps for a little holiday, too. The people from the other 79 mountain huts were wise to keep an eye on their pretty daughters, because many of them made eyes at the dashing soldiers.
A brave leap
How a cowshed became a dining room and about Alexander, who loves nothing more than to cook for you.
The following decade was a lively and eventful time. In 1978, the second generation took up the torch and opened a tavern. Klara and Hubert Widmann were, and still are, the people who have left their mark on our establishment. It all began with the conversion of the old stable into a public bar. One thing led to another and before they knew it, the Runa had become the toast of the entire Rio Pusteria Alpine region, even winning an award for it. Probably because it’s so beautiful up here. But perhaps also because the passion for hospitality runs deep in us Widmanns. And because Alex is such an excellent cook. In 2019 we took a bold step: the Roner Hut became the Runa Nature Hotel. Up front: Alexander. Always at his side: Hubert and Klara and the three siblings Manuela, Reinhold and Benedikt. We are very proud to share this special place with you, and when we see the smiles on the faces of our guests, we know that the sleepless nights, the aching muscles, the blisters on our fingers, all our hard work and love are truly appreciated by people like you. It’s clear that the Runa is the perfect place for you.
