WORDS & PICTURES: Abi Prowse
Polcenigo’s beauty doesn’t so much strike you as slowly embrace you, drawing you warmly into its quaint alleyways and quiet piazzas. A village famed for its fairytale charm, Polcenigo does, in fact, seem doused in magic, the soft sounds of a crisp winter morning kept in time by the rhythmic hum of the river which slices through it. Polcenigo is by no means big, but what it lacks in size it makes up for in charm; one main square, the Piazza Plebiscito, forms the heart of the village, with narrow, cobblestone streets reaching away like arteries. Here, the graceful Locanda Fullini-Zaia is the best place in town for a morning coffee or an aperitivo, its large terrace framed by water and, curiously, palm trees.
Nature governs modern-day life in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region of Italy, and Polcenigo is no exception. The village itself is a pocket of brickwork amongst an ocean of lush greens and blues. Forest surrounds the centre on all sides, rising above the houses like a protective barrier. It is among this greenery that you can find the Castello di Polcenigo, which has kept its silent watch over the village below since before 1200. Just south of the centre, the castle always visible from above, there is a short footbridge, adorned in bright flowers. This bridge serves as the perfect vantage point from which to admire the rushing water of the river, the quaint architecture of Polcenigo’s slumbering houses, and the dramatic outline of the Alps. From here, it’s easy to understand how Polcenigo has been named as one of Italy’s most beautiful villages.
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It goes, perhaps, without saying that much of Polcenigo is residential. You are unlikely to find groups of tourists here, wandering through the square in search of sights and monuments. But precisely the best way to get a taste of authentic Italian life is to let yourself be swept up in the seemingly mundane; to take a slow morning walk along the river, enjoying a coffee in the square, before hunkering down in the nearest osteria to sample the best of local cuisine. For this, I’d recommend stopping at Al Bus and ordering their Montasio cheese and mushroom-stuffed ravioli (if you come during the winter months, of course). If meandering alleyways bookended by vine-clad houses make your heart sing, then take a short walk along Via Coltura.
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The centre of Polcenigo is undeniably spellbinding – but the real fantasy of the place lies just a fifteen-minute walk away, towards the base of the mountains. Following the uneven path of aptly-named Via Sorgente into the thick canopy of trees will transport you into a clearing so beautiful it seems almost other-worldly. The only sound is the gentle trickling of water, leaves falling softly like snowflakes. On a sunny day, the forest floor is dappled in light. Spread out before you is the electric blue Sorgente del Gorgazzo: an underwater grotto famed for its striking colour. Celebrated also as one of the deepest grottos in Europe, the waters are so clear that the statue of Jesus Christ, located nine metres below the surface, is visible even from above.
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