On the trail of the works of Giotto of Val di Fassa

A journey back in time to Muncion, one of the oldest villages in the valley: bathed in sunshine, sheltered from floods and watched over by the church of Sant’Anna (St. Anne), the spiritual heart of the mountain at the foot of Larséch.

In Mazzin, Ladin architecture reveals itself in the houses, the barns and, above all, in the fountains. With their shingle roofs and well-defined spaces, these were once true meeting places: people gathered here to socialise, confide in one another, do business and, at times, even fall in love, while women did the laundry and men watered the livestock.<br />From Mazzin, you reach the hamlet of Ronch, at the gateway to Muncion, one of the oldest high-altitude settlements in Val di Fassa. Following the Via Crucis (Way of the Cross) trail, dating back to 1873-74, the route returns to Pera, the village of Tita Piaz, who went down in history as "the Devil of the Dolomites". At just twenty years old, he rose to international fame by climbing the Winkler Tower, one of the Vaiolet Towers.<br />Next to Pera's cemetery, where his remains rest, stands the church of San Lorenzo (St. Lawrence, 1603), home to precious paintings by Francesco Bernard, known as "Franzeleto": the great peasant painter, a fellow villager and conscript of Tita Piaz, affectionately nicknamed the "Giotto of Val di Fassa".