A ROAD TRIP WEEKEND TO THE LESSER KNOWN ITALIAN DOLOMITES
SAURIS
FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD
This little town is far from the jammed touristy routes, worldly events, elite crews and paparazzi. When you come to Sauris you step into an unspoilt wonderland, as the clear star here is just the untouched landscape.
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| Little churches are sprinkled across the untouched Sauris nature |
THE MAGIC OF SAURIS
Do you know when you step into a world of winter wonder? You see rooftops and haylofts covered with unblemished fresh snow. It is easy to spot reindeers' and snow rabbits' footsteps on the snowy hills, and the pine trees are heavy with glittering crystals. |
| Sauris unspoilt winter landscape shining in the sun |
An old local told me that before 2010 the average snowfall in Sauris was up to 8 mt in winter. You feel the biting cold air when you breathe in, and your lungs fill in with clean scent of pines. The alpine landscape reigns supreme without doubt in this regions of Italy called Friuli-Venezia Giulia.
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| Winter landscape is the true star in Sauris |
SAURIS: ONE FOR ALL SEASONS
The "Pearl of the Alps" (this how it is called) has two little neighbourhoods: Sauris di Sopra, and Sauris di Sotto. All around the place is sprinkled with mountain huts that produce a fantastic variety of local cheese, and pastures covered with woodlands.With such a variety of scenery you can perform any kind of sport you like: in winter cross-country skiing and snow shoe hiking are my favourite ones; in the summer, you can speed with your mountain bike downhill, canoe or windsurf in Lake Sauris.
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| Sunny view of Lake Sauris in winter |
SAURIS: THE OLDEST CARNIVAL IN THE DOLOMITES
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| Sauris Carnival in February is an event that you should not miss |
Paolo and I came to Sauris also to experience one of the oldest Carnivals in the Italian Alps: "Zahrar Voschankh", as the traditional Carnival is called here in the local dialect.
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| Traditional masks for Zahrar Voschankh |
Follow me into this world of magic and see what Sauris and its surroundings have to offer.
FUN THINGS TO DO IN SAURIS IN WINTER
GIVE WOOD CARVING A GO
Wood and mask carving have been long established activities in Sauris, and you can try it yourself in Ermanno Plozzer's wood shop. He has been spreading his art since 1992, and when you step into his world it is like getting into a fairy tale house, full of fantastic characters! |
| Mask and wood carving are favourite activities |
The sweet smell of different type of planned woods, such as beech and larch bring you back to the old Friuli legends in which wood was said to house living spirits, the Sbilfs.
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| Legends and fairy tales in Sauris involve Sbilfs |
Ermanno is an institution in Sauris: he showed me the traditional carnival masks that he carves. So famous is he that he has been invited all over Italy to show his old art.
From wooden tree trunks he makes both traditional beautiful masks and ugly masks, all featured in the Sauris Carnival celebrations. Here Carnival is a serious affair since time immemorial, that's why there is a main character leading the Sauris masquerade.
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| An ugly mask parading the streets for Carnival |
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| A beautiful mask toasting at Carnival: cheers! |
This character is an old wrinkled man with a huge nose and pointed ears. "This is Kheirar, the king of the masquerade. He leads the masked parade and up to the 50s, he would knock at every single Sauris house door to summon the people to follow him!" Ermanno pointed out.
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| Handmade Carnival masks are striking |
As a matter of fact, we saw Kheirar running around the streets of Sauris di Sopra with a huge broom to sweep winter away!
Ermanno also explained that there was also another important masked character, Röhlar. This devil-like character is scary: he dresses up with rugged clothes and covers his face with black soot.
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| Kheirar and Röhlar are the main characters of the Carnival |
"He wears a cowbell and a headscarf. When his bell rings, it means that the Carnival celebrations can start", explains Ermanno to me. I looked at him speechless: what I understand is that Sauris Carnival is all about magic.
GET IN THE CARNIVAL MOOD
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| Carnival gatherings and decorations on the main streets |
On the Saturday that precedes Lent (40 days before Easter), Carnival celebrations in Sauris get into full swing. The traditional masks, Kheirar and Röhlar call the whole population to take to the streets and party together.
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| Masks parading the streets on carts in Sauris di Sopra |
What I enoyed most was this sense of closely-knit community, involving guests into dances and into eating typical Carnival sweets.
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| Mask with a fur hat, pipe and mantel |
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| Traditional Carnival puppets decorating Sauris houses |
HIKE DOWN THE MOUNTAIN PATH WITH LANTERNS
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| Hiking downhill with lanterns was a fun thing to do for Sauris Carnival |
It was fantastic: I felt as if my boots were sinking into soft cotton! The sky above my head was amazing: millions of twinkling little stars. So clear was the sky that I saw a whole planetarium!
The highlight of the event were some theatre skits performed along the path by the masks, and hot bonfires around which hot mulled wine was served before we reached the end of our 3-kilometre walk.
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| Carnival masks playing skits |
ENJOY SAURIS' MANY SKIING ACTIVITIES
To enjoy the place at its best in winter you need to get outdoor. Skiing slopes are there to tempt you even at night, when the night skiing system is on. If you fancy cross-country or sledge riding (with or without motor!), there you go. To me the most rewarding sport is snow shoe hiking.
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| Get outdoor and enjoy many skiing sessions |
Paolo and I snow shoed uphill to reach our hotel and its amazing view over Sauris and its skiing slopes. We were surrounded by nature and we got a breathtaking view of the little village.
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| Amazing view of Sauris di Sotto after the snowshoe hike uphill |
SLIP OFF YOUR CLOTHES TO SOAK IN HAY OR BEER BATHS
If you really want to dip into Sauris nature, you should not miss the local wellness centre where the cherry on the cake is a hay bath treatment with a mix of herbs from the fields.
It will make you want to come back in the summer to harvest medical plants! You can enjoy a body scrub with barley malt used to make the local beer!
It will make you want to come back in the summer to harvest medical plants! You can enjoy a body scrub with barley malt used to make the local beer!
DISCOVER THE BEER GEEK IN YOU FOR FREE
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| I'm here for the Zahre beer |
Did I say local beer? You cannot leave Sauris without tasting the famous locally-brewed beer, Zahre Beer.
"The more I am brewing beer and the more I am still learning. The world of beer brewing is never ending!", Massimo -the beer master- told me modestly.
Massimo cares to emphasise that it is still a family business and that beer is handmade, given that it reflects the typical scents of the place. It is produced with barley grown locally and it is a raw unpasteurised beer, natural and untreated.
SINK YOUR TEETH IN THE SAVOURY CHEESE
Sauris is well-know for a wide variety of cheese made locally. Between 1500 and 2000 metres in the summer you can tour the shepards' huts where you can see the cheesemaking sessions.
However, in winter you can tour local cheese shops instead. In particular, there is a whole family who moved to Sauris and became cheese affineurs many years ago.
They told me that the cheese seasoning is carried out in fresh cellars at controlled temperature on wooden planks. During 30 days they have fun tossing and turning the cheese wheels to oversee the proper aging of their produce.
HAVE FUN HEARING THE STORY OF TWO GERMAN SOLDIERS AND THEIR OLD LANGUAGE
Sauris is rich with legends, but the most fascinating one is about its origin. I was amazed to hear in the Ethnographic Centre that in 13th two German soldiers were stuck by a heavy snowstorm in the valley, so they could not cross the Alps to go back.
They had to live in isolation and think about how to survive the cold winters. From those two soldiers a whole community developed.
However, not only did they develop a lovely hamlet and its activities, they managed to keep their language of origin, an old dialect from Southern Germany.
That is why if you wander around the streets, you will hear this old language spoken every day by the locals.
That is why if you wander around the streets, you will hear this old language spoken every day by the locals.
TOWN STROLLING TO SEE TRADITIONAL WOODEN ARCHITECTURE
Christmas is over; however, the feeling when you stroll around Sauris is that you are stepping into a nativity scene.
The landscape is flecked with wooden buildings called "stavoli": old haylofts that have been refurbished and converted into modern houses or comfortable hotels, such as the so-called "Albergo diffuso" (that is a new concept of hotel scattered all over the town in historic buildings).
The landscape is flecked with wooden buildings called "stavoli": old haylofts that have been refurbished and converted into modern houses or comfortable hotels, such as the so-called "Albergo diffuso" (that is a new concept of hotel scattered all over the town in historic buildings).
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| Wooden haylofts are traditional buildings in Sauris |
The traditional buildings are made of a top part and a lower part: the lower part is made of wooden beams framed and joined together.
I was told by a local shopkeeper that when they refurbished their house (in fact an old hayloft), they found an old photo of the original owners in the foundations!
A typical thing to do was to place a photo, some money of the time or a local newspaper when they would build haylofts as a sort of trademark to posterity.
A typical thing to do was to place a photo, some money of the time or a local newspaper when they would build haylofts as a sort of trademark to posterity.
SING ALONG: I AM AN ENGLISHMAN (ENGLISH KING) IN NEW YORK (OPS, IN SAURIS)
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| The Church of Saint Oswald was a place of worship of an English king who became saint |
Yes, an Englishman or better an English king came to Sauris. His name was King Oswald of Northumbria and was killed in a battle in 642. What's Oswald to do with Sauris?
King Oswald was soon to be regarded as a saint because he would protect people from the plague. The first German settlers who founded Sauris worshipped Saint Oswald; later the cult spread all over Venice (which had political control and power of Sauris at that time).
In fact, Venice was devasteted by the plague in 1400 and sought Saint Oswald's protection. Sauris was the destination of pilgrims from Venice visiting the hamlet because the legend goes that the saint's thumb had been stolen from its burial place, and brought to Sauris.
AWESOME PLACES TO VISIT NEAR SAURIS
Near Sauris at an hour drive there are many cool villages that you can visit. When we left Sauris, we drove south and then north to visit three hidden gems: Aplis, Mione di Ovaro and Pesariis.The road that takes you there is winding at first, and then straight because it crosses the 31-kilometres valley along the river Degano.
APLIS: DISCOVER WHERE VENICE WAS BUILT
If you have been to Venice, you may know that the city was built on wooden poles which were plunged into the lagoon bottom. Where did the trees come from?
They were cut down from the woodlands in the mountains of Friuli-Venezia Giulia and Veneto. That's why you can still see old sawmills in these regions, legacies of an hard-working past. Trees were sawn into planks and sent to Venice via rivers to build its foundations.
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| Lumber was transported to Venice downstream |
In Aplis, a tiny village located in the valley next to Sauris, there is an interesting place not to be missed: the Museum of wood and the Venetian sawmill.
In this museum the time has literally stopped: at the centre of the mill there is still a huge hydraulic saw, dating back 1755!
At that time the Republic of Venice was still a major maritime power, and a major centre for arts and culture. This wealth meant that Venice needed constantly restauration works and maintenance of its fantastic palaces built on the Carnic woodland lumber.
In the Aplis museum you can learn how Venice pushed the demand for more lumber and to do this the saw mill employed many workers. The wood cutters' hard life and living conditions at the mill are all well-documented in the museum.
For example, after the wood was cut into planks, the sawmill workers had to set sail on unstable rafts to control the wooden planks downstream until they reached Venice.
From Carnia train station, you get a bus connection via SAF linea Bus to Sauris.
- For information about Trenitalia train timetable, click here.
- For information about the bus SAF Autoservizi F.V.G., click here.
In this museum the time has literally stopped: at the centre of the mill there is still a huge hydraulic saw, dating back 1755!
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| The Museum of Wood and Venetian sawmill is a unique museum |
At that time the Republic of Venice was still a major maritime power, and a major centre for arts and culture. This wealth meant that Venice needed constantly restauration works and maintenance of its fantastic palaces built on the Carnic woodland lumber.
In the Aplis museum you can learn how Venice pushed the demand for more lumber and to do this the saw mill employed many workers. The wood cutters' hard life and living conditions at the mill are all well-documented in the museum.
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| Harsh working conditions of the wood workers - Picture by E.Rittmayer's etching, 1868 |
For example, after the wood was cut into planks, the sawmill workers had to set sail on unstable rafts to control the wooden planks downstream until they reached Venice.
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| Wood cutters in 1948 -Picture by private collection, Muina |
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| Wood transport on the river Margò - Picture by Umberto Candoni, Summer 1964 |
HAVE A TASTY BITE OF THE DELICIOUS FRIULI CJARZONS
If Sauris cured ham matched with a cool Zahre beer was not enough to calm your hunger and thirst, then you have a second chance at the Carnic cuisine at Restaurant Aplis.
The architecture of the place is amazing: the former sleeping quarters of the sawmill workers have been restored, and in the gigantic hall you can savour the most delicious local dishes from the Carnia region.
The ingredients reflects strictly the regional flavours, so you can't miss the typical polenta (cornmeal shaped into a cake and served hot). However, the flagship dish is "Cjarzons", a sort of ravioli rich in flavour filled with fresh vegetables, plums and spices.
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| Can you resist "Cjarzons"? Ravioli stuffed with herbs |
MIONE DI OVARO: HAVE FUN COUNTING THE WINDOWS OF THE VENETIAN PALACE
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| The Micoli-Toscano Venetian Villa in Mione di Ovaro |
If you continue your road trip to Mione di Ovaro (just 10 minutes by car), a winding road takes you up to this little village of 100 inhabitants, where you can admire a stunning Venetian villa.
The building was built by a rich family from Florence, the Micoli-oscano's, who escaped the plague in Tuscany to find refuge up in the Carnic Alps of Friuli-Venezia Giulia.
Around 1830 they managed to make lots of money out of Aplis lumber business which is reflected in the fantastic architecture of the mansion house.
Around 1830 they managed to make lots of money out of Aplis lumber business which is reflected in the fantastic architecture of the mansion house.
What is really amazing is to find a Venetian villa in the middle of the mountains! If you start counting its windows, you will get tired soon. The mansion house is called "the House of 100 Windows"!
Why was a Venetian Villa built there? At that time the Micoli's wanted to build a magnificent house like no other, and at the same time they wanted to employ the local population out of work with humanitarian intents.
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| Amazing view as seen from the Micoli-Toscano mansion house |
Why was a Venetian Villa built there? At that time the Micoli's wanted to build a magnificent house like no other, and at the same time they wanted to employ the local population out of work with humanitarian intents.
PESARIIS: TIME HAS STOPPED IN THE TOWN OF CLOCKS
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| Pesariis, the town of clocks can't be missed |
If you don't know what time it is, don't worry. You'll soon find out when you reach the last village of the Val Pesarina valley, Pesariis.
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| Grab a map at the local Museum of clocks and just get lost in the alley net lined up with clocks |
Through the winding streets that cross the village, you can follow a clock trail! Impressive clocks of all shapes and types are sprinkled all over the place: from water clocks to astronomical clocks, carillon clocks, clocks with big hands, a chessboard clock, a planets' clock, a planisphere clock and many others.
Why are there so many clocks in Pesariis? According to the legend, a Genoese pirate landed in this village as he was trying to escape the Venetian militia. From this pirate who apparently knew a lot about clockmaking, in 1600 almost each household in Pesariis was working on a clock lab.
Pesariis became famous in 1725 for pendulum clocks when the Solari company was founded. From this little village to the world, the Solari company sold clocks everywhere, including the Old Royal Palace in Montenegro (Cetinje).
In Italy you can find lots of Pesariis-manufactured clocks, including the town clocks at Firenze Santa Maria Novella train station, and the Palazzo delle Poste in Naples. By the way, the Solari company still exists today!
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| The planishphere clock behind Pesariis church |
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| Can't claim that you don't know what time it is |
Why are there so many clocks in Pesariis? According to the legend, a Genoese pirate landed in this village as he was trying to escape the Venetian militia. From this pirate who apparently knew a lot about clockmaking, in 1600 almost each household in Pesariis was working on a clock lab.
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| Clock-making has been flourishing in Pesariis since 1600 |
Pesariis became famous in 1725 for pendulum clocks when the Solari company was founded. From this little village to the world, the Solari company sold clocks everywhere, including the Old Royal Palace in Montenegro (Cetinje).
In Italy you can find lots of Pesariis-manufactured clocks, including the town clocks at Firenze Santa Maria Novella train station, and the Palazzo delle Poste in Naples. By the way, the Solari company still exists today!
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| Pesariis is a unique town with impressive clocks and artsy mood |
IN BRIEF
HOW TO GET THERE
BY AIR
The closest airports are:
- Trieste Ronchi dei Legionari (130 km);
- Venice Marco Polo (about 160 km via Longarone);
- Treviso Airport (150 km).
- For information about Trieste Airport, click here.
- For information about Marco Polo Airport in Venice, click here.
- For information about Treviso airport, click here.
BY TRAIN
You can reach Sauris from Venice train station to Carnia train station. However, you need to change train twice (in Udine and Tolmezzo).From Carnia train station, you get a bus connection via SAF linea Bus to Sauris.
- For information about Trenitalia train timetable, click here.
- For information about the bus SAF Autoservizi F.V.G., click here.
BY CAR
It is the easiest way to get to Sauris. You can access Sauris by motorway.
From Venice Airport you reach Sauris by taking the A27 motorway going towards Vittorio Veneto and exit Belluno. From there, take SS51 towards Cadore-Dolomiti-Cortina-Sappada-Sauris. Time: 2 h 50
For more options, click here Via Michelin.
WHERE TO STAY
SAURIS
We stayed at the bed and breakfast, San Antonio di Modepoudn in Sauris di Sotto: a converted hayloft, full of charm and history.
The landlady served us a fantastic homemade breakfast with their homemade cakes, jams and the cheese that they make.
However, the highlight of the place is the view over Sauris and the ski slopes: just stunning!
Tip: in winter you need an all-terrain vehicle to reach the place, otherwise the landlord will come to pick you up at the town car park.
For more information, click here.
APLIS
There is a lovely hotel is located next to two lakes in the beautiful ex-Venetian sawmill compound. The buildings have been refurbished and converted into a 3-star hotel.
WHERE TO EAT
SAURIS
We savoured delicious Sauris ham, excellent gnocchi and a mouth watering salty tart with herbs at Ristorante alla Pace.
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| Fine Sauris ham dish at Ristorante alla Pace |
For more information, click here.
APLIS
A guilty pleasure that you can't avoid eating when you visit Friuli-Venezia Giulia is the "Tocj in Braide". It is a traditional dish made with polenta topped with a mix of local cheese, such as ricotta, montasia and goat cheese, and chicory. It is an affordable option that you can eat at Ristorante Aplis.
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| The fanous Carnic dish "Tocj in Braide": try and you'll never forget it! |
WHAT TO DO
SAURIS
For any skiing activities and book skiing lessons, you can click here. For Ski passes rates, click here.
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| Skiing is naturally one of the favourite activities in Sauris |
If you feel peckish, you can take a free tour at the Wolf smoked ham factory where they will tell you that thanks to the quality of the air and the old smoking method, they were granted in 2009 the quality Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) logo.
If you come in the summer, you can't miss the "Festa del Prosciutto di Sauris" (Sauris ham festival) held every year in July. For more information, click here.
APLIS
The fascinating Museum of Wood and the Venetian Sawmill are free of charge and always open. If not, ask the keys at the Hotel Aplis reception. For more information, click here or here.
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| Just push the door of the museum and you will jump right into an exciting story |
MIONE DI OVARO
The Micoli-Toscano Villa is a private residente. For more information, please click here.
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| The tiny church in Mione di Ovaro near the Micoli-Toscano villa |
PESARIIS
If you reach Pesariis, one of the world's clockmaking hamlets, you can grab a free map or free audioguide at the Museum of Clocks when you access the village to see the 14 amazing clocks scattered around the town.
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| One of the 14 amazing clocks along the clock trail in Pesariis |
For an overview of the clocks, click here.
For more tourist information about Friuli-Venezia Giulia, click here.