Castellavazzo: castle, stone museum and hiking

Castellavazzo is located north of Longarone, a few km away from the motorway exit Pian di Vedoia, perched on a rock overlooking the Piave River. Once the village controlled the access to the region of Tyrol, was an important site for stone cutting and a station for the transportation of wood: memories of its past are kept in its two museums. Nowadays it is a perfect starting point to reach the beautiful Val Zoldana valley and the world-famous resort of Cortina.

Thanks to its strategic position, Castellavazzo and its administrative divisions Codissago, Podenzoi and Olantreghe were inhabited since ancient times and had the important function of controlling the transit through the valley. Proofs of this function are the ruins of the Gardona Castle you can see along a trail that remains as only memory of an ancient Roman road. Castellavazzo and its administrative divisions are characterized by the sculpted buildings and fountains showing the art of the stonecutters, famous all over the world. In fact, a fine art of stone masonry developed here thanks to the many quarries from where a grey or red sedimentary rock was extracted. Today this art is disappearing and the only active quarry left is the one of Marsor. The only memories of this glorious past are kept in the Stone and Stonecutter Museum.

In Codissago there is another important museum, the Rafter Museum: the hamlet was in fact an important river port, a transit point for the rafts carrying the wood destined to the Venetian Arsenal. Countless tools, objects, documents, and a wonderful example of Venetian sawmill are kept in the museum.

Castellavazzo has also many natural attractions, and it is pleasant to walk along ancient trails, among mountain chalets and furnaces. If you are looking for trekking trails of more difficult levels, with a 30 minute drive you can reach the Val Zoldana valley, Cortina and the imposing Dolomites.