At the meeting point of the Biois and Cordevole valleys, Cencenighe Agordino has for centuries been the natural crossroads of the Agordino area: an old village of stonemasons, on the way to Falcade, Alleghe and the Marmolada.
A thousand-year-old crossroads
Cencenighe Agordino (in Ladin, Zenzenìghe) is a municipality of about 1,200 inhabitants that lies exactly where the Biois stream meets the Cordevole: a position that makes it the natural crossroads of the Agordino area, an obligatory stop for those heading up the Biois valley towards Falcade and the San Pellegrino pass, continuing towards Alleghe and the Civetta, or heading for the Marmolada and Malga Ciapela.
The settlement has been stable since around the year 1000, favoured by deposits of copper, lead, iron and silver, and by the abundance of woodland that fuelled the smelting furnaces; the first written records of the place-name date back to the late 13th century. The oldest nuclei are Coi and Villagrande, the latter the main centre until the early 20th century. Politically the territory followed the fortunes of the Agordino, passing under the Republic of Venice in 1404. Its position at the confluence of the two streams has exposed it to severe floods throughout its history, notably in September 1882 and November 1966. The current name, with the addition “Agordino”, was adopted in 1964.
The stonemasons’ tradition
The village was long linked to ironworking, to the production of charcoal for the nearby copper mines of Valle Imperina, and above all to the art of the stonemasons: along Via Villagrande and Via Coi, and in the hamlets, you can still find lintels, portals, steps and window surrounds carved from dolomitic stone, as well as fountains hand-carved in the hamlets of Chioit, Bogo and Martin. This craft tradition is celebrated today in the Open-Air Stonemasons’ Museum, set up near the town hall.
The main religious monument is the church of Sant’Antonio Abate, with origins dating back to 1250 and rebuilt in 1723, which preserves a carved wooden altar from 1753.
A starting point for the Agordine Dolomites
Today Cencenighe Agordino, a lively centre with shops selling local produce, remains above all a strategic point of transit and rest for those visiting the Agordine Dolomites, thanks to its central position among the area’s main destinations — from the Fedaia pass to the Marmolada.
Sources: Wikipedia, Comune di Cencenighe Agordino, Treccani.