The village of stone and wood
In the Val Colvera, in the Pordenone pre-Alps, in the municipality of Frisanco, Poffabro is a small mountain village of great charm, one of the "Borghi più belli d'Italia", which preserves intact the traditional architecture of the Friulian mountains. Its houses, built of grey stone and wood, two or three storeys high, are tightly packed together along narrow, steep lanes, and are characterised by long wooden balconies and external staircases, which were once used to dry corn, hay and laundry, and by stone arches and courtyards. The village, which in the past lived on farming, woodworking and emigration, had become almost deserted, but in recent decades it has been carefully restored, keeping its authentic character.
Poffabro is especially famous at Christmas, when the whole village is transformed into a large open-air nativity scene: in the windows, on the balconies, in the courtyards and along the lanes, the inhabitants and local artisans set up hundreds of nativity scenes, made of wood, stone, fabric, paper and recycled materials, in a magical and silent atmosphere, often with snow on the roofs. The event, "Presepi a Poffabro", attracts many visitors from all over the region. In the other seasons, Poffabro is a starting point for walks in the valley and in the woods of the Dolomiti Friulane, and for discovering the other villages of the Val Colvera and the nearby Val Cellina, with the Forra del Cellina, a spectacular gorge.
Tip: visit at Christmas for the nativity scenes; in summer, combine Poffabro with the Forra del Cellina and the lake of Barcis.
Where it is
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