| Municipality of Sauris
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Pop.: 414
Area: 41,52 sq. km, 1,212 m a.s.l.
Neighbourhoods: La Maina,
Lateis, Sauris di Sopra, Sauris di Sotto
Town Hall: Fraz. Sauris di Sotto - 33020 Sauris
Phone.: 0433.86219 Fax: 0433.86025
www.sauris.com
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Located in a marvellous valley
more than 1200 meters above
sea level (which makes it the highest
municipality in Friuli), surrounded
by high, wild mountains, Sauris has
led its life for centuries in isolation, before
the daring road connecting it to Ampezzo
was built between 1915 and 1930 according
to precise environmental and human features.
Sauris was the place where populations from
Kärnten took refuge probably in the
12th century, and this accounts for the old
"German" language still spoken here
(the local dialect name for Sauris is, indeed,
Zahre). German influences may still be seen
in the style of buildings made of stone in the
lower
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part supporting wooden upper floors,
with the hayloft made of trunks crossing at
angles (the blokbau technique), while roofs
are covered with wooden shingles. A similar
building now houses the local Ethnographic
Centre. Sauris has always been linked to the
worship of S. Osvaldo of Northumbria, to
whom the Sanctuary preserving the relic
thumb of the Saint was dedicated. Located at
1212 metres above sea level in a splendid
alpine area, the once much visited Sanctuary
is decorated with one of the greatest works in
Carnia, that is the wooden altar with panel
doors
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(flügelaltar) by Nicolò da Brunico
(1524), still showing its original gilding and
colours. Unusual in the scenes depicted, it is
rich in tastefully carved figures, with great
attention to the setting, according to the style
of early 16th-century carvers from Alto Adige.
Full-relief figures (for example,
SS. Osvaldo, Peter and Paul at the altar
centre) alternate with bas-reliefs and
paintings, isolated statues alternate with
scenes from the New Testament where the
central element is not only the human figure
but also the landscape. Of the other wooden
altars in the Sanctuary, master Eugenio
Manzani's one with the Virgin of the Belt
(1730) is worth
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mentioning, with its "whiteand-
gold" colouring. Also the small church
of S. Lorenzo at Sauris di Sopra, a typical
15th-16th-century Austrian building with the
bell tower set against the left aisle, contains
a lovely wooden altar, a flügelaltar carved
and painted by Michele Parth in 1551.
The central panel reproduces a bas-relief
Last Supper while the door panels show, in
softer relief, the Entrance in Jerusalem and
the Prayer in the Garden. When the panels
are closed, the painted figures of the
Annunciation appear, and the biblical
episodes of the bronze snake and the fall of
the manna are painted in the predella.
The lay-out of scenes, their technique, the
plenty of gold and bright colours make the
altar really pleasant to the eye.
Another feature that has become
part of the Sauris landscape is the
wide lake created by the barrage
of Torrent Lumiei, reflecting the
surrounding mountains. But the
small natural lakes of Festons,
Malins and Mediana, partly
covered with vegetation, are
enchanting all the same and the
destination of pleasant
excursions.
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| WESTERN CARMIA
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Covered with woods and meadows,
rich in waterways and small lakes
reflecting the blue sky, surrounded by
harsh mountains and gently rolling
hills, Carnia, yet untouched by mass
tourism, is the ideal place for those
who prefer relaxing
holidays,
invigorating both the body and
the mind not only for its
natural beauties but also
for what man has been...go
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