Places of interest
To simplify things we have divided all the places of interest in our region according to the area in which they are found. In this way it is easy to find the places you want to visit and how to get there. Specific information is always available at reception should you wish to know more about individual places of interest.
Count Ceconi and Ceconi Castle
Situated in the Pielungo, area and surrounded by a dense forest of the same name, Ceconi Castle is living testimony to the life and work of Count Giacomo Ceconi His story is recounted briefly below.
Born in 1833 into a poor family of Pielungo, Giacomo Ceconi moved to Trieste when he was about 18 years old where he found a job as an unskilled worker on a building site which later constructed the railway link between Vienna and the seaport of Trieste.
He attended evening drawing classes in Trieste in order to improve his situation, immediately distinguishing himself for his talent and hard work– after only a short time he established his own business and was given important railway commissions in eastern Europe. In 1880 he was awarded the contract for the construction of the Arlberg Tunnel, situated between the Tyrol and the Voralberg regions. The work was completed in just 4 years, representing such an extraordinary event that it is still remembered today.
In 1891, Giacomo Ceconi had already made a considerable fortune. As a result, he decided to build, at his own expense, the 12 km-long Regina Margherita road for his fellow citizens. This road linked his village with Anduins and the lower valley. He also built schools and churches and promoted social and cultural projects for his people. Meanwhile, he moved back to Pielungo and built this important house. Up to the present, there have been few similar examples of men so generous and devoted to their territory of origin. For this reason Giacomo was given the title of Montececon Noble from the Emperor of Austria, Francesco Giuseppe and of Count from the King of Italy, Umberto I. He died in 1910 and was buried in the family vault close to the castle.
The Ceconi Castle
Ceconi Castle has been recently bought by a private company that intends to improve the structure of the building itself and its surrounding park, opening an area to the public in the future. To get to the Castle, you must arrive at Vito d’Asio and then follow the directions for the Pielungo area. The Castle is a few hundred metres from the village and can be reached by road.
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The sulphuric springs of Anduins
In the municipal district of Vito d'Asio, in the area of Anduins to be more precise, there are he sulphuric springs of Rio Barquet, famous for its therapeutic waters since the 15th century. In the middle of the 19th century the first analyses were carried out to ascertain the physical and chemical properties of the water "pudia" (from the Latin "rotten water"). These therapeutic qualities were then promoted and projects to develop the springs began to be carried out. In the second half of the 19th century, the municipality undertook the necessary work of water intake and distribution and set up structures in the area opposite the springs to cater for the people who arrived - initially only to drink the water and then later for hydropinotherapy.
The sulphuric springs of Anduins
In the early 20th century a private company started to fully develop the springs. After a short space of time there was a tourist boom, with people coming from Trieste and the Veneto regions to benefit from the springs. An establishment with 25 bathing cabins, was built, enabling the water to be used even for bath therapy. In the early ‘20s there was a large influx of tourists, reaching a peak of seven hundred to one thousand visitors a day, making the "Anduins Health Resort" as popular as the resort in Arta Terme. A downtrend began in the ‘30s, partly due to the general economic crisis and partly because the tourist structures were beginning to age
The resort’s bathing activities were drastically reduced over the following years, until they closed down completely. However, people still visited the springs to drink the water and this has remained constant over the years.
Scientific research has provided further data about the water of Anduins, giving encouragement to the idea of an ambitious revival project.
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The Agane Cave
The Agane Cave or Forno della Pagana (“The Pagan’s Oven”) is a site of great speleological interest, located on the right of Rio Barquet, between Anduins and Vito d'Asio. It can be reached following the road that leads from Vito d'Asio to Mònt di Vît. The cave was formed in Cretaceous limestone, not far from the border with Eocene rocks. There is a wide opening (m. 4x6) facing east. The cave consists of one 305-metre-long tunnel, slightly uneven running from east to west – halfway along the track there is a small side corridor, 30 metres long. The tunnel varies greatly in depth, interrupted by 6 small lakes, approximately one metre deep, and ends in a siphon.
The inside of the Agane Cave
Some underwater explorations have penetrated around two hundred metres of tunnels where a colony of bats lives. The cave’s mysterious appearance gave rise to several stories related to its female inhabitants, las Aganas. According to an ancient legend “las Aganas” were three cruel creatures that abducted naughty children in order to eat them.
These women were said to be by some three sisters and by others mother and daughters and were said to be afraid of the sacred sound of the bell which forced them to retreat and dig into the stone with their feet in order to hide further inside their caves. This explains why they were pictured with their feet facing backwards.
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The Pradis Caves and the Museum
In Pradis di Sotto, 300 metres from the square in the direction of Clauzetto, you will come across the Pradis Caves, a much sought-after natural site of unique beauty.
The beauty of these caves was praised by Don Giacomo Bianchini in 1921, who foresaw their future enhancement in one of his poetic works. After the first explorations in the ‘50s, the parish priest of Pradis di Sotto, Don Terziano Cattaruzza, had the idea in 1964 of turning them into a tourist attraction and after a short space of time, with the help of the local population, he encouraged the work that would enable the caves to be visited by the public. The following year the Pradis Speleological Group was established – its members started their first explorations which led them to make several discoveries: the remains of the 'Ursus spelaeus (cave bear), tools made of flintstone, bones, potshards and hearth coals, all of which can be attributed to the prehistoric humans that visited the caves.
There are two parts open to tourists today. In the upper part there is the Cave of the Madonna, a vast hall containing a ceramic statue – also known as the Green Cave for its fascinating colour which results from the lighting - which has been the National Speleologist Temple since 1968. The atmospheric Christmas Mass is celebrated here every year and it is now a traditional event attended by considerable numbers of people.
The Pradis Caves
By descending 207 steps, you go down to the “Orrido”, dedicated to Don Bianchini. The deep gorge has been made by the River Cosa flowing at the bottom and creating an amazing sequence of water games. Two paths lead from the imposing bronze Crucifix situated in the rocky gorge: one leads to a small wood from which the Rio Molât waterfall flowing into River Cosa can be admired; the other leads directly to the top of the waterfall over several bridges.
'Proceeding upstream, there are two intersecting openings that originally formed one cave, but were later divided into two by water erosion. The cave route has been extended, with the addition of a ring itinerary along the border of the gorge. An ancient one-arched stone bridge crosses the gorge uphill (it is situated below the road bridge that links Pradis to Campone) and a footbridge downhill, above the meeting point of River Cosa and Rio Molât.
ACave Museum has been opened nearby the Pradis Caves. This museum holds a permanent exhibition of palaeontologic and archaeological remains, discovered accidentally or in the course of recent scientific research. Visitors can find inside the museum a section dedicated to fossils and minerals of local origin. The Museum is run by the Pradis Cultural Committee.
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The Pradis battle path
We would like to include among the places of historic interest a path a few kilometres long, which winds around the Vito d'Asio and Clauzetto area. This path will enable you to visit the theatre of battle which took place on the 5th and 6th November 1917.
For the detailed information about this route, click here.
The Val Tramontina Lakes
The three big artificial lakes of Redona, Selva and Ciul are a distinctive feature of the Val Tramontina area. These lakes were made in the ‘50s in order to regulate the valley’s water system and produce electricity. They have now become three tourist destinations for the amazing emerald colour of their water and the surrounding natural landscape.
When going from Meduno towards Tramonti, the first lake to be seen is Lake Redona, built from the damming of the River Meduna, near the Ponte Racli narrow gorge. The construction of the lake submerged the villages of Flors, Movàda and Redòna, whose ruins emerge during dry periods as testimony to their past existence. After the completion of the lake, the company that built the three artificial lakes, S.A.I.C.I., rebuilt the village church not far from its original site and which can still be visited today.
The lake surrounded by nature
Proceeding in the direction of Chievolis, from the small village you follow the narrow road that leads to the dam of Lake Selva. Once past the dam, the road runs along the lake overlooking the tops of the mountains that enclose the eastern part.
Lake Ciul is further up the road. It can be reached through a long tunnel and then by dirt tracks.
Visitors can walk along the shores of the lake either on pleasant paths, some of which are even suitable for young children, or on more difficult ones. Visitors can stop from time to time to take photographs of the beech and maple woods or simply to breathe the fresh mountain air.
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The Fossil Museum
The Fossil Museum, next to Tramonti di Sopra town hall, has a collection of many mollusc shells from the Eocene (55-38 million of years ago) and Cretaceus period (140-65 million of years ago). There are bivalves such as the rudista mollusc, typical fossils from our mountains, and gastropods of the bellerophon type. The museum also has corals, sea urchins, different types of ammonites, ferns from the Carboniferous period (370-310 million of years ago) and the trilobites from the Cambrian (590-500 million years ago). The exhibition also has some teeth belonging to siliceous fish from the Eocene period. These fossils come from Val Tramontina and the Friulian Carniche Alps.
For further information, please call Tramonti di Sopra Town Council (phone +39 0427 869012).
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The Campone Mill
Campone, a small fraction of Tramonti di Sotto, is not a single village, but a group of small villages all facing south - this was a common feature of those places where the building space was limited to the bottom of the valley or natural terraces. As a result of depopulation, Campone is scarcely inhabited today. It is only during the summer and the festive holidays that the number of people increases.
The Mill Wheel
T'he main attraction of the small village is an old water mill with a wooden wheel,dating back to the 17th century. It is no longer functioning – the old machinery was activated by an irrigation ditch running from the River Chiarzò. There is also a cave nearby known as Fous di Campone or Bus de Castigo. The mouth of the cave opens up on to the side of the road, 1.5 km before the village, and the cave is over 2,500 metres long. With the exception of the entrance to the first room which contains a small lake, this cave can only be explored by professional speleologists and speleo-divers.
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Acqua Pradis
In Pradis di Sotto, in Clauzetto, the natural Pradis mineral water flows from the living rock of Mount Dagn. This uncontaminated water, with certified pure and light quality, is directly bottled at source, in a water bottling plant situated not far from the mountain. You can visit the bottling plant free of charge, with prior booking, to see all the phases of production from the water collection to the bottling process, accompanied by qualified guides.
Contacts: Andromeda SPA, Via della sorgente, 27 - Pradis di Clauzetto.
Phone number +39 0427 80375.
Website: www.pradis.com 
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