Anello di Cardenzan

The itinerary starts from the center of Pedavena, and it is possible to leave the car near the Town Hall and the Church or at the brewery parking lot; from here, a path for cyclists and pedestrians leads to the center in 10 minutes.

From the starting point, you reach the church and then the fork in the locality of Tornaol, where you turn towards Murle, shortly afterward diverting onto Via Cantolar. Upon reaching Via Crico, you follow it to the left towards Murle, admiring some Feltrino-style houses with wooden balconies, which were used for drying the harvest.

Shortly, you join the road connecting Foen to Pedavena, and at an old fountain, you take the road that climbs to the right. This road passes some houses, runs alongside the stream, and continues to climb quite steeply through the woods. Just beyond an isolated house, the slope eases, and the surface becomes dirt.

After about 45 minutes, you arrive at an old abandoned house, near which a wooden crucifix has been placed: the location is known as Brasil. Perhaps a reference to the lands where many people from Belluno emigrated at the end of the 1800s.

At a certain point, the scenery opens up, and the village of Cardenzan appears before us, with Monte San Mauro in the background. Crossing a large meadow with some covered barn buildings (barch), we reach the ancient church of Saints Pellegrino and Valentino. Arriving at the paved road that connects Pedavena to Pren and Lamen, we follow it downhill, admiring the panorama of the Feltrino basin, Monte Tomatico, and the Prealps.

After about 400 meters, the road to Carpene branches off to the right. Passing in front of the old turnery dairy (casèl), you begin to climb alongside a small valley covered in vegetation, where a large isolated chestnut tree stands out. The village of Carpene welcomes us into its square, which features a stone fountain, a washing area, and the beautiful church of St. Valentino.

The road to the left of the church leads us quickly to Val di Faont, in the lower part of the valley carved by the Colmeda stream, where the majestic peaks provide a backdrop to the cultivated areas with corn, vineyards, apple trees, and mowed meadows. Before reaching the inhabited area, you turn left towards an old isolated house. A small bridge allows you to cross the Colmeda stream and reach the paved road, which you follow downhill.

Soon after, a small but spectacular waterfall surprises us. In Val di Faont, there is a hydroelectric power station, built in the 1930s. Reaching a cluster of houses with a slight ascent, you come across the road connecting Pedavena to Norcen; you then descend to the fork for Croce d’Aune, where you take Via Trento. Traveling it entirely, you can appreciate the octagonal church of Sant’Anna and a picturesque glimpse of Villa Pasole-Berton.

 Then, skirting the outer wall, you reach the very center of Pedavena, or alternatively, upon reaching about halfway through Via Trento, you can take a portico on the left that leads to a courtyard. You then cross a footbridge over the Colmeda, where the old canals used to harness the water for the operation of mills and sawmills and for the nearby washing area are still visible. 

INSIGHT ON... The churches of Murle, Cardenzan, and Carpene

The current church of Murle dedicated to St. Anthony the Abbot was built by the Rambaldoni family: an inscription dates the work to 1470. Consecrated in 1621, it was restored in 1857-58 by the Cambruzzi family, the last owners of the building. In 1866, the voting for the first Municipal Council was held there. The devotion to the Patron remains very alive in the village, culminating in the feast on January 17. Connected to the ancient road that linked Pedavena with Pren and Lamen is the little church of San Pellegrino and San Valentino, not far from the village of Cardenzan, which features the notable dominical house of the Marsiai family. The Chapel, enlarged in 1619 as indicated by the inscription on the facade, has a stone holy water font from 1661. The wooden altar from the seventeenth century is noteworthy, featuring a painting of the Madonna with Child between Saints Pellegrino and Valentino. The walls preserve traces of frescoes, and the apsidal vault depicts the four Evangelists. In Carpene, the church dedicated to Saints Valentino and Urbano was erected as a family chapel by the Guslini family and in 1640 endowed with a painting by the Feltrino artist Girolamo Zigantello (1621-1666), depicting the Virgin of Carmel with Saints Valentino, Carlo Borromeo, Pope Urbano, and Fermo.