19-10-2014. ( Riprese effettuate con Videocamera Samsung HMX-H100P/EDS )Casso has a grave appearance: its gray stone houses with small windows give the impression of having been built for defense by both natural events and from enemies. The roofs are peculiar since they are covered with slabs of gray stone and the exterior stairs are often colonized by luxuriant ferns. Walking through the narrow stone-paved streets of the village, observing the architecture of tall stone-houses without plaster and wrought-iron street lamps, you have the impression of going back in time. Everywhere the space is precious and buildings so tall and collected have allowed the maximum use of the land for crops and for the mowing meadows necessary for the livestock holdings; in fact, the village is rounded by terraces once cultivated and behind the houses some vegetable gardens still stubbornly resist. At almost 1000 meters above sea level, Casso is protected by a rocky spur that rises below the village; on the occasion of the tragedy of Vajont, thanks to this natural protection Casso suffered only a little damage, but nevertheless the village is today almost deserted. On the wall of sheer rock that saved the small village from total destruction, there is a gym for climbing, one of the most famous of the Dolomites and very popular with the fans. The Books of San Daniele (Laste de San Denel) are one of the most interesting attractions for people who, starting from Casso, go hiking Mount Borgà. Situated on the ridge between Mount Piave and Mount Sterpezza, the Books look like wide sequences of book pages formed by sheets of stone; they are characterized by an unusual and fascinating shape that let them appear as real rocked volumes. The toponym “Books of S. Daniele” comes from a legend according to which St. Daniel, patron Saint of travelers, carried the huge slabs for the floor of a church that he wanted to build in that place. The slabs lie around in flat surface, arranged in piles that appear as upright or upset where erosion has actually given them the appearance of huge piles of petrified books. The geometric regularity with which the slubs are arranged suggests a sort of human intervention, feeding in the collective consciousness, the survival of the legendary hand of the Saint. Some caves of Red ammonitico can also be found in the proximity of the villages; in the past the slabs were transported downstream and used for the roofing of Casso. Trui dal Sciarbon. By the end of 1600 this road was travelled by women who used to carry some heavy conical wicker baskets (weighing about forty pounds) containing coal. They usually started from the high Val Zemola and from Val Mesath where the coal was produced in charcoal kiln called the “Poiat”. The plant-derived fuel obtained by the slow anaerobic combustion of wood was brought to Longarone. From here it was transported with rafts along the river Piave down to Venice. L’aspetto di Casso è austero: le sue case in pietra grigia dalle piccole finestre danno l’impressione di essere state edificate per difendersi sia dagli eventi naturali sia da eventuali nemici. Caratteristici sono i tetti ricoperti da lastre di pietra grigia e le scale esterne spesso colonizzate da rigogliose felci. Passeggiando per le strette viuzze del paese lastricate in pietra si ha l’impressione di fare un salto nel tempo e tornare indietro di decine d’anni, osservando l’architettura delle alte case in pietra senza intonaco e i lampioni in ferro battuto. Qui lo spazio è prezioso e le costruzioni così raccolte ed alte hanno permesso il massimo sfruttamento del territorio per le coltivazioni e gli sfalci per il bestiame; il paese è infatti circondato da terrazzamenti un tempo coltivati e a ridosso delle abitazioni ancora qualche orto resiste tenacemente. Casso, a quasi 1000 metri di quota, protetto dallo sperone roccioso che sorge sotto il paese, in occasione della tragedia del Vajont ha subito pochi danni, ma oggi il suo abitato si presenta quasi deserto. Sulla parete di roccia a picco che ha salvato il piccolo borgo dalla totale distruzione, si trova una palestra per l’arrampicata sportiva, una delle più note delle Dolomiti e molto frequentata dagli appassionati. I Libri di San Daniele (Laste de San Denèl) costituiscono una delle attrattive più interessanti per chi da Casso sale al monte Borgà. Situati sul crinale tra il monte Piave ed il monte Sterpezza i Libri si presentano all'escursionista come grandi pagine di roccia accatastate le une sulle altre e caratterizzate da una innaturale e affascinante geometria che le avvicina a veri e propri volumi pietrificati.Il toponimo Libri di S. Daniele deriva da una leggenda secondo la quale San Daniele, protettore dei viandanti, trasportò degli imponenti lastroni di pietra per il pavimento di una chiesa che voleva costruire in quella zona di montagna.