Origin of the name

To avoid a war, the city of Vicenza in 1414 gave the keys to its gates to Venice, which was increasingly expanding inland, thus ineluctably becoming part of the Venetian Republic. The city was initially stripped of many goods and properties, and many city nobles and those from the surrounding countryside abandoned the city to avoid further requisitions. Vicenza then fell into a severe and deep period of economic crisis and thus became prey to every kind of delinquency and all kinds of thugs.^[2]

The Serenissima, realizing the serious economic distress in which the citizens of Vicenza were plunged, enacted serious legislative measures and concrete tax concessions to encourage the establishment of a new and stable nobility, which soon resumed strict and complete control of the city.^[3]

On June 12, 1486, the Jews were also expelled. These masses headed to neighboring cities, such as Verona, Padua, but were rejected.^[4] The Jews then decided to go to Treviso thinking that they would be welcomed because of historical rivalries, since the Trevisans had fought against Vicenza, and because they were defeated, they poisoned Cangrande I della Scala who died in excruciating pain on July 22, 1329 after his peaceful triumphal arrival in the city.^{[note 2][note 3][note 4][note 5][note 6]}

These masses of exiles were rejected by the city, though they nevertheless obtained from the Trevisans^{[note 7]} the right to settle at the hill that would become precisely Col dei Vicentini, hence dialectically later called Col Visentin.^{[note 8][note 9]}

Geomorphology

The Visentin Group is the result of the erosion of the Piave Glacier and its lapesine branch. The lithological formations of the Visentin Group area are marine sedimentary and calcareous in origin, dating from the Jurassic to Middle Miocene period.^[5]

In the western part, the anticlinal fold of Col Visentin extends to the Lapisina Valley and is characterized by the presence of Jurassic basinal deposits that have been displaced by the presence of reverse faults parallel to the valley axis, and belonging to the Longhere-Fadalto-Cadola Line, terminating in the Colesei flower structure.^{[note 10]}

Mesozoic sequences outcrop in the central-southern part of the Lapisina Valley and represent transitional terms between pelagic and scarp facies, in which the area is located at the margin between the Bellunese Basin and the Friulian Platform.^{[note 11]}

Further south are the molasse terrigenous deposits that make up the Tertiary formations.^[6] The Quaternary deposits consist of Holocene and late Pleistocene materials that form the superficial deposits concentrated in the valley floor that have considerable extensions with thicknesses of up to two hundred meters north of Lago Morto. These deposits represent the product of the action of various agents that have operated and still operate in the area.^[7]

Ascent to the summit

Col Visentin is a well-known destination for easy hikes on the Nevegal mountain range, and is home to important meteorological facilities, radio communication, broadcasting and repeater facilities for television channels.^[8]

It is possible to ascend to the peak starting from the north by reaching the Nevegal tourist resort from which one ascends by an easy road to the Rifugio Casera at (1,400 m); from there begins the Sentiero delle creste that leads to Col Faverghera (1,030 m), which reaches a Botanical Garden and the Rifugio Brigata (1,617 m);^{[note 12]} continuing on to Col Toront (1,675 m) and finally to the Rifugio Col Visentin at (1,673 m).

Rifugio Col Visentin can also be easily reached from the south by the small road from Serravalle to the Col Occett parking lot, from where a beautiful hiking trail through the Occett Woods begins.^{[note 13]}