The name Lagole refers to the whole area downstream from the village of Calalzo, just below the railway station, but the places the locals know best for their natural beauty, mineral water springs, archaeological finds and the female figures that are said to populate the area are those near the little Tose lake and the woodlands next to the artificial Centro Cadore lake. The numerous springs with water rich in sulfates, bicarbonates, calcium and magnesium, most of which are to be found in the clearing between the little Tose lake and the railway line, are still frequented today for their therapeutic properties, testified to by popular tradition and confirmed by clinical tests: the spring waters have excellent cicatrizing and diuretic properties. These thermal spa waters may explain the presence of the votive sanctuary where before and during the Roman age people used to go to pray for help from the deity Tribusiatei or Trumusiatis, later Apollo, named in the numerous archaeological finds, mainly in bronze and dating to between the 4th century B.C. to the 5th century A.D., displayed in the Cadore Archaeological Museum in Pieve di Cadore. Until now, partly thanks to the pleasant, almost sacred nature of the place, a spa establishment has never been built; instead, the water is channelled into a nearby hotel with spa facilities. In recent years, environmental recovery and reclamation work has been carried out in the area, improving access, although there is still action that could be taken to make the area even more appealing to tourists.

From Pieve di Cadore, on the road for Domegge, turn towards Calalzo railway station, where you will find signs for the Chalet al Lago hotel. You can also reach the site from the “Lunga Via delle Dolomiti” cycle path at Gei (below the rest home for the elderly).

ACCESSIBLE: yes; by car until the chalet at the lake and then along the paths indicated
MUNICIPALITY: Calalzo di Cadore
PLACE: Lagole
GEOGRAPHICAL COORDINATES: X 1760278 – Y 5148394
PROVINCE: Belluno

FILE COMPILED BY: Nicoletti/Abordi

Calalzo sits on the western banks of the artificial Centro Cadore lake, formed by the waters of the Piave and the numerous tributaries that stream out from it. The lake owes its existence to the construction, in 1949, of a dam, part of which can be walked on along the paths that run along the banks. The creation of the reservoir led to the disappearance of dozens of buildings at the sides of the Piave: haylofts, cattle sheds and water-powered workshops, for instance, once made “Rauza” di Sottocastello an important area for the local economy, where there was still an old stone bridge over the Piave. Most of the Calalzo area, however, is spread out over the wild, unspoilt Val d’Oten at the back of the lake. The Oten torrent, which derives from the glaciers of Monte Antelao, creates, in the shadow of the Marmarole, a strikingly attractive effect at the “Pile” waterfall (110 NS) where the naked rock and the rush of the waters are truly spectacular.

ARPAV, Atlante delle sorgenti del Veneto, Padua, 2007
E. De Lotto, Una divinità sanante a Lagole: Calalzo di Cadore nel 3. sec. a.C, Calalzo, 2002
G. Fogolari, G. Gambacurta, Materiali veneti preromani e romani del sanctuario di Lagole di Calalzo al  museo di Pieve di Cadore, Rome, 2001
I Paleoveneti nel Bellunese, Verona, 1993
G. D'Affara, Il Cadore e il suo ambiente naturale, 1990
A. Mastrocinque, Santuari e divinità dei paleoveneti, Padua, 1987