Alto Adige

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Alpine meadows provide pasture for cattle (particularly dairy cows); Haflinger horses are prized both as working and as riding animals.

The Bolzano area has the greatest concentration of commerce and industry (Bolzano Trade Fair; metal-working, particularly iron, aluminum and magnesium; engineering, vehicle manufacture; chemicals; textiles, leather goods, woodworking, canning). Merano has chemical plants (artificial fertilizers, etc.). There are numerous smaller industrial and craft establishments in the Isarco valley (Bressanone), Val Pusteria (Brunico) and the Val Venosta.

One of the main pillars of the economy is now tourism, promoted by the incomparable beauty of the scenery, the excellent snow conditions in the high valleys in winter and the favorable climate. The region is well equipped for the tourist trade, with numerous funiculars, ski-lifts and other recreational facilities, a dense system of way-marked footpaths and routes for climbers, as well as ample accommodation for visitors, ranging from modestly priced rooms in private houses to first-class hotels offering every amenity.