The Dragon of Lavarone - The Vaia Dragon

From the trees destroyed by Vaia, Europe's largest wooden dragon in Lavarone

Venetian sculptor Marco Martalar's work to enhance the trees destroyed by Vaia will be completed in November 2021. (Storm Vaia was an extreme weather event that occurred between 26 and 30 October 2018 and brought down millions of trees).

The dragon, 6 m high and 7 m long, made up of 2,000 shrubs and about 3,000 vines, is located in the village of Magrè (Lavarone) in an atmospheric and ideal place to admire the sunset, at the end of one of our many excursion proposals.

The initiative has its roots in the projects of the Avez del Prinzep committee, the tallest silver fir in Europe, which died in Lavarone in November 2017. "The idea was initially to bring the historic tree back to life," explains Martalar, "and now we are focusing on creating an artistic path that tells of coexistence with nature.

The route, called "Lavarone green land", sees in the dragon created by the Venetian sculptor the beginning of a path that aims to promote "slow" and environmentally friendly tourism in contact with nature.

The Vaia Dragon: a Symbol Reborn from the Ashes

The Vaia Dragon, an imposing wooden sculpture, is much more than a work of art: it is a symbol of resilience and the rebirth of nature and communities. Located in Lavarone, Trentino, Italy, the dragon was made using wood from trees felled during the 2018 Vaia storm, a catastrophic event that devastated millions of hectares of Alpine forests.

Designed by Veneto artist Marco Martalar, the Vaia Dragon had become an iconic attraction and a symbol of rebirth for the region, recalling the importance of nature and the human capacity to transform destruction into beauty. The 6-metre-long and 4-metre-high sculpture was constructed from intertwined branches, roots and trunks, carrying with it the essence of the storm-affected forests.

However, in August 2023, the Vaia Dragon was tragically destroyed by arson, causing grief and indignation among the local community and many visitors who had come to love it. This act of vandalism not only destroyed a work of art, but also affected a symbol of hope.

Faced with this loss, the decision was quickly made to rebuild the Dragon. The new Vaia Dragon, completed in 2024, was rebuilt by Martalar himself, this time with an even more majestic design. The decision to recreate it was not just an artistic gesture, but a strong message of resilience and community: just as the forests devastated by the storm are slowly growing back, so too is the Dragon coming back to life, representing the courage to start again after hardship.

Today, the Vaia Dragon continues to tell its story to anyone who visits it, reminding them that, even from the ashes, a better future can be built.

It only remains to invite you to Lavarone to discover nature in all its seasons and colours.

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