In Cembra you can see far and hear from far. The valley is open to look and listen towards the beginnings and ends of the Avisio river. The people in Cembra valley can listen to the sounds of life of their opposite neighbors. The steep mountain slopes reflect the everyday life sounds.
Inside the village the sounds are reflected from the walls of the old village back to the listener's ears. The oldest stone houses in Cembra are from the 13th century. The new part, Campana rasa, has been built on the fields of the river valley after 1975. These two parts are separated with the main road leading further North to Cembra valley.
The highlands, which are difficult to travel, have retained the many different languages and dialects of the area. There are German, Italian, and Laddish-speaking valleys and villages. The cembranos say that the faverians, living only one kilometer away, already speak in a completely different way - they shout while speaking.
The village lies in the shadow of the surrounding hill peaks. The row of villages in the Cembra Valley appears to exist in medieval isolation. It is easy to believe that the inhabitants must still take into account the limitations brought by nature and the climate. In contrast to the other Northern Italian Dolomite villages, Cembra is not on the route of the greatest tourist traffic. The hills are too steep for skiing but travelers have found their way to the scenery. For people coming from busy cities Cembra valley represents”silence”. The rural environment offers a mellow soundscape to spend time in.
In 1975 Cembra was studied by a Canadian group. In the book Five Village Soundsapes the soundscape of Cembra was descibed characteristically human. In the old part, it still is. A Finnish group studying the Acoustic Environments in Change recognized in the soundscape of Cembra quite clear rhythms which reveal the modes of living to the ear. Different groups of people fill the streets in different times of the day. Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter all have their special atmospheres and soundmarks in the scenery. Also the four churches and their bells and also the surrounding nearby villages remind about the time. People still cultivate their wine on the slopes. Prophyr trucks do their work in the valley ushering the red stone around the world. In the evenings and Sundays specially one can hear from the canevas and baitas the echoing polyphonic melodies of a cheerful local choir singing the songs that has been sung already by many previous generations. Text: Noora Vikman
