The
Vinschgau,
Vintschgau (German: [ˈfɪn(t)ʃɡaʊ]) or
Vinschgau Valley (Italian:
Val Venosta [ˈval veˈnɔsta]; Romansh:
Vnuost [ˈfnuɔ̯ʃt] ; Ladin:
Val Venuesta; medieval toponym:
Finsgowe) is the upper part of the Adige or Etsch river valley, in the western part of the province of
South Tyrol 
, Italy.
Etymology
The German name
Vinschgau, like Italian
Val Venosta, is derived from the Celtic (Rhaetian) Venostes tribes mentioned on the ancient Tropaeum Alpium. A Frankish
Gau was established under Charlemagne in 772; it was first mentioned in a 1077 deed, when King Henry IV of Germany granted the estates of
Schlanders
in pago Finsgowe to Bishop Altwin of Brixen.
Geography
The Vinschgau Valley runs in a west-east orientation, from the
Merano 
basin at
Partschins 
up the Adige river to
Reschen Pass 
in the northwest. The
Ötztal Alps 
in the north, part of the Alpine crest, separate it from the upper Inn Valley. The Adige valley is further confined by the
Sesvenna Alps 
in the west and the Ortler Alps in the south.