The Prosecco wine route winds around through the vineyard-covered hills between Conegliano, Vittorio Veneto and Valdobbiadene. A gentle landscape composed of grapes and huts, farming towns and historical cities, age-old parish churches and castles, a land that humans have shaped over the centuries, making it one of the prettiest corners of Italy.
Conegliano, besides being an important industrial center, is a city with a historical heritage to discover. Elegant buildings with decorated facades flank Via XX Settembre dating back between the 15th and 17th centuries. Along the way is the frescoed loggia of the Scuola dei Battuti (the interior hall is also very beautiful) and the Duomo. The latter contains important works of art including a splendid altarpiece by Giambattista Cima. The Castle sits in a dominant position on the hill. One of its towers is home to Conegliano's Museo Civico.
The Prosecco Wine Route departs from the castle and runs along the ridges of the hills to San Pietro di Feletto, where there is a pretty Romanesque parish church from the 12th century. The road continues through a gentle landscape of grapevines and patrician villas until reaching Refrontolo, a town in a scenic position on the plains with mountains surrounding it. Don't miss the romantic scene of the Molinetto della Croda, an old 16th century watermill set in the rocks next to a large waterfall which drives the wheel. The watermill has been restored and is open for visits. From the watermill the road continues climbing in a beautiful landscape of grapevines clinging to high uneven hills, visitors cannot help but be dazzled by this scene that human ingeniousness has managed to wrest from nature.
The route continues to Follina, a town with ancient origins, where the Santa Maria Abbey, built in the 12th century in late Romanesque style, stands among attractive 16th and 17th buildings. The abbey was founded by a group of Cistercian monks who started a prosperous wool processing business here. The exterior of the church is simple and reflects the stylistic canons of the Cistercian order; the large wooden portals and central rose window are remarkable. The interior is filled with frescoes and works of art: the high altar contains the very old statue of the Madonna del Sacro Calice, from Nubia, dating