Belluno Geography & Climate

The town occupies a defensible spur above the confluence of the Piave and the Ardo, at around 390 metres, in the broad valley the province calls the Valbelluna.

North the ground rises fast into the Schiara massif and the Dolomiti Bellunesi, a landscape of limestone walls and scree that becomes genuinely wild within a few kilometres of the valley floor. That abruptness is unusual: most Dolomite towns sit well inside the mountains, whereas Belluno sits at their edge.

South-west the Valbelluna runs toward Feltre, farmed and settled; north-east the Piave valley climbs toward Longarone, the Vajont and eventually Cortina.

The Nevegàl, a rounded pre-alpine ridge, rises directly south of the town and carries its small ski area and its best view back over the valley.

Summers (June-August) are mild by Italian standards, generally in the low to mid twenties, and noticeably fresher than Padua or Venice. Afternoon thunderstorms over the mountains are frequent and can be violent.

Winters (December-February) are cold, with snow in the town most years and reliable cover on the Nevegàl and higher. The valley can hold a temperature inversion for days, leaving the town under cloud while the peaks are in sun.

Rainfall is high -- this is one of the wetter provinces in Italy -- and well distributed, with autumn the heaviest season. The Piave rises fast.

The altitude range matters: the town is at 390 metres, the Schiara at 2,565. Weather at the top has nothing to do with weather in the square, and the difference has caught out a great many walkers.