Looking for a good reason to find the way to Illegio? We can give you three! Art, faith and nature all come together and mix in this pretty mountain village, an ancient hamlet of just 360 souls who look after their territory with passion and care.

For the past 13 years, Illegio, which is just 4 km from Tolmezzo in the mountains of Carnia, has annually held the International Illegio Exhibition, which boasts a fame throughout the country. The merit for this goes to its curator, Don Alessio Geretti, and to the knowledgeable, patient minds that every year work hard to put together voyages of discovery of art and life as represented by works of art of the finest quality.

The main thrust of this year's exhibition is the theme closest perhaps to everybody's heart: love. What is love? Under the ambitious title of "Lovers - Human and divine passions", visitors see a procession of paintings and sculptures ranging in date from the thirteenth to the twentieth century: young and innocent lovers, passionate and mutual love but also wounded hearts seeking redemption. A whirlwind of passions in a tangle of sentiments explained by the expert guides who take us from room to room of the exhibition. On the walls, we see Paolo and Francesca, wounded and damned lovers; Cupid, the crafty spectator of other people's feelings; and also the etheral beauties of Amor and Psyche, combined in that famous eternal embrace we all know.

In short, the Illegio exhibition is a confirmation that even (and above all) in a small village in Carnia, it is possible to find a temporary home for such illustrious artists as Antonio Canova, Ernst Klimt and Giovanni Pagliarini.

The exhibition is open until 8 October 2017, with booking and guided visits included in the price of the ticket.

Is Illegio 'just' this? Of course not!

We recommend visitors wander down the 'strada dei Mulini' (the Mills road): a network of narrow cobbled lanes that together form the backbone of this old mountain village where, harmoniously, the evidence of time and man's work take the form of many mills (some of which still functioning, such as the famous Mulin dal Flec or dal Ross, dating from the 1600s), built of stone and wood and to be founded dotted around the village.

For those who love the views and precious silence that only mountains can offer, we suggest a stroll to the Pieve di San Floriano, less than half an hour's walk from the village and located in the green meadows that still (happily!) smell of hay. This stone outpost dominating the Valle del But is a source of great enjoyment for both meditative and curious souls.

And finally (given that man cannot live by spirit alone), we allowed ourselves to be tempted by the scent of grilled sausage, by a thirst-quenching cool beer and the homely atmosphere of a pleasant wood and stone inn, in which to fortify our bodies.

"A picture is a voyage: it moves things and stops you. When you stop, the works of art awaken spiritual intuitions in you and thus you become vulnerable to questionings."

Don Alessio Gerometti, curator of the exhibition of Illegio.