Forni di Sopra
is a town and 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:...
in the 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....
, in Dolomite Alps mountain range (north-eastern 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...
). It is located at the top of the Tagliamento river valley. Languages spoken include Fornes
Fornes is the dialect native to Forni di Sopra and Forni di Sotto, two villages which, from 1300 to 1700 AD, were governed separately from the surrounding areas by the Savorgnani family of Venice and known as 'I Forni Savorgnani'....
and standard Italian.
For di Sora is the third most visited settlement by tourists in 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...
, and the most visited mountain settlement in the region. The town is most visited by tourists during the summer and in skiing season.
The first historical references to the village date from 778 AD, though recent archaeological findings suggest that there was already a Carno-celtic settlement here roughly 2,500 years ago. The University of Venice is planning to continue its archaeological studies here over the coming years.
The main summer attraction is some 3,000 species of wild flora that thrive in the commune area, many of which are officinals. In addition, at one end of the village, the Parco Naturale delle Dolomiti Friulane (a nature reserve) begins. This is the largest European nature reserve which is neither populated, nor crossed by any roads (with the exception of one which is 100 m long and mostly used by rangers).
Winter attractions are largely snow and ski based, as the village's ski slopes begin at 2,100 m above sea level, on Monte Crusicalas, on the Varmòst complex, making this the highest skiing point of the region. There is also a second skiing plane on the southern side of the village, next to its sport complexes (swimming pool, summer tennis courts, and an outdoors ice skating rink).
Tourism is the major driving force of the local economy, with many tourists buying second homes in the region. This creates demand for building work and service industry. Less central to the economy, but still noteworthy is the spectacle manufacturing industry. Many employed by this commute to the Veneto region (particularly the Cadore
Cadore is a "comunità montana" in the Italian region of Veneto, in the northernmost part of the province of Belluno bordering on Austria, the Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol and Friuli-Venezia Giulia. It is watered by the Piave River poured forth from the Carnic Alps...
area) where many of the world's major spectacle manufacturers are based.