Discover what to do in Gallio: the Feast of San Bartolomeo, the Path of Silence, the Forest Trail Val di Nos. Want to know more? First of all…
Where is Gallio?
The municipality of Gallio borders to the north, west and south with Asiago, to the northeast with Enego, to the east with Foza.
The Feast of San Bartolomeo
The feast takes place every year, with rare exceptions, on August 24, the day dedicated to the Patron Saint according to the liturgical calendar.
One of the most iconic depictions of the apostle martyr who lived in Galilee in the first century is present in the fresco of the Last Judgment by Michelangelo Buonarroti in the Sistine Chapel. The work shows the saint holding his own skin in his left hand (whose face, however, coincides with that of the artist) and in the other the knife with which he was flayed.
The celebration combines the solemnity of the ceremonies in honor of the saint, in the neoclassical parish church, with the jovial and cheerful atmosphere of a lively popular event featuring delicious recipes from a territory renowned for the quality of its cured meats, cheeses, as well as truffles, potatoes, porcini mushrooms, honey mushrooms, Caesar’s mushrooms, and chanterelles which in the Asiago plateau find the ideal environment to grow luxuriantly.
To further enliven the festival, there will be exhibitors set up in the historic heart of the town where you will find, in addition to genuine local products, a wide range of confectionery delights and clothing items.
A starting point for numerous excursions, the center of Gallio is harmoniously nestled between pleasant sunny slopes bounded by the huge wooded mass of the mountains Ortigara, Corno, Sisemol, Lisser and Campomolon, spectacular natural destinations where some of the most tragic events of the twentieth century took place.
If you are wondering what to do in Gallio and want to enjoy the beautiful season in the setting of a charming mountain village immersed in a bright plain framed by the Vicentine Prealps, participating in the Feast of San Bartolomeo might be just right for you!
The Path of Silence
To reach the Campomuletto refuge, you can leave your car in the Campomulo parking lot. Proceed north along the winding asphalt road that snakes between the rounded grassy hills covered with firs, larches and pines. At the junction, take the white path to your right as indicated by the signs for the silent path and the Campomuletto refuge.
The fairy-tale atmosphere of the boundless forest, where thin rays of sunlight cut through the dense blanket of pungent foliage from which comes the distant chirping of robins, partridges, and coal tits, makes it difficult to imagine that these unspoiled places were the scene of some of the harshest battles of the First World War: the Battle of the Plateaus, fought from May 15 to July 27, 1916.
General Erich von Falkenhayn had built, on a front of about thirty km, seven strongholds between the plateaus of Lavarone and Folgaria. The Austro-Hungarian plan was to break through the defensive line of Valdastico and Vallarsa and then spread towards Vicenza.
Having lost positions in Val Terragnolo, on the Tonezza plateau, and having given up Col Santo, the Italians organized from Pasubio to Coni Zugna the defensive line of Vallarsa. The conflict then moved eastwards, to Asiago.
The relentless bombings on the line of Colle Costesin and Marcai forced the Italian soldiers to retreat south of Campolongo and Verena.
The Royal Army lost Monte Cimone, Arsiero and Asiago were reduced to rubble. Forte Corbin and the positions on Monte Cengio fell.
The arduous Italian resistance and the need for the Imperial Army to transfer part of its forces to the Eastern Front to counter the Brusilov Offensive, weakened the Austro-Hungarian impetus and led to the conclusion of the punitive expedition.
To commemorate the dramatic events, the path is dotted with works of art of deep evocative value: a white dove trapped in a block of stone can be glimpsed between the chestnut planks arranged horizontally to form a prison surrounded by beeches and firs. Dark bronze hands emerge from the ground, some open and reaching towards the sky, others holding flowers or rolled sheets. Another installation is made of metal plates engraved with the soldiers’ letters to their families. Rusty silhouettes of men arranged in a circle with wounded, torn, gutted bodies. Orderly rows of helmets among which dark skulls are mixed.
The loop trail leads to a stele, surrounded by huge white boulders, reminiscent of the monolith from the film 2001: A Space Odyssey. These are some of the works scattered in the immense forest.
If you are wondering what to do in Gallio, the Path of Silence is a suggestive sensory itinerary that invites contemplation of some of the most significant chapters of what Eric Hobsbawm defined as the short century.
Forest trail Val di Nos
Located on Via Ragazzi del Duemila, the Val di Nos forest trail is a pleasant educational excursion that delves into the lush arboreal heritage of firs, larches, pines, beeches, ashes and oaks populated by squirrels, owls, finches, robins, foxes and roe deer, but also salamanders, voles and moles, more elusive, hidden in the ground and in the thick undergrowth.
The lush and delicate ecosystem surrounds a splendid clearing with wooden tables and equipped areas for barbecues.
