Bend Belluno Sister Cities Cultural Exchange

BEN ARRIVATA                   DI                       EVENTI                       SCAMBI                   METTE IN EVIDENZA              CONTATTO

David on the Cinque Torri

(Five Towers) trail

In August 2023, I spent two weeks with a host family in Longarone (Belluno Province) as part of the Bend-Belluno independent adult exchange. Kit, the Bend-Belluno organizer in Bend, introduced me to 

David, Francesca and Luigi at Lago di Sorapis (Lake Sorapis). 

 Tre Cime (Three Peaks) trail.                              Lago di Santa Cruce

                                                                               (Lake of the Holy Cross).

Bend-Belluno Independent Adult Exchange – David in 2023

On the first day of my visit, my hosts brought me to La Diga de Vajont (the Vajont Dam), where on October 9, 1963, a landslide fell in to the Vajont Reservoir, causing a giant wave of water to flow over the dam, flooding the Piave Valley below, and claiming more than 2,000 lives in their hometown of Longarone. We also visited La Chiesa Longarone Nuovo, the new church that replaced the old church destroyed by the flood. It contains the statue of the Madonna that survived the flood and was found in Venice 100 km away with some of the bodies of the dead.
Near the end of my stay, we met Marco, a former mayor of the City of Belluno, for a very informative walking tour and history of the City of Belluno. We ended the night with dinner at a jazz club with Angelo and Rebecca from the Forestry Exchange and a large serving of gelato.
I also made some day trips to Padua (where Luna goes to college), to Verona (hometown of fictional Romeo and Juliette), Cortina, a famous Italian ski resort that is getting ready to host the 2026 Winter Olympics, and two small mountain towns called Auranzo and Sapadda.
Fashionistas of the world unite in Cortina. Walking down the main street, the stores are Rolex, Louis Vuitton, Prada, Gucci, Versace, Dolce & Gabbana, etc. I want to ski there someday. I’ll put it on my bucket list.

Francesca baked a pear cake for

dessert daily with pears from her garden.










 Angelo, the Bend-Belluno organizer in Belluno. To start the process, I described myself, my education, profession, hobbies, how well I speak Italian, and what I wanted to do when I got there.​  I said I wanted to hike and bicycle 10 km a day in the Dolomites (the Italian Alps). Angelo didn’t take long for me to find a host family; it was a perfect match. They are a married couple, Luigi and Francesca, about my age but a little younger, with a daughter, Luna, in college, a son, Joy, in high school, and Luigi’s father, Inerio. They are avid hikers, climbers, and cyclists. They have
many bicycles, so they had several to loan to me. Just like I wanted, we hiked 10 to 20 km and bicycled 20 to 40 km in the Dolomites most days. Luigi is an engineer, just like me. Francesca is a fantastic cook and made three-course meals for lunch and dinner. She even baked a pear cake for dessert daily with pears from her garden.

Professional Engineer from Bend enjoys a busy two weeks in Belluno