CULTURE

Farra: It's small churches and the milk museum

The name of the hamlet Farra certainly derives from the Lombard word “fara”. The “fare” were social and military units that were widespread throughout the Belluno and Treviso foothills. We are along the ancient road that connects Belluno and Feltre, near the banks of the Piave River.

Historically, the village is divided into four districts: Pian del Toro, Crosere, Camont and Pradoi. There were originally three churches within the village, but now only two remain.
The ancient church of San Teonisto is a building nestled among the houses of the village, the result of successive architectural interventions: this church, like that of Sant’Antonio Abate, has been documented since 1448. The presbytery area is certainly ancient, built on the foundations of a previous building. Today, it is accessed through a side entrance, as the façade is hidden by a portico dating back to the early 17th century, which was later closed. In 1917-18, the church was used by the Austrian army and until 1935 it was used as a school.

Between 1995 and 1996, some interesting frescoes came to light: a Madonna and Child enthroned between Saints Teonisto and Tiziano, which can be dated to the 16th century, and a portion of a Last Supper attributable to the stylistic characteristics of Giovanni da Mel, and therefore datable to the first decade of the 16th century.

The Church of Sant’Antonio Abate is dedicated to Saints Ermagora and Fortunato, the two protomartyrs of Aquileia who are depicted on two rather deteriorated canvases placed on either side of the high altar. Its dedication to Saint Anthony, invoked for the protection of livestock, is particularly consistent with this site, which still retains its agricultural and pastoral character. Every year in July, the palio delle contrade (or de le Palote e dei Amòi) is celebrated. This festival coincides with the phase of the agricultural season that corresponds to the end of the ploughing of the fields. The palota is a special spatula-shaped tool that was used to clean the hoes of soil. At the same time, a variety of yellow and red plum called amol ripens.
Attested as early as 1448, like the nearby church of San Teonisto, the Church of Sant’Antonio was reconsecrated in 1544 after some renovation work.

The church had a sumptuous 18th-century processional cross depicting the Madonna, the Archangel Gabriel, Saint Margaret and the dragon, surrounded by clouds and angels. Now, after an attempted theft, it is housed in the Civic Museum of Belluno.
The façade of the church is characterised by the imposing bell tower on the right and the elegant portal that replaced the original in 1818-19. A 17th-century portal in polychrome marble was added, taken from the now disappeared chapel of Sant’Andrea in Mel, with its contemporary wooden door featuring the same decorative elements.

When visiting Farra, in addition to the two churches, don’t miss a visit to the Milk Museum. The museum was created by former members and the Farra CRAL association to preserve part of the rural and farming history of the Belluno valley, where, from the late 1800s onwards, social structures and cooperatives for milk processing were established in almost all the villages. The Farra dairy company began in 1891, in premises that it did not own, and was moved to its current location only in 1907. The dairy remained in operation until 1973 and subsequently, until the 1990s, it only collected milk, but did not process it.

Inside the museum, all the tools and machinery used at the time for processing dairy products have been preserved and restored, along with the historical archive of paper documents and a collection of butter moulds, including the mould from the Saian dairy cooperative in Farra, which bears witness to the presence of a small dairy even before 1891. Visit the museum and the small churches on a summer Sunday afternoon, and you will find the inhabitants of the community of Farra ready to welcome you. If you are lucky, you may even witness a To’ Vegna challenge.