Cornei is a hamlet of about 650 people located at the center of Alpago, near Puos, at an altitude of 459 m above sea level (altitude of Cornei measured at the Alpini Club by the ex-elementary school).
Cornei is geographically located at the intersection of river Tesa with the Valturcana stream, on road SP422. Cornei is also crossed by the Valturcana road, which with its 4 kilometers in length and over 500 meters in altitude, directly connects the town centre with the settlement of Tambre.
Cornei Festival – Cornei in Sagra:
The patron saint of Cornei is the Most Holy Redeemer (Santissimo Redentore in Italian), also celebrated in Venice, and celebrated in Cornei with the festival of the same name (Sagra del Redentore in Italian), on the second and third weekend of July. In these two weeks the town of Cornei is filled with events and initiatives of various kinds.
The Cornei festival usually takes place near the sports pitch, by river Tesa. During the festival, the area of the sports stadium of Cornei transforms into a place full of events, local culinary specialties, rides for children and charitable initiatives.
In the past and before the pandemic, the Cornei festival hosted:
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- The “Corri Cornei”: non-competitive amateur sporting event that crosses the various streets, squares and places of interest of the hamlet.
- ” ‘Ndar par troi e casére”: literally means “going along the Venetian mountain paths and cottages”, an itinerant food and wine event aimed at enhancing the local produce of Cornei, through wooded paths, rustic buildings and a lot of unspoiled nature.
- Evenings of ballroom dancing: usually on Saturday evenings, the two weekends of Cornei’s festival host bands and orchestras of ballroom dancing. The events in the past attracted so many people that the organization of the festival had to provide shuttle services to allow guests to find parking in nearby towns.
- Rock or electronic music nights: usually held on Fridays, evenings with DJs or rock bands are aimed at the youngest and include different types of guests and sets.
- Football and five-a-side football tournaments of various kinds, including the former tournament of the 5 municipalities and others, strictly held at the Cornei stadium.
Map of Cornei in Alpago:
What to do in Cornei, Belluno:
- Hiking the “path of the Dead” (sentiero dei morti in Italian) from Cornei: by crossing the river Tesa, you can walk the ancient road of the dead, which historically was the only way to transport the passed relatives to the sacred burial places towards Pieve, hence the name.
- Hike from Cornei to Valdenogher: from Cornei you can reach Valdenogher (with its alchemist’s house) in three different ways:
- From Via Colombo in the cemetery area, taking the only steep road that goes into the woods and is easily visible when arriving from the Saviane Bakery. The road goes very steeply into the woods until it reaches the town of Sommacosta and then Valdenogher.
- From the Cornei tennis court, climbing up through Romascienz hills and joining the same path described on the previous point. This piece of road is also raced in the Alpago Ecotrail 21k sports competition.
- From the Bernadét area, above the church of Cornei, a couple of small white roads lead into the Valturcana woods, crossing several cottages and agricultural land, and then rejoin the ordinary road system not too far from Valdenogher.
- Hike from Cornei to Tambre along Valturcana: following the Valturcana road, which can also be traveled by car, it is possible to reach Tambre in about 45-50 minutes on foot from Cornei.
- Tour of Cornei: simple walk of 2 kilometers starting from the sports field of Cornei, going up Calle Bastiani, then passing through the church of the Redeemer of Cornei, going down through Via Colombo, the cemetery area and through the SP422 road to finally return to the sports field.
- Other walks in Cornei:
- The Madonnina di Malolt, [mother of Jesus statue], reachable via various routes from Cornei, such as the Caozze houses above the church, or from the areas of Nizieda, Coccoline and Cordele, on the northern side of Valturcana, between the towns of Cornei and Borsoi. Malolt is also reachable from the Valturcana road, from Case Coleta, not far from Tambre.
- The vines of Codenzano and Palughetto: from Cornei you can very easily reach the adjacent areas of Codenzano and Palughetto, small ancient villages in which to explore the calm and tranquility of the Venetian mountains.
- Go mushroom picking: given the V shape of Valturcana Valley, the excellent climatic conditions and its wooded slopes, the village of Cornei is ideally located for mushroom picking.
Church of the Holy Redeemer of Cornei:
The parish of Cornei: with decree no. 1607 of 2 November 1948, the President of the Italian Republic recognised the erection of the Parish of the Most Holy Redeemer of Cornei for civil purposes.
The Cornei Alpini Club:
The Cornei d’Alpago Alpini Group (Alpini are an Italian armed force specialised in mountain fighting) was founded in 1968 on the initiative of Gelindo Costa, a former fighter on the Greek-Albanian front in WWII, who ruled the Group until 1994. Today the Alpine group has a headquarters in the former elementary schools of Cornei and is a club open a few days a week where you can have a drink and spend time in good company.
The tastiest and most fragrant Easter focaccia from the Saviane Bakery in Cornei:
For those lucky enough to visit Cornei during the Easter period, every street and little road in Cornei is filled with very inviting scents and fragrant aromas, with the baked Easter cakes from the Saviane Bakery. Given their popularity, it is advisable to call and book one at the following number: +39 0437 46913
The historic Cornei fountain in Via Trieste:
Going up towards the church of Cornei from Via Cansiglio, you will find Via Trieste, a small road that goes up parallel to Via Cansiglio, to the little church of Redentore, where the two roads join again. In the bottom part of Via Trieste, an old fountain can still be seen today, perhaps built between the late 1800s and early 1900s (there are no reliable written sources, only sources handed down orally by local elders). The fountain takes water a little further upstream, it was once drinkable, but not 100% safe nowadays.
Agriculture and local products in Cornei:
The areas adjacent to the hamlet of Cornei are made up of hills, meadows and wooded spots suitable for agricultural activities of various kinds, including the procurement of timber, the breeding of livestock, cultivation of organic products, local vegetables and honey. An example of beekeeping in Cornei can be seen in the picture below:
