On the valley floor, with the house museum
Cretta
Krètte in the Sappada dialectHamlet of Sappada
Cretta, Krètte in Plodarisch, stretches along the valley floor at 1,253 m, below the terrace of Cima Sappada, on the regional road and close to the Piave. It has the Museum-House of Rural Life and the cross-country trail a few steps away. Its drawback should be stated first: according to our calculation it is the hamlet that receives least sun in December, about 75 min on the 21st. From the end of January the picture changes completely.
The sun here
Where the sun reaches Cretta from, and when
The ridge line you see is the real one, calculated from the centre of the hamlet. Above it are the sun's paths on the days that matter: where the line is solid the sun is in view, where it is dashed the sun has risen but is still behind the mountain.
On 21 December the sun reaches Cretta at about 10:55 and leaves at about 14:40: about 1 h 15 min of direct sun, under a clear sky.
Move your mouse or finger over the panorama, or use the slider beside it: you can read the direction, the height of the ridge, the peak, and the time the sun passes that way.
In words: from Cretta the highest stretch of ridge lies to the south, 26.8° above the horizon; the lowest to the east, 4°. To the south the ridge stands at 25.5°, and at midday on 21 December the sun climbs to 20°. At midday on that day the sun stays behind the ridge. On 21 December it arrives at about 10:55 and leaves at about 14:40; on 21 June it stays in view from roughly 6:25 to 19:25.
Hours of direct sun, month by month
On the 21st of each month, under a clear sky, at the centre of the hamlet. The pale band is the day as it would be without mountains: the difference is what the ridge takes away.
- direct sun in Cretta
- the day without mountains
- average of the hamlets
The same figures as a table
| Day | Direct sun | First light | Last light | Without mountains | Average of the hamlets |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 January | 5 h 45 min | 9:10 | 16:10 | 9 h 08 min | 5 h 15 min |
| 21 February | 8 h | 8:45 | 16:45 | 10 h 36 min | 8 h 05 min |
| 21 March | 10 h 25 min | 7:00 | 17:30 | 12 h 08 min | 10 h 25 min |
| 21 April | 12 h 35 min | 6:40 | 19:15 | 13 h 49 min | 12 h 25 min |
| 21 May | 12 h 55 min | 6:25 | 19:20 | 15 h 10 min | 13 h 10 min |
| 21 June | 13 h | 6:25 | 19:25 | 15 h 46 min | 13 h 35 min |
| 21 July | 12 h 55 min | 6:35 | 19:30 | 15 h 13 min | 13 h 15 min |
| 21 August | 12 h 35 min | 6:45 | 19:20 | 13 h 52 min | 12 h 25 min |
| 21 September | 10 h 25 min | 7:50 | 18:15 | 12 h 12 min | 10 h 30 min |
| 21 October | 8 h | 9:15 | 17:15 | 10 h 35 min | 8 h |
| 21 November | 5 h 45 min | 8:45 | 15:40 | 9 h 08 min | 5 h 15 min |
| 21 December | 1 h 15 min | 10:55 | 14:40 | 8 h 30 min | 3 h 45 min |
21 December, the shortest day
- First light
- 10:55at about
- Last light
- 14:40at about
- Direct sun
- 1 h 15 minabout
- Without mountains the day would last 8 h 30 min: the ridge takes away 7 h 15 min.
- The day is broken up: the sun appears in spells (10:55–11:15, 13:50–14:40).
- Across the 58 mapped buildings of the hamlet, direct sun ranges from 10 min to 1 h 30 min; the mid-point is 1 h 15 min. Here the figure changes a great deal from one house to the next: the range is what counts, not the single point.
- At midday the sun stays behind the ridge from 13 November to 29 January: 78 days a year.
- What hides it longest is the ridge to the south, where Monte Siera stands: about 2 h.
The peaks in view from Cretta
According to the calculation: at least twenty metres of summit above the terrain in between. A wood or a nearby house can still hide them.
The list of peaks in view
| Peak | Direction | Distance | Altitude |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monte Cimon | SE · 118° | 4.5 km | 2,415 m |
| Monte Creta Forata | SE · 149° | 3.6 km | 2,462 m |
| Monte Siera | S · 182° | 2.4 km | 2,443 m |
| Creton di Clap Grande | SW · 214° | 5.6 km | 2,487 m |
| Terza Grande | SW · 235° | 8.5 km | 2,586 m |
| Terza Piccola | W · 260° | 6.8 km | 2,336 m |
| Monte del Ferro | NW · 293° | 3.6 km | 2,347 m |
Names and altitudes are those of OpenStreetMap. Peaks beyond the basin are left out: they are long lines of sight that need checking on the spot before we state them.
MethodA calculation, not a measurement: terrain model at 10 m, clear sky, the centre of the hamlet with the eye 6 m above the ground. Trees and buildings are not counted; times are rounded to five minutes and, where the sun skims a ridge, they can shift by ten to twenty.
Sources and details of the calculation
Times are Italian local time (summer time from late March to late October), calculated for the year 2027; the sun counts as present when the centre of its disc is above the ridge. On 21 September the sun's path is almost the same as on 21 March, an hour later by the clock. Calculated on 7 October 2026.
- Tarquini S., I. Isola, M. Favalli, A. Battistini, G. Dotta (2023). TINITALY, a digital elevation model of Italy with a 10 meters cell size (Version 1.1). Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV). doi.org/10.13127/tinitaly/1.1
- produced using Copernicus WorldDEM-30 © DLR e.V. 2010-2014 and © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH 2014-2018 provided under COPERNICUS by the European Union and ESA; all rights reserved
- Borgate e cime: © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL 1.0 — www.openstreetmap.org/copyright
- Posizione del sole: NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory, Solar Calculator (gml.noaa.gov/grad/solcalc/), da J. Meeus, «Astronomical Algorithms»
What Cretta is like
What kind of place it is
Cretta is a roadside hamlet: the houses are strung out along regional road 355, on the right bank of the Piave, on the first stretch of valley floor below the terraces of Cima. Here the old road and the main road coincide: there is no cluster higher up, detached from the traffic, as in the hamlets from Mühlbach to Puiche. The sources say nothing about the origin of the name.
Above the road is the house the municipality took over in 1990 and restored as the Museum-House of Rural Life: a simple dwelling from the second quarter of the nineteenth century, with the barn and hayloft attached, lived in without alterations until the 1980s. It can be visited in summer, by voluntary donation, and it is the most direct way to understand how a Sappada house is laid out inside: the corridor that runs through it, the kitchen with its open hearth, the wood-panelled room with the stove, the gallery on three sides. The hamlet also has the small chapel of the Holy Trinity, the fountain and the crucifix.
The sun: what the calculation says
Cretta is low down and has Monte Siera exactly opposite. On 21 December, according to our calculation, the hamlet's map point receives about 75 min of direct sun, in two short windows: one in mid-morning and one in early afternoon. It is the lowest value among the fifteen hamlets, and also the most uncertain: moving the point by a hundred metres or so changes the result a great deal, up or down. Midday stays covered, again according to the calculation, from mid-November to the end of January.
It is a matter of season, not of the whole year. On 21 January there are already more hours than in Bach; on 21 March about 10 h 25 min, on 21 June about 13 h, as in the rest of the village. To the east the horizon is open, on to Creta Forata and Monte Cimon.
The calculation is made on the terrain model, under a clear sky, without trees or buildings. In Cretta that is not enough: anyone thinking of using the house at Christmas should go there in December, on a clear day, and look.
The houses, and what comes up for sale
Historic timber houses along the road and a few more recent buildings. In the listings we read in October 2026 there was a small second-hand apartment, published on different portals with different floor areas: a good example of why a price per square metre taken from a listing is not a measurement.
For the Italian Revenue Agency Cretta is in the “peripheral” zone, with Sappada Vecchia and Cima: standard homes between €1,900/m2 and €2,700/m2 (OMI, normal condition, gross floor area). It is a range estimated on completed sales, not the price of a house.
In a house on the road, check which side the bedrooms are on and where you park; for a historic house, ask the municipality for the protection grade.
On foot from here
The cross-country trail passes beside the hamlet, and the Cima Sappada loop is a little further on. The nearest shops, a food shop and a newsagent, are in Cima, uphill; the Monte Siera chairlift starts from there. The town hall, post office and pharmacy are in Bach, at the other end of the village: you go by car or by bus, which stops in the hamlet.
1,253 mSource 3OpenStreetMap, the hamlet's node, with the altitude from the EU-DEM 25 m model (OpenTopoData); data © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL · 6 October 2026
Altitude of the hamlet
The hamlet's point on OpenStreetMap, a little west of the small chapel; the houses stand between 1,252 m and 1,281 m.
Direct sun on 21 December
The lowest value among the fifteen hamlets, and the most uncertain. Calculated on the terrain model, under a clear sky: trees and buildings are not taken into account.
On foot from here
- the cross-country trail, beside the hamlet
- the Museum-House of Rural Life (open in summer)
- Cima Sappada: food shop, newsagent, Monte Siera chairlift
- the bus stop, in the hamlet
The drawback
According to the calculation, in December the sun arrives only in two short windows. If you need the house for the end-of-year holidays, this comes before any other consideration.
Who it suits
Who Cretta suits, and who it does not
It suits you if
- The cross-country skier: the trail is alongside.
- Anyone who wants an authentic timber house and uses it from late January onwards and in summer.
- Anyone who wants to be near Cima Sappada without climbing on to the terrace.
Look elsewhere if
- Anyone buying for Christmas and New Year: those are the weeks with least sun.
- Anyone who wants to be off the regional road.
- Anyone who wants the services of the centre within walking distance.
The drawbacks, stated
- In December it is the hamlet with least sun, according to the calculation: two short windows, midday in shade.
- It is on the regional road: there is no separate old road here.
- It lies on the valley floor, close to the Piave: in winter it is the part of the settlement that stays longest in shade.
- The centre of the village is a long way on foot.
Prices
How the Italian Revenue Agency values this area
Cretta falls within the zone that the property market observatory (OMI) calls “peripheral”. For homes in the “abitazioni civili” category, in normal condition, the official value (second half of 2025) runs from €1,900/m2Source 1Agenzia delle Entrate – OMI, database of official property values: standard homes, normal state of repair, euros per square metre of gross floor area. A broad range: it does not replace the valuation of an individual property · 6 October 2026 to €2,700/m2Source 2Agenzia delle Entrate – OMI, database of official property values: standard homes, normal state of repair, euros per square metre of gross floor area. A broad range: it does not replace the valuation of an individual property · 6 October 2026 of gross floor area. It is a range that applies to the whole zone: it is not the price of a house, and it is not an asking price from the listings.
Questions about Cretta
Is there really so little sun in Cretta in December?
According to our calculation, yes, for the hamlet's map point: about 75 min on 21 December. It is a calculation on the terrain model, very sensitive to position: a hundred metres away the result changes considerably, up or down. Take it as a serious warning, and check it on site.
And the rest of the year?
It changes quickly. At the end of January the hours of sun are already comparable to those of the centre, and from February to October Cretta is no different from the other hamlets.
Can the Museum-House be visited?
Yes, in summer, by voluntary donation; from October to May it is closed. Opening times and bookings go through the tourist office in Borgata Bach. It is a nineteenth-century house left as it was: worth a visit before buying a historic house.
Is Cretta part of Sappada Vecchia?
For some sources yes, for others no. The entry of I Borghi più belli d'Italia and the tourist consortium include it; the list of nine hamlets stops at Puiche. In practice it is different from the others: it is on the valley floor and on the main road.
Sources
Facts checked against the sources on 6 October 2026.
- I Borghi più belli d'Italia in Friuli Venezia Giulia, “Le Borgate di Sappada” (entry for Cretta)
- Associazione Plodar, “Casa-museo della civiltà contadina”
- PromoTurismoFVG, “Pista dei Campioni”
- Agenzia delle Entrate – OMI, property values database
- OpenStreetMap, nodes for hamlets, roads, lifts and services (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL)
- OpenStreetMap, the hamlet's node, with the altitude from the EU-DEM 25 m model (OpenTopoData); data © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL · 6 October 2026
- Our calculation, not a measurement, on the 10-metre terrain model (TINITALY, INGV) in the basin and the 30-metre model (Copernicus) beyond, under a clear sky, trees and buildings not considered; times and durations rounded to five minutes · 7 October 2026
- Agenzia delle Entrate – OMI, database of official property values: standard homes, normal state of repair, euros per square metre of gross floor area. A broad range: it does not replace the valuation of an individual property · 6 October 2026
- Our calculation: altitude of the hamlet's OpenStreetMap buildings on the EU-DEM 25 m model (median, 10th and 90th percentile) · 6 October 2026