Selva di Cadore: Today’s Plan C

Plan A for today was a bust. So was Plan B.

The reason? Construction work on the road we needed to drive to get to both places. Sure, the road would be open for two hours between noon and 2:00p … during siesta. But neither place we wanted to visit would be open during that time frame.

We’re going to try dropping down to those places from the north later during this trip, so I’ll keep them a secret for now.

Thus, we moved on to Plan C … which took us to a museum in Selva di Cadore, down the road a bit from Colle Santa Lucia. I’ll leave the museum to another footprint.

After visiting the museum, inspired by a photo I saw at one of the exhibits, we programmed Chiesa di Santa Fosca into the GPS. Short drive up the road from the museum.

The church, constructed in Alpine Gothic style, was founded in the 13th century; underwent rebuilding in the first quarter of the 15th century … a bell tower with a characteristic onion dome added in the mid-15th century. Sitting by itself on a small plateau, it is considered one of the iconic views of the Val Fiorentina (val = valley).

What drew me to the church was a mural … pictured on the front façade in the photograph at the museum. The description indicated that the oversized fresco was painted in the 15th century and depicts Saint Christopher with baby Jesus sitting on his shoulder. Considering the considerably deteriorated condition of the mural of Saint Fosca (over the door), I’m thinking St Kit has been ‘touched up’ over the years.

The door to the church was locked. But the info panel indicated it would be open between 4:30p-6:00p.

So, under the guise of getting ourselves some gelato in Selva di Cadore, we later returned to take a peek inside the church. Still locked up tight.

Oh well! At least we got to enjoy some good gelato.Read more