A Ladin couple at the entrance to the Ladin Institute at Cesa de Jan — Colle Santa Lucia, Italy.

A mural at the entrance to the Ladin Institute at Cesa de Jan — Colle Santa Lucia, Italy.

17th century map of the Tyrol by M. Burglechner; in the shape of the heraldic eagle of the county.

Foyer of Cesa de Jan where the Ladin Institute is housed — Colle Santa Lucia, Italy.

Upstairs bay window @ Cesa de Jan where the Ladin Institute is housed — Colle Santa Lucia, Italy.

Cesa de Jan (1612) where the Ladin Institute is housed — Colle Santa Lucia, Italy.

At the start of the trail that turned into the Way of the Cross — Colle Santa Lucia, Italy.

Looking back to the start of the trail that runs by where we are staying — Colle Santa Lucia, Italy.

The arrows point to our balconies at Cesa dele Angele — Colle Santa Lucia, Italy.

View from the trail where is turned into the Way of the Cross — Colle Santa Lucia, Italy.

One of the stations on the Way of the Cross — Colle Santa Lucia, Italy.

Chiesa di Colle Santa lucia from the Way of the Cross — Colle Santa Lucia, Italy.

Selfie from the Way of the Cross (valley view behind us) — Colle Santa Lucia, Italy.

Chiosco Bar da Silver — Pian-Fossal, Italy.

Chiesa di San Lorenzo & Selva di Cadore ... the view that was hidden from us by the rain on 1 July.

Mui got a macchiato; then jealous of my hot chocolate, he got one for himself (with panna [right]).

Mural in the square with symbols of the village — Colle Santa Lucia, Italy.

Weather vane at Casa dele Angele — Colle Santa Lucia, Italy.

Colle Santa Lucia: Plan B

July 7 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 75 °F

When we visited the tourist office a few days ago, the woman at the desk mentioned the Ladin Museum. That fit in with our desire for an easy day today.

The Ladins are an ancient ethnolinguistic group that traces its roots back to 15 BCE when the Roman soldiers conquering the region integrated with the Rhaetian and Celtic Tribes. Today there are some 30,000 people who are of Ladin descent … they live in five valleys in the Dolomites. Their culture blends Latin and Alpine-Germanic traditions. Their language is not an Italian dialect. Rather, it is an independent and actively protected Rhaeto-Romance language.

You might think that I learned all that when we went to Cesa de Jan — which dates back to 1612, and where we understood the museum to be located. Well, you would be wrong. The building is apparently just the headquarters (admin offices) of the Institut Cultural Ladin and the museum is in another town.

The building was open; the offices locked up. There wasn’t anything to see really, so we were in and out in about five minutes.

On to Plan B.

We were curious about the trail/path we could see from our balcony at the apartment. Might as well check it out. Turns out the trail heads down at a steep angle and splits at a hairpin turn. We decided to go left … where the path continues up a steep, slightly-overgrown path that goes around to the other side of the church. At regular intervals there were what looked like votive shrines with numbers on them. That’s when we realized that the path was really a “Way of the Cross.” Good exercise; nice views.

Once we got off the trail in the village, we decided to head down to the Chiosco Bar da Silver for hot beverages. When we had dinner there the day we arrived, it was raining so hard that we couldn’t see anything. Today, with the sun out, we were able to enjoy our beverages with a view of the towns and villages in the valley.

Eventually returning to the apartment, we designated the rest of the day for R&R … lunch at home; afternoon tea and evening wine & snacks on the balcony.

The weather looks like it is going to cooperate for another day, so we’re planning to head up to one of the passes tomorrow for a couple of short hikes. While we’re at it, we’ll check out a restaurant recommended by our host.Read more