Themed walking trails around the Comelico Valley

TROI DLI MASCRI THE TRAIL OF CARNIVAL MASKS

Carnival in Comelico is an ancient celebration which is still today an important social event. Along this trail you will find 20 larch- wood sculptures depicting the traditional wooden masks and masked characters which relive the magic of this festival.
This joyous annual event marked a welcome break from the hardships of everyday life for the villagers. The trail ends with what at first seems a normal stack of fire wood but on close inspection you can see the tormented face of Jesus Christ set amongst the wood.
This is a sharp reminder that The Carnival period with all its merriment has come to an end , Lent has begun and it is time to repent.

TROI DLI TRADIZION THE TRAIL OF TRADITIONS

The theme here is local traditions and customs. It’s a nostalgic look at some of the traditions of a bygone era, and each wooden sculpture has a fascinating history.
The trail starts off with a list of surnames of the native families of Comelico Superiore, their origins going back to the 16th century. Reference is also made to the very old and antique institutions called “Le Regole� which have preserved the Ladin culture of the people and still today manage the collective forests and pasturelands. “Le Regole� own a vast amount of lands and woods in the valley. Other traditions portrayed are:
“Il Rogo dell Muta� a ritual burning of an old hag at the stake, in puppet form, an event which took place half-way through Lent. It was a means of getting rid of all the year’s problems and adversities.
“Il carro dei Coscritti�: the “coscritti� (people born in the same year) were in the past the young men drafted for military service. The young “coscritte� village girls would make paper flowers to decorate a cart and the young boys (draftees) paraded around the villages on this cart singing their farewells before going to war or leaving for military service.
“L’ardoia� (the hag or witch) is another legendary supernatural creature who dwelled in the valley. Some wooden sculptures also represent scenes from religious processions, and Christmas traditions A truly fascinating trail.

TROI DI BACANI THE FARMER’S TRAIL

By walking along this trail, not only will you admire the rich pastoral landscape but you will become aware of the very real hardships of rural life for the local people in years gone by. Twenty eight activities are depicted and each sculpture portrays a piece of farming history. It is the story of men and women who needed to work the land in order to support their families and to survive in the severe alpine climate.
Most of the common necessities in the way of food and clothing came from their small farms.
This trail is full of reminders of a bygone era, when most of the work was done by hand, such as tending and milking the cows or using a scythe for cutting the grass . Haymaking was a huge, labour intensive task which involved all the family. In addition the women fetched and carried copper water pails from the fountains or sat at their spinning wheels spinning wool or linen for clothing.
Crops such as barley, rye and flax were harvested and these are depicted in the sculptures.
The old barns and cowsheds and little “barchi�, smaller hay-sheds, are a common sight along the trail and are fascinating remnants of the past which make up the natural beauty of this spectacular landscape.

TROI DI MESTIERI THE TRAIL OF ANCIENT TRADES

This trail with its sculptures aims to bring to life some very old local trades many of which today have disappeared.
18 sculptures remind the visitor of ancient occupations which for centuries played an important role in the development of the Comelico community. Al clomper( the tinker), al mulnei (the miller), al fauru (the blacksmith), al scarper(the cobbler) al muleta (the scissors and knife-sharpener) just to name a few, are illustrative of a past era and thanks to this interesting trail we can learn about and treasure these very important trades of our forefathers.