A place of enchantment, surprising travelers and pilgrims by its extraordinary beauty, hidden in the quietness of the Friulian plain. An abbey village Sesto al Reghena, among the most beautiful in Italy. The place name Sesto derives from the fact that in Roman times the settlement was located near the sixth milestone on the road from Julia Concordia to Noricum. Circularly Castle Square holds ancient and prestigious buildings: Santa Maria in Silvis (so called because it lies in an extensive forest), founded by the Lombards and later donated to the Patriarchate of Friuli until the domination of the Serenissima; the Bell Tower with its Renaissance arch next to it. As well as the Town Hall, former residence of the abbots, the Chancery Palace, seat of civil power and the prison. Other wonders await just outside the entrance tower to the basilica: an Italian garden with 50 varieties of roses, Villa Fabris Zanardini, and the Prati Burovich nature trail.

Family-friendly thematic bicycle routes have also been created, with the branded The Ways of the Abbey (www.viedellabbazia-sesto.it), to discover the treasures reposed in the lands of the abbots: from lakes to mills, from country churches to Venetian residences, to the places of the heart narrated by Ippolito Nievo and Pasolini. Maps with itineraries, summarized here, are available at the Infopoint in Castle Square, which also offers a 'Sesto by bike' bike rental service (reservations at 0434.699701 - infopoint.sesto@gmail.com; www.prosesto.org/noleggiobici.html).

Itinerary

The Ways of the Abbey: between history, art and nature. Leaving the basilica, we take Via Roma and, through the narrow Calle San Gallo, we are inside the Burovich meadows, a spectacle of nature in terms of colors and scents, and shortly thereafter at Premarine Lake. Resuming the bicycle path (to the right with your back to the lake), ride along the Reghena until you reach Mure. After passing the small church of St. Mark and then the church of St. Joseph, continue along Piave Street. Shortly afterwards, the ancient Roman road begins to the right, skirting the small church of St. Peter, worshipped by the people of Sexten. Just a few more meters to get to the Molini di Stalis and, later, to the Venchiaredo Fountain-illustrative signs-from a road that crosses the river and runs over fields (we are along the Romea Strata faith path). A little more and you arrive in Cordovado near the Town Hall and the Shrine of the Blessed Virgin taken the regional road to the left, you turn, soon after, onto Casette Street. In view of Paker Lake, the road leads back to Venchiaredo Fountain and mills. From here we return to Sesto on the same route as the outward journey.