Carnia

Carnia has many unexpected surprises in store in its deep valleys (Val Degano, Val Pesarina, Val Tagliamento, Valle del Luniei, Valle del But, Valcalda, Canale d'Incarojo, which come together in the wide basin of Tolmezzo), its luxuriant forests and high peaks. It is one of the best preserved areas in the Alps, and has managed to develop in harmony with nature, without damaging the environment or losing its customs and traditions, which are the deeply rooted cultural heritage of the mountain people. Here tourism has a human dimension, without excess or overcrowding, but offering excellent services.

Whatever the season, a holiday in Carnia means nature, sports, amusements, but also peace and quiet, as well as a tasty local cuisine. Art and history are not lacking, either, because there are museums, parish churches, other churches and important archeological sites such as Zuglio and perfectly preserved ancient settlements, with their typical constructions in stone and wood. It is also pleasant to visit the lovely Alpine lakes, the numerous waterfalls and the various streams that flow down out of the mountains. Then, throughout the year, the villages still offer their authentic folk festivals, held in accordance with centuries-old traditions.

With its thick woods, herbs and flowers, Carnia is one of the most important botanical areas in Europe. It is also a refuge for animals such as the chamois, badgers, marmots, roe deer, eagles, the eagle-owl, the wood grouse, pheasants ad partridges.

Its mountains are stupendous; among them, Coglians (2,781 m) stands out, as being the highest in the Region. The pre-Alps and Carnic Alps - a natural continuation of the Dolomites of the Veneto region - contain many paths and railways that lead to high-altitude shelters; they are ideal for hikes and mountain-climbing.

Also the cross-country skiing tracks of Carnia are pleasant; they range from the rings for all tastes and abilities located at Sauris, Prato Carnico, Ampezzo, Lauco, Forni di Sopra, Forni di Sotto, Sutrio, Sella Chianzutan (Verzegnis) to the one laid out at the Paluzza lakes, used also by the former world and Olympic champion Manuela Di Centa, who comes from these parts.
For those who love downhill skiing, the main winter resorts in Carnia are Forni di Sopra, Ravascletto, Sauris e Pradibosco ( Prato Carnico). From Forni di Sopra a chairlift goes up to Cima Crusicalas, from where one has a magnificent view and can begin the descent of Varmost, which winds down for 12 km among the woods. At Ravascletto one can ski at an altitude of 1,990 m on the Zoncolan, where there is also a slalom track with automatic timing. Moreover, at Forni Avoltri there is the headquarters of the International Biathlon Centre and for skiers who prefer to go off the beaten track there are many itineraries leading to high-altitude shelters.

Tolmezzo is the capital of Carnia. In the Middle Ages it was a fortified village with a castle on a hill (of which a few ruins remain); in 1258 it obtained from the patriarch Gregory of Montelongo the licence to hold a market. Signs of Tolmezzo’s importance in the past can be seen
in its buildings, churches, squares, porticoed streets in the historic centre, the Borgàt, the oldest urban area, and Piazza XX Settembre, with its 18th-century cathedral and town hall. At Tolmezzo the Carnic Museum of Folk Arts "Michele Gortani" has one of the most complete ethnographic collections in Europe and recreates the life and traditions in Carnia from the 14th to the 19th century, reconstructing household and working environments with objects, furnishings and clothing.

To get back into perfect physical shape, Arta Terme makes it possible to pass restorative "fitness holidays" in the midst of nature (though only
442 metres above sea level, this locality is characterized by the vegetation of high mountain areas). The beneficial effects of the Pudia spring, which supplies water to the thermal baths, were known even to the Romans, who founded Iulium Carnicum, modern Zuglio, in the vicinity. Even Giosuè Carducci came here for the thermal baths, and it was on his return from Arta that he wrote Il comune rustico. The waters of Arta are ideal for treating affections of the respiratory tract, diseases of the liver and skin, arthritis and arthrosis, and they are also very effective at putting athletes back in their best shape. Besides traditional treatments, the resort also has functioning modern divisions for beauty improvement, preventive medicine and fitness. Arta also offers a typical local cuisine, sporting activites and hiking paths following itineraries of natural beauty and historical-artistic interest.

Zuglio, founded a few decades before the birth of Christ, was first a vicus, then a municipium and then a colonia under the Romans. It took on ever-increasing importance because of its strategic position, which enabled it to control the road called Iulia Augusta in the direction of the forbidding Monte Croce Carnico pass which led to the Norico regions. The excavations at Zuglio have brought to light the remains of the Roman forum, of a basilica, a temple and baths. Many prehistoric, pre-Roman, Roman and late medieval finds have been placed in the Iulium Carnicum Archeological Museum. On the hill overlooking Zuglio, which in the early centuries of the Christian era was also a bishopric, there is the Parish Church of Saint Peter, the most ancient one in Carnia (mentioned in a general way in the years after 808).

Today we see it in the Gothic-style lines of the 14th-century remodelling. Besides being located in a place with a wonderful view, the church also houses some interesting art works: the frescos, the baptistery and above all the high altar carved by Domenico da Tolmezzo. The little Church of the Madonna (Santa Maria del Monte) is nearby; it dates from the 14th century, but was later enlarged. The famous painter Nicola Grassi (1682-1748) was born in Zuglio; some paintings of his are preserved in the churches of Sezza and Fielis.

Forni di Sopra, dominated by the splendid peaks of the eastern Dolomites, has a very special geographical and climatic situation: its winters are always well provided with snow and in the summer its climate and flora are those of the high mountains. Its flowers and herbs - whose therapeutic and culinary properties were exploited even at the time of Venetian domination - are used to create a very tasty cuisine, which is put on display during the Spring Herb Festival that traditionally opens the summer tourist season. Forni has a typical historic centre and many sports facilities. Moreover, as a holiday resort, it is particularly appropriate for families with children, for whom a path has been especially equipped. At Cella of Forni di Sopra, the little church of San Floriano, housing a fine painting by Andrrea Bellunello of 1480 and one of the most famous cycles of frescos by Gianfrancesco da Tolmezzo (dating from the 16th century), is considerably important. Other remarkable paintings by this artist can be seen in the churches of San Lorenzo at Forni di Sotto, and San Martino at Socchieve, the birthplace of Gianfrancesco, where it is worthwhile making a visit to the parish church of Santa Maria di Castoia, standing on the hill where in olden days there was a fort.

Forni Avoltri is ideal for those who like climbing up high mountains, hiking to the shelters, Alpine sports, and - in the winter - cross-country skiing and biathlon, which can be practiced in its environs, dominated by Mount Coglians and the highest peaks of the Carnic Alps.

Ravascletto is the centre of Valcalda, one of the loveliest areas of Carnia. An ancient town with characteristic stone houses, it is known for its nearby ski installations and for the very high level of its restaurants. The cuisine they offer is the traditional one of Carnia - simple and genuine, but very tasty - refined and renewed with gusto and imagination. At Ravascletto, the search for tradition is not found only in the food or during the Festival called Fiesta tas corts, Savors di una volta (held on the third Sunday in August), but also in a series of fine and unusual initiatives such as the History of Skiing and the Summer Solstice Festival. For hiking, the Panoramic Pathway, which is partly asphalted, leading from Ravascletto to Tualis (Comeglians) and then turning around Mount Crostis (2,251 m), is particularly to be recommended.

Various buildings of the nearby town of Sutrio are also noteworthy; in their courtyards important exhibitions of art works made of wood are held.
Surrounded by a circle of mountains that have isolated it for centuries, Sauris (Zahre, in the old local spoken idiom of ancient Germanic origin) is the highest-altitude town in Friuli-Venezia Giulia (1000-1400 m) and one of the most fascinating places in the mountains of Friuli. Here it is not just the typical stone and wood houses (the stavoli or summer stables) that have been kept intact, but also the language, the traditions, and above all the food (whose best known products are smoked ham, speck and ricotta). Sauris also safeguards and celebrates its past through the activity of the Ethnographic Museum and the revival of ancient traditions, such as Carnival or the World of the Malghe (Alpine summer pastures). Aside from skiing, Sauris is a perfect place for horseback riding, mountain biking and mountain climbing, as well as windsurf and canoeing, which can be practiced on the pleasant artificial lake at the entrance to the valley.

The main urban centre in the wide, charming Valle d'Incarojo is Paularo, with its many historic buildings of great value: the scenic Calice-Screm Palace of 1591, the 18th-century Mocenigo-Linussio-Fabiani Palace, as well as the Calice di Villafuori Palace, built over a medieval fort. At Paularo the parish church is built on a panoramic little hilltop; also the church in Dierico is worth a visit, on account of two 16th-century works, the wooden altar and cycle of frescos; the very charming Salino waterfall is also worth seeing.

At Paluzza the church of Santa Maria has a 16th-century wooden altar with nine statues; in the area there is also the Moscarda tower, the remains of a medieval castle; in Timau, the village just before the border crossing of Monte Croce Carnico, the battles of the First World War are remembered by the ossarium and the museum dedicated to Carnia in the Great War (excursions to the trenches dug into the surrounding mountains are also possible).
Not far away, at an altitude of 1300 metres, there is the castle of Valdajer (Ligosullo), already extant in the 15th century and rebuilt after being destroyed in the First World War.

Some other places in Carnia are also interesting. At Invillino (Villa Santina) recent excavations have brought to light the remains (dating to the 4th and 5th centuries A.D.) of a paleo-Christian basilica with a floor mosaic. At Ampezzo, besides the precious paintings in the parish church made in the 18th century by the famous painter Nicola Grassi, the Museum of Paleontology of Carnia is also worth seeing. At Ovaro, the parish church of Santa Maria di Gorto, rebuilt in 1431, contains part of the ancient castle; in this area, interesting frescos are also to be found in the churches of San Vigilio at Ovaro, S. Pellegrino at Entrampo and S. Caterina at Luint, and an important building is the Micoli-Toscano palace at Mione. Val Pesarina, is notable, aside from its beautiful landscape, for the rustic architecture of its churches and the houses of the entire village of Prato Carnico, especially those of Osais and Pesariis. At Treppo Carnico, in the De Cillia Art Museum, works by the major Friulian artists of the 20th century are exhibited. At Lauco there is an archeological area and, on the mountain, at Trava the picturesque sanctuary of the Madonna is located; it was renowned in the past.