In these lands important noble dynasties originated which made the history of the Serenissima Republic of Venice, and in 2019 instead, they were declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, thanks to a unique landscape, where the work of the winemakers helped transform this exceptional territory.
These areas, thanks to its historic buildings, ancient places of worship and nature trails, are one of the most loved and popular places in the Marca Trevigiana. Follina owes its fortune to the abundance of water that flows through it, this in fact attracted the Benedictines towards the ninth century, who started the first nucleus of the abbey, which still characterizes the ancient village today.
As Andrea Zanzotto, a great Italian poet of the second half of the twentieth century, wrote, "raw spring water manifests itself and flows".
It is believed, in fact, that it was precisely this process that gave the town its name and subsequently also its industrial development. The activity of working with wool and silk reached its peak between the 18th and 14th centuries. Built around the cloister and completed by the Cistercians in 1268, the Abbey of Santa Maria is the religious and cultural heart of Follina. It has a simple white facade facing west and with a Latin cross shape.
Inside we can admire some important works, such as the sandstone statue of the Madonna del Sacro Calice, which dates back to the seventh century, miraculously found by the Benedictines on the Roncavazzai hill, a wooden crucifix from the Baroque period and a fresco by Francesco da Milano that represents the Madonna and Child with Saints. Do not miss the opportunity to stop in Follina, this small and pretty town will surprise you with its typical spring and autumn events, which will make you taste truly unique and famous local products all over the world.
