Cadolten Plateau

Cadolten is a compact and pleasant karst plateau (polje), almost entirely surrounded by hills of modest height and affected by the alternation of sinkholes and rocky outcrops. It is located at an altitude of approx. 1200 m. The toponym derives from "campus ad ultimum", in Roman times it was in fact the last outpost of the Opitergino municipal agro; it is also known as Canp de l'Armàda, since to reach it you go up the last stretch of Val Armàda (or Valle dell'Olmeto) from the chapel of Sant'Antonio.For centuries Cadolten has been a place dedicated to sheep farming, not only of cattle: even today, thanks to the dry stone walls that delimit them, you can see at a glance the individual huts, each with its own blade, i.e. the reservoir of rainwater to water the livestock. As evidence of the profound religiosity that distinguished the herdsmen, the capital remains dedicated to San Floriano, the saint who protects from fires, especially the huts and huts whose wooden and rush roofs were easy prey to flames. As evidence of the persistence of the cult, images of the saint are still preserved in some huts.Of great historical importance is the ancient mule track, called "del Santo", which from Sonego and Osigo goes up to Cadolten. Although a new silvo-pastoral road has been opened, widespread sections of the route are still recognizable. Until the 70s of the last century it was also used for transhumance; in Venetian times, to drag the rowing pillars of the Bosco del Cansiglio downstream. The "didactic" path of Lieutenant William B. Berry, an American officer who worked valiantly in this area during the Resistance, is instead recent.Cadolten, from a floristic point of view, has a great variety of orchids, among which the extremely rare short-styled and the one-bulb orchid, furthermore the common and red nigritella, the pasture orchid, the pale orchid, the scorched orchids. We also point out the rich flora of the pastures, rock and also aquatic, such as the wild peony, the early gentian, that of koch, the edelweiss, the valerian of the cliffs, the spirea wedge.Although the area is predominantly arid (there are no watercourses at all) the presence of the white greasy grass, the retuso willow, the common spleen grass can be found. Amphibians such as the alpine salamander and the alpine newt are widespread in the blades. Among the birds you can spot the goshawk, the sparrowhawk, the peregrine falcon, the black grouse, the jay, the crow, the crested tit; among the mammals the fox, the weasel, the marten, the badger.