Erto e Casso (, ) is a (municipality) in the Regional decentralization entity of Pordenone in the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

region of

Friuli-Venezia Giulia Friuli-Venezia Giulia () is one of the 20 regions of Italy and one of five autonomous regions with special statute. The regional capital is Trieste on the Gulf of Trieste, a bay of the Adriatic Sea. Friuli-Venezia Giulia has an area of and a ...

, located about northwest of

Trieste Trieste ( , ; ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital and largest city of the Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, as well as of the Province of Trieste, ...

and about northwest of

Pordenone Pordenone (; Venetian language, Venetian and ) is a city and (municipality) in the Italy, Italian region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, the capital of the Province of Pordenone, Regional decentralization entity of Pordenone. The name comes from Lati ...

Geography

The commune consists of Erto (the municipal seat, population: 341), Casso (population: 35), and some smaller places: Cavalle, Col della Ruava, Forcai, Liron, Pineda, San Martino and Val del Pont. Erto e Casso borders the municipalities of Castellavazzo, Cimolais,

Claut Claut ( Western Friulian: ) is a (municipality) in the Regional decentralization entity of Pordenone in the Italian region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, located about northwest of Trieste and about northwest of Pordenone. Claut borders the follow ...

Longarone Longarone is a town and ''comune'' on the banks of the Piave in the province of Belluno, in northeast Italy. It is situated from Belluno. 4,642 people work all together in Longarone, which is 112.62% of the total population, with most actual in ...

, Ospitale di Cadore, Perarolo di Cadore,

Alpago Alpago is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Belluno in the Italian region of Veneto. It is located about north of Venice and about east of Belluno. Lago di Santa Croce is located near Alpago. It was established on 23 February 2016 ...

and

Soverzene Soverzene is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the province of Belluno in the Italian region of Veneto, located about north of Venice and about northeast of Belluno. Soverzene borders the following municipalities: Erto e Casso, Longarone, Alpago, ...

. All the bordering municipalities, except Cimolais and Claut, are part of the nearby

Province of Belluno The province of Belluno (; ; ) is a Provinces of Italy, province in the Veneto region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Belluno. It has an area of and a population of about 198,000 people. Geography Situated in the Alps, the province of ...

, in

Veneto Veneto, officially the Region of Veneto, is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the Northeast Italy, north-east of the country. It is the fourth most populous region in Italy, with a population of 4,851,851 as of 2025. Venice is t ...

. The ''comune'' is composed by the main settlements of Erto, the administrative seat, and Casso. The other hamlets, (''

frazioni A ''frazione'' (: ''frazioni'') is a type of subdivision of a ''comune'' ('municipality') in Italy, often a small village or hamlet outside the main town. Most ''frazioni'' were created during the Fascist era (1922–1943) as a way to consolidat ...

''), composed by few scattered farmhouses, are the localities of Forcai, Pineda, San Martino, and Val da Pont.

History

Early history

The village of Erto was first mentioned in 8th century. Differently from Casso, in which is spoken ''bellunese'' (a

Venetian Venetian often means from or related to: * Venice, a city in Italy * Veneto, a region of Italy * Republic of Venice (697–1797), a historical nation in that area Venetians might refer to: * Masters of Venetian painting in 15th-16th centuries * ...

dialect), the local language is a dialect of

Ladin language Ladin ( , ; autonym: ; ; ) is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Rhaeto-Romance languages, Rhaeto-Romance subgroup, mainly spoken in the Dolomites, Dolomite Mountains in Northern Italy in the provinces of South Tyrol, Trentino, an ...

, colloquially named ''ertano''.

Vajont disaster

Erto and Casso were the two villages in the Vajont () valley, above the artificial lake, before the

Vajont Dam The Vajont Dam or Vaiont Dam is a disused hydro-electric dam in northern Italy. It is one of the tallest dams in the world, with a height of . It is in the valley of the Vajont (river) under Monte Toc, in the municipality of Erto e Casso, ...

disaster on 9 October 1963. The landslide and

flood A flood is an overflow of water (list of non-water floods, or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant con ...

killed almost 2,000 people in total, destroying five villages in the Piave valley but leaving Erto and Casso only slightly damaged. The two villages were cautionally evacuated within three days of the disaster and the valley stayed empty for three years thereafter. During those years, some of the survivors settled down in the

Maniago Maniago () is a town and (municipality) in the Regional decentralization entity of Pordenone, in the Friuli subregion of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, north-eastern Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, ...

municipality, creating what would become the new

Vajont Vajont ( Western Friulian: ) is a (municipality) in the Regional decentralization entity of Pordenone, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, north-eastern Italy. History The municipality was founded in 1971 on the municipal territory of Maniago. It was built ...

municipality from 1971. Three years after evacuation, some other survivors, in spite of being forbidden to return to the valley, went back to their former houses and reformed the villages of Erto and Casso, which still form the municipality today.

Notable people

Mauro Corona Mauro Corona (Baselga di Piné, 9 August 1950), is an Italian writer, Mountaineering, mountaineer and wood carver. Author of several books, some of which are bestseller, he dedicated himself to mountaineering, by climbing many Italian and fore ...

(born 1950), writerInfos about Mauro Corona on municipal website

References

External links

Erto village website

Erto e Casso official website

Mountain Community of Western Friuli
{{DEFAULTSORT:Erto E Casso Cities and towns in Friuli-Venezia Giulia