Sesto al Reghena, the abbey hidden in the forest of Friuli

There are places in Italy that have crossed thirteen centuries almost on tiptoe, and Sesto al Reghena is one of them. A few kilometres from Pordenone, on a plain of fields and canals where few travellers think to stop, the Abbey of Santa Maria in Sylvis tells a story that begins around 730, when this land was still covered by the forest that gave it its name: "in Sylvis", among the woods.

The fortified abbey

The complex was born as a monastic foundation of the Lombard era, later passing to the Benedictine monks, and over the centuries became a powerful, fortified centre, surrounded by towers and moats. Today eloquent traces of that defensive system remain: the entrance tower, the moat, and the bell tower that precedes the church, sign of a monastery that was at once a place of prayer and a stronghold. You enter a silent courtyard, and already here you sense you have arrived in a place out of time.

Inside the basilica

The basilica is the heart of the visit. Inside you'll find cycles of fourteenth-century frescoes of Giottesque influence, a painted atrium and, in the crypt, the urn of Saint Anastasia, a Lombard-era artefact among the most precious in Friuli. The light filters low, footsteps echo, and rarely are there more than a handful of people. It is an experience that elsewhere, before monuments of equal value, would be unthinkable.

The village and the table

Sesto al Reghena is also a village to explore on foot, with its arcaded houses and the river Reghena flowing nearby. It is worth devoting the whole day, perhaps combining a stop at a local osteria: western Friuli has an honest cuisine and excellent wines, and here the prices are not inflated by mass tourism.

To visit such a place is also to support it: a community that safeguards a thousand-year-old heritage deserves attentive and respectful visitors. Go in the shoulder-season months, when the Friulian countryside is at its gentlest, and let the silence of the abbey do its work.

Related guides: Unusual Friuli Venezia Giulia: hidden villages and little-known places.

Getting there

Sesto al Reghena is easily reached by car: from the A28 Portogruaro-Conegliano motorway you take the exit dedicated to the village, while those travelling on the A4 can exit towards Portogruaro and continue for a few kilometres. The reference railway station is Portogruaro-Caorle, on the Venice-Trieste line, from which you continue by bus or taxi. The nearest airports are those of Trieste and Venice.