St Croce

We were left to our own devices today as Thursday is the staffs’ day off. So no organised walks and no evening meal.

This is how it always is with a Collets holiday and the staff are always helpful in suggesting routes and booking places to eat in the evening.

A small group of us decided to walk route 15 from the top of the St Croce (there are three spellings to reflect the three languages used in the Dolomites) Chairlift down to San Cassiano and then along the river to La Ville where we caught the bus back to the chalet.

The whole walk was magical even the last section along the river which being in deep shadow all day was much colder than the village of San Cassiano. All along route ice crystals had been growing over the past few nights which sparkles like diamonds in the sunlight. Almost impossible to capture their delicate beauty.

Today’s blip is of the church and refugio at the top of the lift. At 2045 metres it was still cold when we arrived so we repaired to the refugio for coffee to allow the sun to rise from behind the mountains. The farmhouse was built in 1718 serving as the residence for the sacristan and a place of refuge for pilgrims visiting the church. The church was consecrated in 1484, possibly on an earlier pagan site, with many alterations and additions particularly in the mid 18th C. It was deconsecrated in 1786 and used by shepherds until reopened as a church in 1839.

What is fascinating about the site is it’s inaccessibility. No roads only paths. It must have been a special place to become such an important site for pilgrims.