Feltre Geography & Climate

The town occupies a defensible ridge above the valley floor at around 325 metres, in the western Valbelluna between the Piave and the mountains.

North the Vette Feltrine rise abruptly to over 2,000 metres -- the westernmost group of the Dolomiti Bellunesi, and among the least visited high country in the eastern Alps. The Parco Nazionale Dolomiti Bellunesi, established in 1990, has its headquarters in the town.

South and east the Valbelluna runs toward Belluno, farmed and settled along the Piave; west the ground climbs toward the Grappa massif and the Asolani hills.

The split between the upper and lower town is the local geography that matters most day to day: the historic centre is on the ridge, everything modern is below it, and the two are joined by a steep climb or a lift.

Summers (June-August) are mild, generally in the low to mid twenties, and cooler than the Veneto plain an hour south. Afternoon thunderstorms build over the Vette and can be heavy.

Winters (December-February) are cold, with frost routine and snow in the town most years. The mountains above hold snow far longer, and the high paths in the national park are not reliably clear until late June.

Rainfall is high and well distributed -- this is one of the wetter corners of Italy -- with autumn the heaviest season.

Because the old town is on a ridge and the new one on the valley floor, the two can differ noticeably in fog and frost, with the upper town sometimes clear above a valley inversion.