Rovereto, otherwise known as Bitcoin Valley, is one of the original Bitcoin circular economies, dating back almost ten years. I've come through here many times, and always had the pleasure of spending Bitcoin. The town is a picturesque medieval town that for centuries sat between the Republic of Venice and the German Empire. It's very easy to reach by train from Austria and Italy, but when flying in from afar you might have to either fly into Verona, Milan or Venice. When I first spent sats here in 2018 there were already dozens of stores accepting Bitcoin, although rising chain fees, uncertainty around Bitcoin's future, legal and tax obligations made that difficulty in practice. Some shops gave up on Bitcoin while others didn't see transactions for months at a time. Then covid hit. The team of InBitcoin, however, did not give up on the idea and revived the project in 2021, integrating the Lightning Network into their point of sale app, convinced merchants again and again, passed endless compliance hurdles and today still oversee one of the largest Bitcoin economies in the world.
Pretty much all merchants in Rovereto use the InBitcoin app to accept Bitcoin payments, which defaults to Lightning but can also handle onchain payments. Many shops give significant discounts, between 10% and 22% to whoever pays with Bitcoin. The sats go directly into the nodes and wallets of the merchants, which InBitcoin helps set up. That's partly a legal requirement, and by request. Only when merchants choose to convert their sales to Euro does InBitcoin process the payment and remit the fiat. BTCMap again helped me on this trip, but I found many listings out of date and had to remove some merchants myself. There is another map maintained by InBitcoin, which is somewhat more accurate for Rovereto itself, but out of date in the general region.
Wherever I went, merchants always knew what to do, the InBitcoin app was within reach and everything went smoothly. As the process of accepting Bitcoin is fairly standardized in the area I'm focusing less on the payment experience in my reviews than on what the various shops have to offer. There are a lot of them in the region, but I was mostly confined to the city itself.
🍦Gelateria Cherry serves wonderful classic gelato. I stopped here multiple times throughout my stay. 10% discount when paying with sats.
🍻Le Radici is a must-see bar in the city, serving cold drinks in a cozy courtyard in the old town with plenty of Bitcoin references. 22% discount.
🍕Pizzeria le Fucine has a comprehensive and typical Italian menu, including all your favorite paste and pizze. There are some Indian dishes on the menu too. A comfortable 15 minute walk from the old town along the river.
🥩Il Doge is famous well beyond the region for its excellent Venetian food. If you're ever crossing the alps over the Brenner pass, this is the place you will want to stop for. They have great seafood and steak dishes.
🍔River Bar Gelateria serves gelato all day, and sandwiches and burgers for lunch and dinner. It's located just a short walk outside the city center and is host to the regular Satoshi Spritz meetups typical to Italian towns. They have excellent cakes and the menu features many Bitcoin easter eggs. 10% discount.
🌟Stella d'Italia is a typical Italian cafe bar. Excellent choice for a quick espresso. 10% discount.
🙌Mane al Cielo is a classical bar. Come here for aperitivi or digestivi and stay until late at night. 5% discount.
💸Compra Euro is the heart of the local merchant community. You can buy and sell Euros here, buy hardware wallets, books and swag and get help setting up wallets of crash courses on information security. 10% discount.
😈Tentazioni is a pub nearby Compra Euro. A cozy place to stop by late at night or on a rainy day. 15% discount.
🐈Locanda del Gatto Gordo is not a cat cafe, but a restaurant serving a wide variety of mainly foreign foods. It's located in Trento, a larger city one train stop north of Rovereto.