Civetta - Alleghe - Zoldo - Selva of Cadore

CIVETTA

The Civetta skiing area includes a fantastic landscape among small romantic villages and impressive mountains, marvellous valleys and quiet woods for beautiful summer walks on foot or adventurous treks on bikes. In winter the slopes connect the three valleys surrounding the Ski

Civetta in an exciting roundabout of downhill slopes followed by landscapes which leave the

spectator breathless and they are always completely covered with snow, thus satisfying those who are fond of steep slopes or those who prefer skiing in safely. Moreover the Civetta offers some marvellous lit downhill as well ascross-country ski slopes too. To sum up, 46 slopes are at the disposal of skiers, of which four difficult, eighteen of medium difficulty and twenty-four easy for a total of 82 kilometres of slopes, most of them covered with artificial snow and placed between 1000 and 2050 metres of altitude. The ascent is granted by means of 26 ski stations, of which three cabin-lifts with automatic holdfasting service, six chair-lifts and seventeen ski-lifts.

Alleghe, Selva di Cadore, Zoldo and Palafavera are the main places of this area, linked together by

ancient traditions and customs. The hotels are pleasant and run by families, endowed with the necessary comforts in order to spend an unforgettable holiday. The excellent localgastronomy, rich in typical dishes, is plunged into a homely atmosphere. The Civetta group is an extremely interesting skiing area of the Veneto.

 

ALLEGHE

Already in the thirteenth century there was a peopled mountain community, so that it was necessary to build a chapel for the religious ceremonies of the whole area. The urban centre of Alleghe, before the formation of the lake, was made of a group of villages placed on the valley bottom and on the side slopes of torrent Cordevole. On the 11th January 1771 an enormous landslide fall down from MountSpitz burying the whole valley bottom. Thus the slid mountain formed a natural dike from which derived the lake of Alleghe.

Since the last century, along the shores of the lake, the first hotels were built, in connection with the history of a glorious sport: the mountain climbing. The mountains standing out against the sky attracted many walkers with their hemp ropes of the time, who went and conquered the virgin summits of Civetta, Pelmo, Marmolada.

ZOLDO

Zoldo area was well-known since the thirteenth century as an important mining centre. Zoldo Alto which is still nowadays a famous summer and winter holiday resort placed on the high homonymous valley, is composed of nine villages such as Brusadaz, Coi, Costa, Fusine (1177 m), Iral, Mareson, Palavera, Pecol (1338 m) and Pianaz. These small villages are placed on both sides of torrent Maé and are surrounded by the stately summits of Civetta. The ski stations of the valley area, divided into the two centres of Pecol and Palafavera, are linked to those of Alleghe and Selva di Cadore. The people fond of cross-country ski have got two slopes at their disposal: Marenson and Palafavera, which are respectively three and five kilometres long.

In summer the valley turns into a fascinating destination for walkers at a high altitude, on the Pelmo, the Civetta or the Moiazza group. Among the various possible destinations, the ascent on foot of the Pelmetto, allows you to see the steps of dinosaurs, such as some tracks of prehistoric animals dating back to 250 million of years ago. Another important evidence of the prehistoric era is represented by the remains of the Man of Mondeval, dating back to the Mesolitic period and now collected at the CivicMuseum in Selva di Cadore.

 

SELVA DI CADORE AND FIORENTINA VALLEY

At about 1000 Fiorentina valley belonged to the members of the rule of S. Vito, who created the first units of those which nowadays are the villages of Selva, to which Francesco Barbarossa, the emperor of the Sacred Roman Empire, gave the mines as a feud. Iron was worked in Selva and in Caprile, from where it reached the area of Belluno for the creation of swords and knives, Forno di Zoldo where it was transformed into jugs and nails, or the Boite valley. Life went on in an industrious and peaceful way among forges, charcoal pits, meadows and pastures, but the Fifteenth century, with the arrival of Sigismondo and the league of Cambrai, marked the beginning of a bad period for the Cadore area. Even if there was a recovery with the introduction of new technologies into the furnaces, the decay had, by then, started and ended with the fall the Republic of Venice in 1797. Since then agriculture had a central role for the economy of the Cadore, even if also famines were not missing. The closing of the mines caused a significant phenomenon of emigration.

The crucial change for the economy of the country took place at the end of 1970 when a chair-lift and some ski-lifts began to work, new hotels were opened and tourism became the main source of gain – the job of ski instructor became important too.

The FiorentinaValley was visited since ancient times: an evidence of this is represented by the discovery of the skeleton of the Man of Mondeval, dating back to the late Mesolithic period (7300 years ago). Some other findings date back to the late Neolithic and the Eneolithic (end of the fourth millennium b.C. – third millennium b.C.). During all year the valley represents a natural paradise for sport and relax: small lakes at a high altitude where you can relax; a wide range of walks, mountain-bikes routes along the roads andpaths across the woods; treks and well-known and hazardous ascents. We cannot forget the cultural aspect of Selva di Cadore; as a matter of fact there is the opportunity of visiting the CivicMuseum ‘Vittorino Cazzetta’ which keeps the original skeleton of the Man of Mondeval and some other archaeological findings among which flint points and different vases. This museum is divided into three sections: the archaeological one collecting several archaeological findings, the historic one where you can admire some parchments among which some Roman boundary inscriptions dating back to the first century and the geopalaentological section where you can see the mould of forty square metres bearing different tracks of dinosaurs, derived by a stratum of the Pelmetto.

The Valley is also crossed by the Alta Via n.1, a famous Alpine route of Italian mountains: among marvellous landscapes one can spend some exciting days completely plunged into nature, just with one’s own rucksack, enjoying the homely hospitality of the mountains refuges.