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Val Gardena - The worth seeing places in Val Gardena in the Dolomites
Ortisei - Santa Cristina - Selva Gardena |
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Museum in Val Gardena |
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THE GARDENA VALLEY MUSEUM
The
Val Gardena Local Heritage Museum exhibits valuable
collections in the Cesa di Ladins in Ortisei with
the following main attractions: wood carving art
of the last three centuries, old wooden Val Gardena
toys, picture collections of local artists, prehistory
of Val Gardena, a collection of regional fossils
and minerals as well as alpine fauna and flora.
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| Places
to visit in Val Gardena |
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Visit
the crucifix of Sëurasas and the
liddle Church fo S. Giacomo. |
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The Ortisei Parish Church is a product
of the late Baroque period, with two side aisles added
at the beginning of the 20th century. Inside the church
are numerous paintings and statues, includ-ing a huge
statue of St. Ulrich by Ludwig Moroder and an Adoration
of the Magi by Josef Moroder-Lusenberg as an altarpiece.
The finely carved wooden pews should not be missed,
either.
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St. Anne's Chapel was built at the cemetery
in Ortisei at about the beginning of the 15th century
and enlarged around 1515. The simple little building has
a beautiful portal and a number of interesting old gravestones
and memorial tablet. |
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Another unassuming building is St. Anthony's
Chapel on the main square of Ortisei (built
in 1673). It has a pretty ridge turret, which makes
it a popular motif for photographers, and an altarpiece
depicting the chapel's patron saint, St. Anthony of
Padua, painted by the Swiss artist Melchior Paul von
Deschwanden in the Nazarene style of the 19th century. |
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The
Church of Saint Giacomo, called the
"dlieja da Sacun", which is situated just
above Ortisei (reachable only on foot) is the oldest
in the entire valley according to historic documents.
It lies on the timeworn "Troi Paian" way which
once connected Veneto with the nearby Isarco Valley
through the Dolomite passes, crossed the Gardena Valley
and bordered the then "Stetteneck Castle".
So it is not mere coincidence that the church here was
dedicated to Saint James, protec-tor of pilgrims. The
origins go back to the 12th century, given the traces
of a Romanesque building. However, the present style
is Gothic, as objects in Gothic and Baroque style adorn
the interior. In fact the Gothic frescoes in the presbytery
are noteworthy and date back to the late 15th century.
The same is true about the wall paintings near to the
pulpit which have just been restored and they refer
to the legend of Saint James. The main altar is a valid
example of the local artistic sculpture, in Baroque
style, with curved columns, and gilt representations
of the leading figures of the church, of apostles and
angels (by the Vinatzer-Pescosta Sons around 1750).
Nowadays, the sculptures that are found in the church
such as the various objects on the main altar are imitations
made by local sculptors. But the precious originals
may be viewed and admired at the Gardena Valley Museum
at Ortisei |
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S.
Cristina, located in the middle of the valley
near the ancient high- level track called Troi Paian,
is the oldest parish in Val Gardena. A chapel dedicated
to St. Cristina is thought to have stood here towards
the end of the 12th century. Today all that remains
of the Romanesque church, which is mentioned in a papal
letter of 1342, is the wall of the bell-tower as far
as the eaves. Later rebuilding and additional structures
greatly changed the original character of the church.
The choir was built in the Gothic period, and a polygonal
charnel house was added in the 16th century. Other interesting
features include the high altar surround, which was
created around 1690 in the workshop of the famous Vinazer
family of sculptors.
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St.
Mary's Parish Church in Selva Gardena: The
19th century neo- Gothic nave was demolished in 1988
and replaced by a modern octagonal structure. The beautiful
chancel dating back to 1670, however, was preserved,
complete with the painting of the Madonna with Child
by Lukas Cra-nach on the high altar (now a copy). In
1503 Wilhelm von Wolkenstein had a chapel dedicated
to the Virgin built here, which subsequently had to
be enlarged several times to cope with the large numbers
of people who came to this popular place of pilgrimage
- as they still do today. On the outside wail of the
sacristy there is a stone painted with the coat of arms
of the Counts of Wolkenstein. |
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St.
Sylvester's Chapel in Vallunga (Selva Gardena)
is an attractive little building located at the beginning
of the valley, just a few minutes' walk from the car
park. The religious origins of the site are unknown,
but since time immemorial people have come from near
and far to pray at this chapel, which is dedicated to
the patron saint of cattle. Restoration work carried
out in 1993 revealed over 300-year-old frescoes depicting
the life of Jesus. |
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the cemetery in Selva Gardena there is a memorial
chapel built in memory of the mountain-eers
who lost their lives in the Dolomites of Val Gardena
(like the legendary Emilio Comici in 1940). Their names
are engraved for posterity in the great brass book.
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The
ruins of Wolkensiein Castle (in Vallunga-Selva
Gardena) can be seen perched high up in the steep Stevia
Wall like an eagle's eyrie. From the castie it is just
a short climb up to the top. |
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Another
attractive sight is the Chapel of the Holy Cross in
Rasciesa di Fuori (built in 1755), which occupies a
panoramic location at an altitude of over 2,200 metres.
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Castel
Gardena ("Fischburg"), which straddles the
territorial boundary between Selva Gardena and S. Cristina,
was built as a summer castle and hunting lodge. Although
Renaissance in style, its massive proportions are more
reminiscent of the medieval art of fortification. The
castle is not open to the public, but it is still worth
the walk to see the building from the outside.
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The
Monte Pana Sundial is of great interest
to all hobby astronomers and chronometry experts. This
splendid example of a spherical equatorial sundial is
made of iron, brass and gold and rests on a ten-ton
pedestal of porphyry. The sundial itself has a diameter
of two metres and shows the true time for S. Cristina
and for another 6o cities throughout the world, as well
as Central European Time. |
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