Two European larch (Larix decidua Mill.) chronologies from Val Ventina (Central Alps) and Val Venegia (Eastern
Alps) in the Italian Alps are presented. They cover the periods 1229-1994 and 1586-1992. Both chronologies show high values for mean sensitivity, signal-to-noise ratio and variance of the first eigenvector, suggesting a dendroclimatic signal. However, the low correlation coefficient between the sites and the asynchronism of abrupt growth reductions indicate that the tree-ring widths are primarily influenced by local disturbances rather than by regional climate.