In a clearing surrounded by fir trees – in the so-called “Val dell’Acqua woods” –, on a grassy plateau bathed by the Padola and Risena torrents, at an altitude of over 1300 metres, there are two springs, whose water was first analysed as far back as 1837, and is today classified as containing sulphates, calcium, magnesium, fluoride, low amounts of salt and sulphur, making it suitable for spa treatments. The first wooden spa structures were built at the end of the 19th century, by the owners of the Victoria Hotel, now used as a holiday camp, and in the nearby Valgrande Hotel, but did not reach the peak of their splendour until the inter-war years, when new accommodation structures were built in stone. The modern spa centre, complete with swimming pool facilities, including an outdoor pool, was created in 1999, following a careful analysis of the diuretic and choleretic qualities of the waters. Built over the ruins of an alpine holiday village from the Fascist period, the complex is a valuable new addition to the local accommodation facilities, especially in the tourist season, as indeed was the hope of Ottone Brentari way back in 1886 when he wrote: “This water is known to the local people as “stinky water” on account of the smell of hydrogen sulphate [ …] it flows so copiously and constantly that there is no doubt it may profitably and safely be used for all kinds of therapeutical applications”.

From Santo Stefano di Cadore, continue towards Comelico Superiore, turning left just after Padola along the SS52, which crosses the Monte Croce Comelico Pass into the South Tyrol. Valgrande is 4 kilometres from the village of Padola di Comelico Superiore and can be reached by going along a carriage road that runs alongside the craft area of the village to the modern spa complex.

ACCESSIBLE: the springs can be reached on foot along an easy path, while the spa baths area
MUNICIPALITY: Comelico Superiore
PLACE: Valgrande di Padola
GEOGRAPHICAL COORDINATES: X 1764701 – Y 5169675
PROVINCE: Belluno

FILE COMPILED BY: Lonzi

The two watercourses that run through the valley, the Padola and the Risena, together with their outlets and other nearby torrents such as the Ajarnola and the Digon, once fed the numerous sawmills that were used for the first cut of the timber, as well as a number of mills and water-powered workshops, concentrated mostly in the Comelico areas of Valgrande and Sega Digon. According to the Veneto Records, in 1766 there were 23 wheels for milling corn, 3 saws for cutting timber and 26 looms located between Candide, Casamazzagno, Dosoledo and Padola.

G. Zampieri, A. Dalla Gasperina, A. Bonaga, Alberi monumentali della Provincia di Belluno, Feltre,m 2007
I. Zandonella Callegher, M. Fait, Comelico e Sappada, Caselle di Sommacampagna, 2006
A. Ronzon, Almanacco Cadorino, 1874, reprinted Bologna, 2005
S. Tedesco, Valgrande da un’idea Antica uno sviluppo Nuovo. 160 anni di “vagheggiate speranze” turistico- termali, Pieve di Cadore, 2001
N.E. Vanzan Marchini, Alle fonti del piacere. La civiltà termale e balneare fra cura e svago, Milan, 1999
G. Secco, La Piave, Cornuda, 1990
O. Brentari, Guida storico-alpina del Cadore, Bassano, 1886