Discover what to do in Chies d’Alpago in Belluno Province: the Manzoniano market, Casera Pian de le Stele, the Alpago Natural History Museum. Want to know more? First of all…
Where is Chies d’Alpago located?
The municipality of Chies d’Alpago borders north with Claut, south with Tambre, east with Barcis, west with Alpago.
The Manzoniano Market
In 2024, the Manzoniano Market took place on Saturday 18 May in Viale Alessandro Manzoni. On the occasion of this lively event, the heart of Chies d’Alpago comes alive with craft workshops that pass on the arts, trades and ancient knowledge that have shaped the area’s history and everyday life for centuries. The event programme also featured livestock exhibitions to get to know ponies and horses, and information stands linked to the world of beekeeping.
The Alpago Natural History Museum
During the previous edition of the festival, the Alpago Natural History Museum (Via A. Manzoni, 215) opened its doors to visitors eager to discover the extraordinary heritage of wildlife and plant biodiversity of the Belluno area.
If you are wondering what to do in Chies d’Alpago, the Manzoniano market is an event not to be missed for spending the spring season enjoying genuine local products, original wooden crafts and local gastronomic specialities, all to be savoured in the setting of the Tesa valley, a splendid spot overlooked by the grand wooded bulk of Monte Teverone.
For more information about this engaging initiative, you can visit the Facebook page Pro loco di Chies d’Alpago.
Casera Pian de le Stele
Casera Pian de le Stele can be reached via trail CAI 924, starting from the parking area of Agriturismo Malga Cate, where the signs for Val Salatis are located. The forest route unfolds at the foot of the majestic snow-capped peaks between Monte Venal and Monte Caulana, the natural border between Veneto and Friuli-Venezia Giulia.
The trail offers breathtaking views of steep mountain walls and endless forests of firs, beeches and birches, whose enchanted atmosphere, suspended in time, is ideal for those seeking an environment wrapped in greenery and silence.
The dense woodland frames the distinctive Moltrin of Casera Campitello, in Val Salatis, a long stone building with a rectangular base and a double-pitched roof. Near the stable stand the ruins of the Moldrin, consisting of a circular wall perimeter made of cobblestones. This centuries-old structure was used for milking sheep, whose milk was taken to Malga Cate to make cheese.
Sheep farming in these areas represented for centuries a fundamental resource for the local economy (as shown by the presence of the native sheep in the municipality’s coat of arms), since sheep could provide not only milk, but also meat and wool. The sheep breed from this area, known as alpagota, was suitable for grazing in the malghe between 1,000 and 1,600 metres above sea level.
The next stop on the route is the casera of Pian de le Stele, located at 1,421 metres above sea level. Now used as a bivouac, the casera blends harmoniously into the sinuous valley overlooked to the north by the steep slopes of Monte Sestier, and to the south by the foothills of Monte Guslon and Forcella Laste. Inside the small building there is a table, two benches, a stool carved from a log, a fireplace and a small ladder leading to the upper floor.
Continuing east, you come to the trail marker (CAI trail 924) for Col Pezei (1,524 metres). If you are wondering what to do in Chies d’Alpago, this route is recommended for those who wish to immerse themselves in the history and culture of this ancient community enclosed by solemn mountains and wrapped in fertile malghe shining in the sun.
