Things to see in Sauris

Sauris (Zahre in the local Germanic dialect, Sauris in Friulian) is a scattered municipality in Friuli-Venezia Giulia. It is the highest municipality in the region (1212 m above sea level) and is a German-speaking linguistic island. Despite being one of the smallest municipalities in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Sauris is a popular summer and winter tourist resort.

Sanctuary of Sant'Osvaldo, in Sauris di Sotto. Dating from the first decades of the 14th century, in all likelihood the cult of Saint Oswald was imported by the founders of the country, coming from Austria. The relic of his thumb was attributed with saving the town from the plague of 1348, which made Sauris one of the pilgrimage destinations; in the 17th and 18th centuries it became one of the most popular centres of devotion in the region. The interior is divided into three naves with tuff pillars and arches. It houses the Flügelaltar, the altar with doors by Michael Parth from Brunico (1524) in carved, gilded and painted wood, which is an example of late German Gothic style. In the central part St. Oswald is depicted, flanked by saints Peter and Paul; the predella below contains an intense Pietà. On the doors, scenes from the life of the Virgin and Jesus (on the inside) and some saints (on the outside) are depicted in bas-relief. The crowning, with spiers and pinnacles, culminates with the figures of the Madonna and Child and angels and saints. In the right nave the altar of S. Osvaldo, the work of Gian Francesco Comuzzo da Gemona (1658), houses votive offerings.