Autumn

The road slips mysteriously into the valley and runs alongside the lake, which feels eerie because you imagine it deep and cold. The wild mountains close the horizon with steep slopes and, were it not for the intriguing "national park" signs, you would almost feel like going back. Resist the temptation: the valley of the Mis shows its best farther on.

The Cansiglio is a pre-alpine plateau that extends for about 7,000 acres inside a natural basin between the regions of Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia, and the provinces of Belluno, Treviso, and Pordenone. The main peaks of Mount Pizzoc, Croseraz, and Millifret reach their maximum height in the Group of the Horse (2,251 meters). It is one of the most beautiful forests of beech and centuries-old fir trees, a destination for hikers and nature lovers, but also an ideal place to spend a day soaking up the sun in the grass and enjoying the local cuisine.

Some people face it going uphill and soon realize that it was actually made to go down. Because you feel tired just by looking at it. It's a 4444-step gray limestone stairway, on whose side is a hollow that was used to send down to the river Brenta the logs to build Venice's ships, the Serenissima. It is a masterpiece of rock carving for human traffic use, nestled in a wild environment. The Calà del Sasso is the hardest and most secret gateway to the Plateau.

The Brent de l'Art, situated in Valbelluna, are canyons carved into the rock, and represent one of the most interesting geological sites of the left bank of the river Piave. The name Brent comes from "brentana", a word that in the local dialect means describes the flood of a torrent or river after heavy rainfall; Art is the diminished form of Ardo, the name of the torrent in question.

The Shrine of St Augusta at Serravalle, the ancient part of Vittorio Veneto (province of Treviso), is the final spot of an interesting journey, to make on foot, which starts from the Via Calcada, behind the apse of the Serravalle Cathedral. From here you ascend a monumental stairway built on the ruins of the ancient town gate "Porta del Terraglio", demolished in 1931. It takes around half an hour, going steadily, to reach the top.

Follina, a small town at the foot of the Trevis-Belluno Prealps, is a focal point of the religious tourism circuit that leads to the discovery of places rich in spirituality and devotion and of great artistic value.

Here you will find one of the most beautiful holy buildings in Veneto: the Abbey of Santa Maria.

On the summit of Mount Berico, the south-west hill that dominates the city of Vicenza, stands the best known and most popular Venetian sanctuary dedicated to the cult of Our Lady. Its origins are linked to the appearance of the Blessed Virgin in these sites: the first time in 1426, the second time the following year, when Vicenza was facing a terrible plague. Tradition has it that on both appearances of Our Lady, a young girl was asked to be the spokeswoman for a request: the construction in that site of a Church dedicated to Her, with the promise of ending the plague. So it was.

Chiampo is a small town in the province of Vicenza which in the last ten years has become famous for its intense religious Marian movement which has developed around the Pieve and Lourdes Cave. The Pieve was constructed around the year one thousand but the actual building dates back to 1962. All that remains of the old church is the statue of the "Madonna with Child" in painted marble from 1480, and the baroque altar from 1743 made by a Veneto artist.

However the focus of popular worship is the Lourdes Cave which is reached along a lovely path of cypress trees.

The churches and religious buildings of Valpolicella (in the province of Verona) are testimony to a history of popular worship which stretches over many centuries.

The itinerary to discover some of the most important sites leaves from the town of Fumane, where the shrine dedicated to the Madonna of La Salette (Santuario della Madonna de Le Salette) stands. It was built in 1860 by the people of Fumane in order to thank the Madonna for having freed them from downy mildew, a serious disease which afflicts vines.