Places
PLACES
Main Places of the event
Meduno
Meduno is one of the oldest centers of the mountainous area and the foothills. It dates back to prehistoric times. One of its oldest evidence is the Ciago stone, a large block of stone, called “Piéra da l’aga” (water stone), which was attributed to the pre-Roman times : perhaps the sacrificial altar of a Venetian or carnica population. The town has developed at the foot of the castle built in 1136 on the homonymous hill from the Meduno family, vassals of the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire of Germany. Later (between the eleventh and twelfth centuries) the benchmark became the parish church; and the development of the town took place lower down, near the temple. The fortifications, such as the churches and the houses of this village were always built of stone, according to a creative as well as technical working capacity, that has been exported all over the world by the people who emigrated abroad or in other Italian areas.
One of the most important examples of the construction of this part of Friuli is the ancient parish church, rebuilt in 1830 and restored after the damage caused by the earthquake that hit Friuli in 1976. The backbone of neoclassical style was recovered, and some precious works: the baptismal font (1495) by Giovanni Antonio Pilacorte, the altarpiece Madonna and Child, the eighteenth-century Venetian Gian Battista Piazzetta, and other minor works have been saved. Significant historical churches of San Pellegrino, in Navarons, and St. Martin’s Castle, dedicated to the fallen of all wars. Another landmark in the history of Meduno is Colossis villa (XVI-XVIII), home of the homonymous family, prior ownership of the diocese of Concordia. The building is used as the seat of the municipal offices and the mountain community. Most likely it is the result of the transformation of the castle (XI-XII), of which no trace remains. Significant expression of Meduno’s history is also the Museum of the Risorgimento, in the hamlet of Navarons, dedicated to the audacious Risorgimento motions of 1864, of which doctor Antonio Andreuzzi was the protagonist, along with his son Silvio and other patriots who paid their ideal of freedom and independence, in a territory which belonged to the Austro-Hungarian empire. One of the leading cultural protagonists of local history is the poet and writer Novella Aurora CANTARUTTI, author of many works in the Navarons Friulian dialect. A trend fueled by new authors, such as Ida Vallerugo, poet recognized at national level.
You can admire the wonderful nature trails between Val Meduna, Valle del Muiè towards Val Còlvera to reach the small Forchia Meduno (657 m), from here the road continues to Campone of Tramonti and Malga Valinis in the Friulian Dolomites Park, from where you gain the summit of Mount Valinis, am 1102, with spectacular views.
Meduno’s square
A panoramic view of Meduno
Travesio
The first document that recalls Travesio dates back to 1174. The name probably dates from the Latin “intra vias”, a clear reference to the Roman road, located in several places, that came from Sacile and crossed the Tagliamento to the height of Ragogna and then reached Gemona . From medieval documents, Travesio turns out to be a small village important for trade with the valleys which heads: the Val Cosa and Val Tramontina. There were several shops of grain, four mills and a dozen weavers. The Travesio territory was huge, extending from the Meduna to the Tagliamento rivers and south to Richinvelda and even Spilimbergo fell under its jurisdiction. The Travesio church, dedicated to St. Peter, is located at the far end of the main town on the site of an ancient fort, on a natural mound.
The embellishment of the church was due to the stonemason Giovanni Antonio Pilacorte who built, in 1484 the portal of the sacristy and in the first decades of the sixteenth century the two side portals of the facade. The painter Giovanni Antonio de Sacchis called “il Pordenone” admirably frescoed the vault and then the walls behind the main altar in 1516.
Pilacorte also made the baptismal font in 1485, located near the entrance. In the area we can also find the church of Our Lady of Cosa also called “Madonna del Latte in the location of “Zancan” with its marvelous portal work of Pilacorte in 1505 which represents a series of eighteen putti and then the church of St. Thomas Apostle in Usago with its valuable altarpiece by Pomponio Amalteo dated 1533.
In Toppo are also the ruins of the castle built between the late twelfth and early thirteenth century and the holiday home of the Earls Toppo Wasserman built in the sixteenth century and now perfectly restored and often used as a venue for interesting thematic exhibitions. Among the most charming views are the “Puntic” and the hill of San Giorgio.
The “Puntic” is a small stone bridge that crosses the river in the village of Molevana and is considered the oldest of Travesio. Near the main square there is St. George’s hill on top of which stands the alpine church that preserves the memory of the fallen of war. From the top of the hill, easily reached by a staircase, you can enjoy a splendid view.
In past centuries, the excellence of the mountain pastures and the care in livestock breeding created the famous “Montasio cheese” made in Travesio’s dairies.
The tradition has continued to this day, so much so that the Montasio cheese is one of the specialties of the place. As in all of Friuli, also Travesio has experienced an intense emigration at the end of the last century onwards, especially in France, Australia and Latin America.