Sella Nevea
Encyclopedia
Mountain pass
A mountain pass is a route through a mountain range or over a ridge. If following the lowest possible route, a pass is locally the highest point on that route...
and ski resort
Ski resort
A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing and other winter sports. In Europe a ski resort is a town or village in a ski area - a mountainous area, where there are ski trails and supporting services such as hotels and other accommodation, restaurants, equipment rental and a ski lift system...
in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia
Friuli-Venezia Giulia
Friuli–Venezia Giulia is one of the twenty regions of Italy, and one of five autonomous regions with special statute. The capital is Trieste. It has an area of 7,858 km² and about 1.2 million inhabitants. A natural opening to the sea for many Central European countries, the region is...
region of northeast Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. Sella Nevea is a località
Località
A località, in Italy, is the name given to inhabited places that are not accorded a more significant distinction in administrative law such as a frazione, comune, municipio, circoscrizione, or quartiere. The word is cognate to English locality...
of the comune
Comune
In Italy, the comune is the basic administrative division, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.-Importance and function:...
of Chiusaforte
Chiusaforte
Chiusaforte is a comune in the Province of Udine in the Italian region Friuli-Venezia Giulia, located about 90 km northwest of Trieste and about 40 km north of Udine, on the border with Slovenia...
, in the province of Udine
Province of Udine
The Province of Udine is a province in the autonomous Friuli-Venezia Giulia region of Italy, bordering Austria and Slovenia. Its capital is the city of Udine....
.
Geography
Sella Nevea is a pass in the Julian AlpsJulian Alps
The Julian Alps are a mountain range of the Southern Limestone Alps that stretches from northeastern Italy to Slovenia, where they rise to 2,864 m at Mount Triglav. They are named after Julius Caesar, who founded the municipium of Cividale del Friuli at the foot of the mountains...
, between the mountains of Jôf di Montasio
Jôf di Montasio
Jôf di Montasio or Montaž with the altitude of 2,754 meters is the second highest peak of the Julian Alps, surpassed only by Mount Triglav. The original Slovene name of the mountain is Špik nad Policami or Poliški Špik, however nowadays the most used is Montaž, borrowed from the Italian...
and Mount Canin
Kanin (mountain)
The Kanin or Canin is a mountain in the Julian Alps on the border of Slovenia and Italy. Its highest summit is at 2,587 m above sea level...
. It lies on the road between Tarvisio
Tarvisio
Tarvisio is a town in the Province of Udine, in the northeastern part of the autonomous Friuli–Venezia Giulia region in Italy...
and Chiusaforte,
via Cave del Predil
Cave del Predil
Cave del Predil is a is a frazione subdivision of the comune of Tarvisio in the Province of Udine, in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region of northeastern Italy...
(German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
: Raibl, Slovene: Rabelj).
Sella Nevea is on the main alpine watershed and divides the basin of Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
from the Black Sea
Black Sea
The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...
.
Ten km away lies the picturesque and uncontaminated Raibl Lake (also known as Lago di Cave del Predil or Lago del Predil), used for canoeing, wind-surfing, and other water sports.
History
For most of history Sella Nevea was an agricultural area. It was the scene of a battle in World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
.
Sella Nevea started its modern development in 1970, when the first ski plants were built. Projected to be a heaven for winter sports, Sella Nevea developments suffered from a drastic step back, when the location was deemed at risk, after a series of avalanches struck it in 1976.
In 1980, the company that managed the ski plants went bankrupt, and the business was guaranteed by the regional government.
In the 90s, Sella Nevea ski plants fell under the control of Promotur, a state-owned but independent company, which took in charge of all five main regional ski resorts.
In the 90s Sella Nevea suffered from neglect that caused it to lose popularity. Promotur said repeatedly that despite the potential of the location, nothing could have been done.
In 2002, the preventive measures against avalanches were completed.
In the meantime, the location grew in importance as a ski racing training camp. It acquired a reputation for uncrowded slopes.
Connection to the Bovec ski resort
In 2005, it was announced that Sella Nevea will receive substantial funds to replace obsolete ski equipment, and for construction of a cableway that will connect it to the BovecBovec
Bovec is a small city and municipality in northwestern Slovenia. The city of Bovec lies in the Bovec Basin in the Soča Valley below the Kanin mountain in the Julian Alps.-Geographical location:...
ski resort, one of the largest winter ski resorts in Slovenia. The cross-border link of the two resorts was completed in December 2009. It is now possible to ski on both resorts. Because both Italy and Slovenia are members of the European Schengen
Schengen Agreement
The Schengen Agreement is a treaty signed on 14 June 1985 near the town of Schengen in Luxembourg, between five of the ten member states of the European Economic Community. It was supplemented by the Convention implementing the Schengen Agreement 5 years later...
area, skiers are able to freely cross the border between Italy and Slovenia, effectively merging the Sella Nevea and Bovec ski resorts into one large ski resort covering both sides of the Canin
Kanin (mountain)
The Kanin or Canin is a mountain in the Julian Alps on the border of Slovenia and Italy. Its highest summit is at 2,587 m above sea level...
mountain.
Economy
Sella Nevea offers facilities and equipment for winter sports, such as alpine ski, cross-country ski, snowboarding, and ice skating. The abundance of untouched space is particularly advantageous for off-slope downhill skiing. In the summer, the location is used as a base for mountain trekking and rock climbing.See also
- List of highest paved roads in Europe
- List of mountain passes
- Kanin-Sella Nevea Ski ResortKanin-Sella Nevea Ski ResortKanin-Sella Nevea Ski Resort is a joint Slovenian-Italian ski resort located on Kaninsko Pogorje mountain at the Slovenian-Italian border. The nearest city is Nova Gorica about an hour away from Ljubljana. On the Italian side Tarvisio is the closest town....
- Passo di PredilPasso di PredilThe Predil Pass is a high mountain pass on the border between Italy and Slovenia.It connects Cave del Predil with Bovec in the Upper Soča Valley in Slovenia...
a pass just to the east, that leads into Slovenia.