The Valcanale valley is one of the most culturally diversified areas in the whole of Italy, a place of passage for millennia, known for its unique and particularly unspoilt environment. The city of Tarvisio, its main centre, is surrounded by the country’s largest forest. It offers pleasant walks, abundant leisure activities, and the inspiration of its art and culture. Towering above everything is Monte Lussari, the source of spectacular views and the site of an important sanctuary that is touched by history and legend. It was erected in the 14th Century on a spot where, according to tradition, a shepherd from Camporosso discovered a wooden statue of the Madonna and Child. From then on it was visited annually by large numbers of pilgrims.
There are also the many alpine refuges (of which one of the most scenically sited is the Grego, erected in 1926 in memory of Attilio Grego, a Julian hero of the First World War), the lakes, reflecting images of the surrounding peaks and offering stirring and spellbinding views, and a largely untouched environment that shelters chamois and roe deer, with plant life that has been undisturbed for centuries. Nor should we forget the Orrido of the Slizza, a deep canyon carved by the Slizza river into the mountains surrounding Tarvisio.
As noted, this area thrives in a multi-ethnic culture founded on respect and goodwill between Italians, Austrians and Slovenes. Tangible evidence of the centuries-long history of the Valcanale is apparent in the dwellings and 15th Century Venetian Palace of Malborghetto (now the home of an ethnographic museum, a library an exhibition area) and in the Museum of the Forest.
Pontebba is one of the places where "mixed" culture, Venetian and Carinthian, is most evident; the parish church contains a Flugelalter (a panelled wooden altar) that is considered to be one of the finest examples of the wood carving art that flourished in Carinthia in the 16th Century. But there is more to Pontebba than history and culture. A journey of a few moments takes you to the Val Aupa and the hamlets of Studena and Pramollo, enchanting places where there are always new and fascinating sights to enjoy.
