Belluno: where Prosecco country starts climbing

Where is Belluno, Italy?

Belluno is a town and province in the north of the Veneto, in northeast Italy, on the river Piave with the Dolomites all around it.¹² It is the northernmost of the nine provinces of Prosecco DOC,³ and the one where the plains give up and the mountains take over: the whole province is mountain country.¹

What does Belluno mean?

The name is thought to come from the Celtic Belodunum, roughly “bright hill”.⁴ In Roman times it was Bellunum.¹ Stand on the edge of the old town at sunset and you’ll agree with whoever named it.

Is Belluno worth visiting?

Yes, if you like your Italy vertical. Belluno is one of the five provinces that share the Dolomites, a UNESCO World Heritage site,⁵ and the town makes a quiet base for them, with an old centre whose main square is framed by arcades.⁴

• The old town. Small, handsome and unhurried. A morning is enough; an evening is better.
• The Dolomites. Walking in summer, skiing in winter, and the pale peaks turning pink at sunset in every season.
• The Piave valley. Follow the river south and the mountains soften into the hills where the vines begin.
• The quiet. The thing people come back for. It’s not on any postcard.

If you like your Italy vertical, this is the province.

In Belluno: a field guide

• The early hikers. Up before you, back before lunch, unbearably cheerful about it.
• The weekenders from Venice. Came for the cool air in August. Will tell you it’s cooler up here. They’re right.
• The café philosophers. One coffee, one newspaper, one table under the arcade, all morning.
• The aperitivo crowd. Boots off, glass on, mountains glowing. The best part of the day.

Belluno and Prosecco

The province is part of Prosecco DOC,³ but it is mountain country first. The Prosecco most people picture, the steep vine-striped hills, is a short drive south, between Valdobbiadene and Conegliano in the province of Treviso.⁶ Combine them: mountains in the morning, the hills for lunch, back down the Piave for dinner.

How to get to Belluno

By train from Venice, on the line through Treviso and Conegliano. By car, the A27 motorway runs north from Venice-Mestre to Belluno.⁷ Either way, the last stretch is the view, so don’t sit on the wrong side.