CARNIA Art & Spirituality

Arrival in TOLMEZZO, the capital of Carnia, Alpine city of the year 2017.

Free time to individually visit the historic center which preserves traces of a fifteenth-century urban layout, visible in the “Borgat” district, with the Porta di Sotto, the small church of Santa Caterina and Casa Janesi. The eighteenth-century Cathedral of San Martino overlooking Piazza XX Settembre, preserves inside valuable frescoes by Nicola Grassi, commissioned by Jacopo Linussio, an extraordinary textile entrepreneur, with his cloth factory employed 33,000 people helping to drive the economy of the eighteenth century. true golden age for Carnia.

Accommodation in 3-stars hotel, area TOLMEZZO,

Overnight at the hotel

It is possible to rent a car at airport/railways station, see supplement

In the morning arrival at ILLEGIO, a village near Tolmezzo which has been the seat of international exhibitions for years. From May 16 to October 17 you can admire 30 masterpieces of art of international origin, which stage half a millennium of beauty, from the sixteenth to the twentieth century. The story excites for the high quality of the works, some surprising for the splendor and for being authors to be discovered, others signed by the most shining stars in the sky of art: Tintoretto, Anton Van Dyck, Claude Monet, Pablo Picasso . Most of them are works never seen before in Italy, some totally unpublished.

Walk through the streets of Illegio to discover the ancient houses, the suggestive Via dei Mulini.

Lunch in a typical restaurant

In the afternoon ascent to the Pieve di San Pietro located in a strategic position on a hill overlooking the Bût valley and still honored today with the title of Cathedral of the other eleven Pievi present in Carnia. This condition of submission is remembered every year, on the occasion of the feast of the Ascension, with the suggestive rite of the “Bacio delle Croci”.  Stop to admire the view and visit the botanical garden “Garden of the simple” where over 1000 different species of plants are visible.

Breakfast and overnight at the hotel

Lunch in “trattoria” (historic restaurant)

In the morning guided tour of CERCIVENTO to admire the mosaics, murals, frescoes that have transformed the village into “An Open Air Bible”.  Walking through the streets of the village, the images of biblical passages that mark the path of man are revealed to the visitor. Stop in SUTRIO, a characteristic village with stone houses and lunch in “osteria”  (tavern) with tasting  the “Cjarsons”, typical ravioli with a sweet and savory flavor.

Breakfast at the hotel

Lunch in “osteria” (tavern)