Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
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North of Udine
Hit the hard north of Italy's most northeasterly region and you'll find yourself surrounded
by the Carnic and Giulie Alps, the latter named after Julius Caesar. The former stretches
as far west as the Dolomites and far north as the border with Austria. Meanwhile, the
loftier Giulie's rugged, frigid peaks are shared with Slovenia - the Triglavski Narodni
Park lies just across the border. Both areas offer excellent hiking terrain and deliver some
of the loneliest, most scenic trails in Italy. As the area stands at the meeting point of three
different cultures, multilingual skills can come in handy. Hikers should get ready to swap
their congenial
salve
(Italian) for a
grüss gott
(German) or
dober dan
(Slovenian).
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Tolmezzo & Carnia
The region known as Carnia is intrinsically Friulian (the language is widely spoken here)
and named after its original Celtic inhabitants - the Carnics. Geographically, it contains
the western and central parts of the Carnic Alps and presents wild and beautiful walking
country flecked with curious villages.
Tolmezzo
POP 10,700 / ELEV 323M
Stunningly sited Tolmezzo is the region's capital and gateway. The
Museo Carnico delle Arti
e Tradizioni Popolari
( 0433 4 32 33;
www.carniamusei.org
; Via della Vittoria 2; adult/reduced €5/3;
9am-1pm & 3-6pm Tue-Sun)
has a rich display on mountain life and folklore. Pleasant
rooms at
Albergo Roma
( 0433 46 80 31;
www.albergoromatolmezzo.it
; Piazza XX Settembre 14; s/d
€80/100; )
overlook the main piazza or one of the town's many hills. An interesting
detour, 6km northeast of the town, is
Illegio
, a 4th-century hill village with a still-operat-
ing 16th-century mill and dairy. Tolmezzo's
tourist office
( 0433 4 48 98; Piazza XX
Settembre 9, Tolmezzo; 9am-1pm daily & 2.30-6.30pm Mon-Sat)
is helpful for information on
surrounding hiking trails and
agriturismi
.
SAF buses run to Udine approximately every hour (€3.90, 50 minutes) from Via Carnia
Libera.
