THE COMELIC

Mountainous region of Veneto, crossed by the spring branches of the Piave, upstream of the gorge that this river passes through before arriving below Cima Gogna. The territory of Comèlico (279 km2) is divided between the 5 municipalities of Santo Stefano or Comelico Inferiore, Danta, San Nicolò, Candide or Comelico Superiore and San Pietro; It has 11 thousand inhabitants. The parts of it that have permanently inhabited areas are the Padola basin and the trunk of the Plavense valley between the confluences of the Padola and Cordevole di Visdende (148 sq km). Comelico is now kept distinct from Cadore, but now it is included: the village of Santo Stefano del Comelico has recently taken the name of Santo Stefano di Cadore.

 

The two denominations each have good reasons: for many centuries Comelico was part of the Cadore Community and constituted one of its ten centuries; on the other hand, important natural factors give Comelico its own individuality. First of all, the energetic segregation due to uninhabitable mountains, for various repellent causes. In fact, this belt of mountains is interrupted only by the saddle (1482 m.) that leads from Padola to Auronzo, by the Monte Croce pass (1636 m.) from which one descends into the Pusteria through the Sesto valley, and by the gorges that the Piave cuts through. downstream of Sappada and Santo Stefano. Only modern technology was able to open (1839) a convenient road in the upper Piave which served to better connect Comelico to Cadore and Carnia.

 

Another reason why Comelico is considered a region in its own right lies in the particular character of the landscape. Deep indeed is the contrast between the shapes of the white limestone and dolomite mountains of Cadore which with the underlying woods descend onto a rather narrow valley, and the very green open Comelico, with gentle and uniform slopes well exposed to the sun. This contrast depends on the different nature of the rocks. The Comelico in fact includes a small part of the Sesto Alps and the western end of the Carnic Chain and precisely the southern stretch.

 

From m. 877 above the sea, at the confluence of the Rio Mauria di Destra into the Piave, it reaches 3092 m. in Mount Elfer, the sandstones of Valgardena, the micaceous and arenaceous schists of Werfen and, especially, the quartz phyllites are the prevalent rocks; the limestones and dolomites of the Triassic, compared to this group, have a subordinate extension. The schistose rocks are barely or not at all permeable to water, and have the gentle shapes of reliefs worn down by long and powerful erosive actions. Hence Comelico, without therefore lacking beautiful and rich fir forests, is distinguished by the wide emerald carpet of its hay and pasture meadows.

 

Permanent homes are generally located on the soft slopes, grouped together in hamlets and villages, where the ancient buildings, mainly made of wood, are being replaced by brick houses. The altimetric limit of the permanently inhabited area can be said to be indicated by the 1400 m contour, and is reached by the highest houses in Danta. If we then take into consideration the highest altitude of the houses in each of the highest villages, we obtain an average altitude of 1319 meters for the permanent homes, a rather high altitude for the Venetian Alps.

 

Above this limit, there are no places of spontaneous habitation. The limit of permanently inhabited villages does not correspond to that of crops, which are also pushed into the area of medium-season housing and exceptionally even higher. Viticulture is excluded from the region: Comelico is all above the limit at which the plant can ripen its fruit. Instead, some fruit trees, barley, oats, buckwheat, potatoes and beans are possible crops; and around some villages they are considerably extensive.

 

After cultivation, the soil is left to rest (vara) for a fairly long period. The meadows that serve as domestic pasture alternate with the sativas which are also grown around the tabià, or stables, isolated pastoral dwellings, usually inhabited in spring and autumn, which from the immediate vicinity of the villages extend up to a maximum height of 1600 meters. Their average altitude is 1419 meters and the highest are found on the slopes that enjoy better exposure.

 

Above the stables and feniles, there are the casere, i.e. the farmhouses located in the summer pastures which are generally municipal properties; the highest are found at 1880 m., their average limit is at 1755 m. Finally, above the dairy farms, there are a few huts, intended for the shelter of sheep herders, woodcutters and hunters. Tabià, lower casere and upper casere mark the subsequent stages which, both in the ascent and, conversely, in the descent are made by the cow herds

 

What are the municipalities of Comelico?

The municipality comprises four villages: Padola, Dosoledo, Candide and Casamazzagno, as well as three villages, Sacco, Sega Digon and Sopalù which surround the main centres.