Giau Wall

That of the Giau Wall is an ancient story, which tells of the diatribes between the people of San Vito and those of Ampezzo over pastures and land. The first written document testifying to the quarrels between the two populations dates back to 1331. 

But to understand the reason for these quarrels, one must first understand the importance of the disputed area: the area of the Giau Pass, today served by a convenient asphalted road, constitutes a stupendous district, sheltered from the cold north winds, where streams and meadows abound, a true paradise for herds and shepherds, a place desired and coveted by the Ampezzo and San Vito people.

It seems that the first people to graze their cattle up there were the Sanvitesi, who arrived there via Forcella Ambrizzola and Forcella Giau. In a document of 1331, a notary established that the Giau basin belonged to San Vito di Cadore, fixing, among other things, certain boundary points.

From 1511 with the passage of Cortina under Austrian rule, the disputes took on international implications. Thus we arrive at 1752 when it was established that San Vito could continue to enjoy its ancient rights, provided that it built at its own expense a "marogna", i.e. a wall to prevent livestock from trespassing on the Ampezzo meadows, which had to extend for about 2 km in length, 6 feet high, 5 feet wide at the base, 2 feet high, and be completed within 90 days.

The entire population was fully committed to the undertaking and managed to complete the Giau Wall on time, felt to be indispensable for future generations. The cost of the work was over 13,000 gold lira, equal to 6,800 cows in those days.

In the summer or autumn, when the snow has not yet covered our beautiful mountains with its white mantle, it is really interesting to look for the memorial stones and plaques marking this demarcation line, marked by crosses, St Mark's lions and Habsburg shields.

These testimonies can still be found at the base of the Torre Luisa, a small Dolomite spire rising on the eastern slope of Ra Gusela, at the Becco della Muraglia di Giau, near the asphalt road and on the northern slopes of the Lastoni di Formin, above the Ciou de ra Maza lakes.

In some places, the gravestones have unfortunately been removed by unknown vandals, but in others, the Austrian marble shield and the Lion of St Mark in Castellavazzo stone, still attached with the original bars, continue to coexist, taking us back to a troubled history, to an important and debated border.

Wandering over these radiant pastures and observing the testimonies left by our predecessors means recovering a not inconsiderable part of the life of our ancestors, a cross-section of economy and society in which Cadore's obstinate and meticulous precision stood out in the broader context of international politics, forcing even an empress and a doge to pay attention to it.