Gosaldo is a quaint mountain village nestled between the Dolomites in Agordine and the Dolomite mountains of the Dolomiti Bellunesi National Park. Characterized for centuries by mining, following the devastation of the Vallalta mine by the 1966 flood, it then became known for its chair makers or "conthe" or "careghete."
As a reminder of past mining activity, you can walk along "The Forgotten Mountain" trail or visit the California settlement that stood near the Vallalta Mining Centre, which was also destroyed by the flood. To see it today, uninhabited and crumbling in the middle of the woods, you wouldn't think so, but California was a very fashionable resort, where people went to spend their holidays, to dance and to watch one of the few television sets in the valley.
There is no shortage of opportunities for hiking and walking and, in winter, for practising sports in the snow, thanks to the small but attractive Forcella Aurine ski area, which is also suitable for children and families.
Curiosities and tips
- To preserve the secrets of chair making, chair makers created a real secret language, unintelligible to others, called "scapelament del contha."
- In the mid-19th century, the Vallalta Mine was among the top ten in Europe for the amount of mercury mined
- The little church of Madonna della Neve (Our Lady of the Snows) at Forcella Aurine is worth a visit
