In the heart of the Dolomites The Civetta District rises from the Veneto region with a large territory with an uncontaminated landscape full of suggestions; Alleghe, Zoldo, Selva di Cadore and Palafavera are the main localities of the District which is framed by the splendid panorama of the Dolomites, with the Monte Civetta and Pelmo, which can be considered the heart of the Dolomites themselves. From the end of the XNUMXth century, these mountains saw the arrival of many writers, poets and above all mountaineers and climbers, all enraptured by the spectacle of the reddened rock at dawn and dusk, fascinated by the intact nature of these valleys.
Monte Civetta then exercised a truly particular attraction above all for the majesty, the dizzying grandeur of its walls. At the beginning of the 900s, tourists – English explorers and then the famous mountaineers of the Bavarian school – successfully attempted to climb the walls of the Civetta. In August 1925 Emil Solleder and Gustav Lettembauer signed the first codification of the sixth degree in the history of world mountaineering.
But Monte Civetta not only inspired climbers, as we have said, many writers too, especially poets, were inspired by that wall. Giosuè Carducci, a summer frequenter of the places, wrote in 1866:
"I am here among the true Alps, at the foot of the Civetta, a mountain which, against its name, is grandiosely beautiful with perpetual snow and glaciers in its crests, and in the evening, when the sun is already low for our world, it still illuminates rosy fantastic light its spiers and pinnacles, and it, the mountain, looks like a great citadel of Titans, lit up for a party to receive the pacified Gods.” Another concrete and refined image of this mountain, unique in its kind, comes to us through the words of the illustrious mountaineer H. Kiene: «Owl, mountain of desire, mountain of dreams! Your name means in German the owl or even the sorceress, the beautiful and charming coy. You are both. With a little imagination, coming from Livinalongo, one can recognize in you that large bird with half-open wings nestled on the storybook of the Alpine world, which has been taken as a symbol of wisdom and knowledge.» But for many – we add – she also represents that seductive coquette who, indifferent and disdainful, contemplates her beauty in the blue mirror of Lake Alleghe, and quietly seeks daring adorers to overcome the whims of her inaccessibility for the many perilous ways that lead to the superb heights of its summit.
Civetta and Pelmo, therefore, giants of the Dolomites at the center of one of the best-known environments in the world; surrounded by the Sella Group, the Pale di S. Martino, the Tofane, the mountains that frame Cortina d'Ampezzo and the Marmolada, they have seen a particularly beautiful ski area rise on their slopes!
Ski Civetta has in fact become the largest ski area in the Veneto located between the Marmolada and Cortina D'Ampezzo which connects the ski resorts of Alleghe, Zoldo, Selva di Cadore and Palafavera.
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Alleghe
At the northern end of the Veneto region, in the narrow Agordina valley, a few kilometers south of the Marmolada, lies the town of Alleghe (974 m.), closed to the east by the overhanging Civetta massif which separates it from the municipality of Zoldo Alto, while west is soothed by the calm waters of the Alleghe lake of the same name. The first historical memory of Alleghe dates back to a Bull of Pope Lucius III dated 1185, which confirms the territorial dominion of the Bishop of Belluno (then, as now, the capital of the province) over the Alleghe chapel. From this we can deduce that a large mountain community already existed in the XNUMXth century, so much so that a chapel was needed for religious functions in the whole area. This document would also support the hypotheses of local historians, according to which the first inhabitants of these places would have been refugees from the North pressed by the barbarian invasions. The inhabited center of Alleghe, before the formation of the lake, was made up of a group of villages located on the valley floor and on the lateral slopes of the Cordevole torrent.
«On January 11, 1771, an enormous landslide fell from Mount Spitz, burying the entire valley floor. Darkness had fallen for hours when the mountain moved. A few tens of seconds separated the start of the landslide from the impact on the valley floor; the inhabitants of Riete, Marin and Fusine only had time to perceive the shaking of the ground before realizing that death was descending rapidly towards their homes. When the mountains around no longer sent back the echo of the noise produced, everything was already accomplished: a mantle of white dust expanded over the pregnant silence of the valley, broken here and there only by the rolling of the last settlements.
This is how a nocturnal tragedy of more than 200 years ago is described, from which the lake of Alleghe was born. The colossal dam of debris formed stopped the lower influx of water from the stream, which rose, until, surmounting the ruins themselves, it was able to resume its course again. Over the years, Alleghe, taking advantage of the potential that the mountains offer in the field of winter sports, has experienced a new tourist season which today places it among the best known, appreciated and frequented resorts by enthusiasts. A six-seater gondola lift takes you from Alleghe to Piani di Pezzè from which all the lifts and slopes of this part of the Civetta Ski District depart.
Modern ski lifts and a state-of-the-art programmed snow system allow you to ski in complete tranquility from December to April. The slopes are suitable for all types of skiers; the snow kindergarten allows parents and children to fully enjoy the snow and the sun and those wishing to learn will find at their disposal two ski schools with a professional and organized body of instructors for both private and group lessons or for those wishing to experiment new disciplines such as carving, telemark and snowboarding.
Zoldo – Palafavera
Located on the opposite side of the District from Alleghe, Zoldo con Palafavera constitutes an important part from which Ski Civetta developed.
The birth of the Zoldana population still has uncertain origins today; its first mention in history dates back to the end of 1100 in a papal bull which assigns the Pieve di S. Floriano “et distrectu ipsius Zaoldi” to the Bishop of Belluno. Historians assert that the valley was occupied by a Nordic population, in their extension on this side of the Alps. It is however certain that the first settlements occurred through the northern passes for the use of pastures and, subsequently, for the exploitation of iron and lead mines.
Mines, waters and woods belong to the Bishop of Belluno and then pass in 1400 under the dominion of the Venetian Republic, represented in Zoldo by a Captain, elected every year among the Belluno nobles and installed in the "Palazzo del Capitanato", still existing and in via of adaptation for the realization of the "Nail Museum", one of a kind.
The working of iron, in fact, partly extracted in the Zoldane mines, partly brought from nearby deposits beyond the Staulanza pass, was mainly characterized by the production of nails. Nails of various shapes, for various uses, from tacks for footwear, to different sizes for furniture and construction, from the characteristic types for boats, to the enormous nails for fixing the trunks on the banks, they came out of the valley and continued on the rafts along the Piave directed towards the plain of Venice.
Since 1500, the emblem of the area has in fact been made up of the anvil and the hammer, symbolic references to the working of iron which was extended and specialized also in the manufacture and export of tools indispensable for other activities in the mountains and in the countryside, such as hoes, spades, axes, axes and other tools for woodland and agricultural work.
This activity was the main and not rich source of income for the Zoldani from 1200 until the end of the 1800s, when the products of the "Zoldana Industrial Society", which gave work to about 500 workers employed in 35 workshops, distinguished themselves in the National Exhibitions of Turin and Milan.
In the meantime, continuing working relationships with the Republic of Venice, many Zoldani found employment there and distinguished themselves as "master shipwrights" in the "squesi" (shipyards) as builders and suppliers of common and luxury gondolas and boats of every shape.
From a registry office from the second half of the 700th century, it appears that over half of the workers employed in these jobs in the Venetian shipyards came from Belluno and, in particular, from Zoldo.
Towards the end of the last century, the economy of the valley, therefore made up of iron working and the production of the indispensable coal, suffered an inevitable collapse: two disastrous floods (1882 and 1890) destroyed the workshops located along the watercourses and it was the beginning of industrial production which offered nails made with machines at competitive prices. The "Industrial Society" went bankrupt and the sad period of immigration began: Zoldo was depopulated! Whole families, having sold their possessions, left the Valley for an emigration without return with destinations in the United States, Argentina, Brazil.
Entrusted to the women and boys the cultivation of the fields and the breeding of the livestock, Zoldani woodcutters, masons and carpenters reached the France, Romania, theAustria, Germany. Itinerant sellers of cooked pears and sweets spread throughout the winter months in the cities of northern Italy. With admirable inventiveness and unpredictability, the first ice cream parlors were opened in Vienna, Budapest and Prussia. But it was in the period between the two wars that the initiative and organizational ability of the Zoldani, already manifested in all the circumstances of their history, revealed itself with the opening of ice cream parlors in the main cities and towns of northern Italy, Austria, Belgium , Spain and especially in Germany.
Emigration, directed almost exclusively towards German-speaking countries, experienced its greatest expansion, which is still going on with interesting benefits for the economy of the entire valley and gave life, under the impulse of some enterprising entrepreneurs, to what is currently the tourism industry.
The happy intuition of a first group of emigrants to enhance Zoldo with the construction of the first ski lifts in 1963 and adequate hotel facilities. Over the years there has been a continuous development of plant engineering and accommodation in the area with cutting-edge systems in both sectors, which have led the Zoldo Valley with Palafavera to be one of the most popular and popular winter resorts in the whole dolomitic area.
Palafavera, a few kilometers from the main town of Zoldo, Pecol di Zoldo, plays a very important role for the District: in fact, the connection that allows the towns of Zoldo, Alleghe with Selva di Cadore to offer 80 km of slopes. Worth noting for the small town of Palafavera is the 2000 slope, one of the most exciting and spectacular in the entire ski area.
One of the main features of Zoldo concerns night skiing. There are 5 km of illuminated slopes for skiing even at night, for all those who are never satisfied with skiing, the 12-seater gondola lift supports the 4 floodlit slopes for endless fun.
Selva di Cadore
In prehistoric times this area was entirely covered by a dense forest that reached altitudes well above the current ones and there was no trace of the clearings where the inhabited centers now stand, surrounded by grazing meadows and cultivated fields. These immense forests crossed by numerous streams (Fiorentina, Codalonga, Cordon, Loschiesuoi…) loaded with water from the nearby glaciers, supplied some adventurous hunters with game, mostly passing through.
As evidenced by the Neolithic/Eneolithic site of Mandriz, pastoralism already existed before the end of the first millennium BC, but it was starting from this period that the valley began to be populated progressively. Hunters and shepherds with their flocks began to frequent the pastures in the areas of Passo Giau, in Possesedera and Fertazza, in Staulanza, Forada and Forcella Roan.
From the 1558th century to the agro-forestry-pastoral activities were added the artisanal and industrial iron mining activities. This led to considerable immigration and the start of new businesses such as charcoal burners or blacksmiths, for which even a foundry was functioning. Over the decades, the activities related to the extraction of minerals from the earth became more and more consistent. The iron deposits were located in the area of Colle S. Lucia, to the north-west, an area where the castle of Andraz was located, whose feudal lord the Bishop of Bressanone was the owner of the mines. Near the castle there were some ovens in which the minerals were then processed; other ovens existed in the valleys of Agordo and Zoldo. In XNUMX Cardinal Madruzo had a new road built to connect the mines to the ovens in Val Badia through the Valparola Pass, a road which became an important trade route between Tyrol and the Serenissima.
With the cessation of mining activities which took place about a couple of centuries ago, there was a considerable economic impoverishment which caused a strong emigration. Despite this, the agro-forestry-pastoral activities provided the sustenance necessary for the survival of these villages.
Starting from the 60s of the last century, slowly but progressively, in conjunction with the tourist flows linked to skiing and hiking, the valley began to flourish again.
Today the Val Fiorentina, open and welcoming to tourists, preserves its rich traditions and its millenary culture, of which it is proud.
Selva di Cadore is one of the main tourist resorts in Val Fiorentina. Even from Selva di Cadore you can "attack" the Civetta Ski District, for example with the slope that from Cima Fertazza descends to Pescul, a charming and ancient village of Selva.
From Pescul, therefore, with the four-seater chairlift with automatic coupling, you can reach the top in a few minutes and from here, as for the other places, you connect to the rest of the District. In addition to downhill skiing, Selva di Cadore offers beautiful rings for cross-country skiing, where international competitions are also held. Enthusiasts will be able to enjoy wonderful routes immersed in a fairytale landscape.
1 Popular Comments
Varied area, with well-maintained slopes (including night skiing) and spectacular landscapes; from here it is possible to tackle the Great War Tour in 1 or 2 days (recommended). Excellent huts with a wide choice for refreshment, mass skiing does not exist here, with the exception of a few days a year there are no queues at the lifts. The only flaw is that the tourist facilities in the valley, with the exception of a few, are not very good. If an area like this were in Alto Adige it would certainly be the top, better than San Candido, Sesto in Pusteria and many others.