Wadlstrumpf: Sterzing to Feltre Day 13

Wednesday June 26, Croce d'Aune to Feltre

It poured and thundered and gusted all night long.

This was the view of Feltre from our window when we woke up:

The forecast for Feltre was thunderstorms with strong winds and probable hail. The weather advisory said "HAVE A PLAN." I adjusted our Komoot route to mark places where we could hunker down if necessary--a church here, a beer garden there. We figured if we walked quickly, we could make it down to Pedavena, about halfway to Feltre, before the storms started.

We followed the tail end of the Alta Via 2 della Dolomiti toward Feltre. Signs on the trail warned of work in progress.

Sure, use the Alta Via 2 for logging. What's another sprawling mud puddle to hikers who have dried and re-waterproofed their boots for the nth time over the past two weeks?

Some parts of the trail were a wreck, but other areas were in theory protected.

We emerged from the woods into a meadow. From there on, we walked either on gravel or paved roads the rest of the way to Feltre.

The flora in Pedavena indicated we were no longer in the mountains.

Pedavena is known for beer. One of our potential hunker-down spots was a beer garden next to a brewery. We checked the weather forecast, and the downpour that was supposed to begin at 11 had been pushed off until noon, so we kept walking.

A few raindrops fell as we approached the oldest part of Feltre, and that was it for rain the entire rest of the day. We didn't quite know if we should feel grateful or disappointed for the lack of weather drama.

Having hoofed it, we arrived earlier than expected. We couldn't check into our hotel until 1pm, so we found a corner cafe a few blocks away and ate paninis while we waited. Sitting next to us outside was the leisurely retired men's smoking and social hour.

After lunch, we checked in and dropped off our backpacks in our room. Balcony view:

Feltre has been a municipality since 49 BCE. In 1509, the old town center on Capre hill was mostly destroyed in battles between the Venetians and the League of Cambrai (the anti-Venetians--assorted powers in France, Austria, and Spain). The old-town re-build was consequently in fashionable 16th-c. style.

Our first backpack-free order of business was to explore the walled old town.

The Dom was outside the walls, and also dates mostly from the 16th-c., since most of the penultimate church was flattened by Maximillian I's troops in 1510.

There were many steps to explore within the old-town walls. Note that cars that manage to squeeze onto these stairs will be towed.

There was a boat in the middle of Piazza Maggiore atop Capre hill, the least likely place in Feltre for there ever to be water to sail on.

We ended up outside the wall on the north side of the hill, and could see Croce d'Aune far off in the saddle above Pedavena.

From Capre hill, we turned to our second order of business for the afternoon: a hike to the Basilica Santi Vittore e Corona. Looking back en route, the views of Feltre from the south were more iconic than from the north.

As we headed into the fields outside of town, we passed multiple farm sheds with adjustable roof heights, practical for assorted equipment and hay-bale stacking needs:

The Basilica sits atop a hill about 3 km south of Feltre. It was consecrated in 1101 CE, and a cloister was added in 1495.

We followed the switchbacking foot path and many steps up the hill.

Trying to get my camera to convey the steepness, to no avail

We were concerned that shorts would be expressly prohibited inside the Basilica, but according to the signage, the only things not allowed were dogs.

The interior of the Romanesque sanctuary was thoroughly frescoed. The oldest frescoes date from the 12th c.

We took the zigzagging road back down and had views of the Alps to the north (center left), foothills to the south (right). The foothills still looked pretty big up close, but they were less imposing than the mountains we had just come from.

On the way back to Feltre, we passed the entrance to a former pilgrims' hospital, founded in 1286. The portal was added in 1499, and restored in 1995, which is presumably when the plaque went up. Now it appears to be apartments.

On our way back into Feltre, we briefly checked out the Dom.

We admired the hyperbolic declination lines on the sundial on this building on Capre hill. This seemed to be the sundial norm on this side of the Alps; we later saw similar examples in Trento and Verona.

Below is a photograph of two scoops of lime-ginger sorbetto from Gelateria Sommariva in Feltre. Probably for the rest of my life, this will be the sorbetto above all other sorbettos. This was actually my second cone of the day (first was lime-ginger and lemon, input that enabled the corrected second cone). Can't remember what S's first or second cones were, but the idea to go back after dinner was his. It was a very good idea.