Friuli’s northwest corner is dominated by the Carnia mountains, through which run the many tributaries of the Tagliamento River. These form Carnia’s seven valleys: Val Tagliamento, Val Lumiei, Val Degano, Valcalda, Valle del Bût, Val Pesarina, and Valle del Chiarsò. Carnia takes its name from the region’s first inhabitants, a Celtic tribe called the Carni. Thought to be less barbaric in nature than their warrior cousins, these Celts wandered across the Alps in search of a quiet place to raise cattle. Modern-day residents have inherited their ancestors’ peaceful ways, as well as their spiritual connection to nature.
Sauris
Sauris is perhaps Carnia’s most picturesque village, its verdant hills dotted with Alpine farmhouses and gabled chalets. Sauris consists of two separate towns: tranquil Sauris di Sopra, which boasts the highest altitude of any Carnian town at 4,600 feet, and Sauris di Sotto, home to Prosciuttificio Wolf Sauris.
In the mid-19th century, village eccentric Pietro Schneider (who went by the nickname “Wolf”) began selling his homemade hams, which he seasoned and smoked using a variety of local herbs and wood. Schneider’s family continued this tradition for a full century; in 1962, his grandson Beppino Petris took over the business, officially naming the new company Prosciuttificio Wolf Sauris. To keep up with orders, a new plant was built in 1983. Today, Wolf’s barn-like factory turns out tens of thousands of legs of prosciutto and speck every year, along with hundreds of tons of pancetta, salami, cotechino, ossocollo, and coppa.
Arta Terme
In a region scattered with Alpine chalets and onion-domed church steeples, one Japanese-style pagoda stands out as a symbol of health and well-being. Located alongside the Bût River in Arta Terme, the Terme di Arta spa has been attracting guests since the late 1800s. The original structure was destroyed in World War I and later rebuilt in its current style. The thermal baths are fed from the waters of the ancient Pudia Spring and have a high concentration of many minerals, particularly sulfides. Even the Romans, who settled in nearby Zuglio in 52 BC, took advantage of the sulfuric water’s supposed healing properties. In addition to thermal baths, the spa offers a complete menu of mud treatments, facials, and massages, as well as a gym and swimming pool.
Forni di Sopra
Forni di Sopra sits at the western edge of Carnia, bordering the Dolomite mountain range. Here, the verdant hills and valleys are home to some 3,000 species of wild flora that come alive in the spring and summer, from yellow buttercups to red rhododendrons to purple anemones. The town and environs offer a panoramic view of the jagged, gray Dolomites peeking up over the softer peaks of forested mountain.
On both sides of the Tagliamento River there are numerous hiking trails to choose from: easy paths through the woods and meadows bordering the town, to routes of medium difficulty to nearby refuges, to longer excursions for trained hikers into the Parco Naturale delle Dolomiti Friulane.
Across the river from the town is the Centro Sportivo, a large sports complex housing a gym, skating rink, swimming pool, and spa, along with outdoor courts for tennis, basketball, and soccer. A short distance to the south is a lovely park known as the Pineta e Laghetti. Here, visitors may take a more leisurely stroll around three small lakes shaded by pine forests.