Tarvisio - Venzone (C101)

This section runs through the valley of the Fella river, past alpine villages and green pastures. Tarvisio, the most important town for mountain tourism in Friuli, is an excellent starting point and an absolute must for cyclists travelling over the entire Alpe Adria Cycle Route. Riding without haste in Val Canale, make a stop also in Valbruna, Ugovizza, and Malborghetto: villages that have a great historical and cultural heritage and are points of departure for MTB excursions across the entire arc of the Julian and eastern Carnic Alps. Pontebba, which was once a border station and an important rail junction, is easily reached by any cyclist and it is where you can board the Bike+Train service to return to Tarvisio or descend towards the plain. Canal del Ferro, a valley nestled between the cliffs of the mountains above, provides little space for human settlements: the small hamlets of Pietratagliata and Dogna bear witness to this. After Chiusaforte, the valley gradually widens and this is where the village of Moggio Udinese is located, well worth a stop for a visit to the 13th-century abbey.

The Fella river eventually reaches its confluence with the Tagliamento river, near the town of Carnia and the railway station from where trains that also transport bicycles depart. Only a few kilometres further on, we pass through the ghost town of Portis Vecchio with the church of San Rocco, a pleasant place to stop by the river. The village was destroyed in the earthquake of 1976 and is now chosen as a training centre for the SERM Academy, an international seismic emergency response management education centre. After a short ride, we enter Venzone, the famous walled town with its palaces, medieval churches, and museums, a national monument since 1965 and also a winner of the "Borgo dei Borghi" award in 2017. In this hamlet, you can understand the technique of reconstruction by anastylosis that was used to return the artistic heritage partially destroyed in the 1976 earthquake to the community, the history of which is illustrated in the Tiere Motus museum. In Venzone you can discover many cultural and folkloristic initiatives as well as overnight accommodation in the hotels and the many local B&Bs and agritourisms.