At the foot of the Cansiglio plateau, where the Friulian mountains meet the plain, the river Livenza is born from springs of cold, clear water that rise from the limestone, and a little sanctuary, the Santissima, stands right by the source, surrounded by water. Not far away, in a marshy basin called the Palù di Livenza, archaeologists found the remains of a prehistoric pile dwelling settlement, with wooden posts, tools and pottery preserved in the wet ground for thousands of years. It is one of the Prehistoric Pile Dwellings around the Alps listed by UNESCO, a series of more than a hundred sites in six countries that tell the story of farming communities living on the edges of lakes and marshes from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age.
Polcenigo, the village next door, is one of the prettiest in Friuli, with old houses along a stream, a ruined castle on the hill and, a short walk away, the Gorgazzo spring, a deep, flooded cave in the rock filled with water of an intense blue, explored by divers to great depths. The water that flows from these springs keeps the rivers cool and clear all year round, and the air near them is noticeably fresh even in summer.
For riders, this area is an excellent base. The road from Aviano up to Piancavallo climbs the mountain in a long series of hairpins to a ski resort with views over the plain all the way to the Adriatic on a clear day, and the Cansiglio plateau, reached from Polcenigo or Fregona, is a vast beech forest with meadows and grazing deer, crossed by quiet, winding roads. To the west, the Prosecco hills around Valdobbiadene and Conegliano offer more curves among the vineyards. Traffic is light during the week but increases at weekends, when many people come up from the plain. Remember that Aviano is home to a large American air base, so you will see a lot of jets in the sky.
Caneva, Sacile and Aviano have fuel, shops and restaurants, and Polcenigo has a few trattorias and cafés. Try frico, a Friulian dish of fried cheese and potatoes, and the local wines, and if you are there in September, look out for the traditional fair of Polcenigo, the Sagra dei Sest, a celebration of woven baskets and local crafts.