Cavasso Nuovo, with about 1600 residents, is part of the Pordenone Province and is located at the feet of the Carnic Alps.
It is a town surrounded by various small villages with typically Friulian characteristics.
As like all Friulian civilizations which were generally constituted of peasants, it was a town of centuries-old emigrations.
It is for this reason that the Municipal Administration chose to house external section of the provincial museum of peasant life "Diogene Penzi", dedicated to "work and emigration", in the Polcenigo-Fanna palace, currently home of the municipality's offices.
The exhibition highlights the material aspects and the social cultural forms of Friulian emigration.
Cavasso Nuovo is tied to the lineage of the Earls of Polcenigo, advocates for the Church of Belluno.
Emperor Ottone, in 963, granted them the Castle of Paucinicco (currently Polcenigo) and, based on the name of this piedmont castle, they became the "de Polcenigo".
The Polcenigo family split into two branches in 1222.
Aldericuo Polcenigo received the Villas of Coltura, San Zuan, S.Lucia, Dardago and Budoia.
Varnerio of Polcenigo received the Village of Fanna with Castle Mizza.
The Village of Fanna consisted of two communities: Fanna di Sotto and Fanna di Sopra.
The latter was also known as Cavasso.
Good blood never ran between the two communities and there were many contrasts, possibly due to the fact that, in Fanna di Sopra (Cavasso), the current Church of San Remigio had primacy.
The parish priest who had absolute jurisdiction even over Fanna di Sotto resided here.
The contrasts became more evident in the years between 1582 and 1604 and the two communities were no longer able to reach any agreements.
In that period, Fanna di Sopra (Cavasso) became independent from the Parish of Fanna di Sotto which had its own Abbey that depended on the Pomposa Monastery and officiated in the Church of San Martino.
It has been determined that, in those years, Cavasso became an independent administration because it was in this period that a Papal bull issued by Urbano III listed the churches that had become Parish Churches.
This list included the Parish of Cavassio.
The Parish Priest resided in Cavasso and was head of the Parish of San Remigio.
In agreement with the earls of Polcenigo who dominated the jurisdiction of Fanna for almost 700 years, he also had civil powers.
In 1607, during the numerous Turkish invasions, one of the descendants of Polcenigo, Gio Batta, was taken prisoner.
He was released upon payment of 7.000 ducats.
This large sum greatly eroded Polcenigo-Fanna's wealth and this date marked the decline of the family: This decline manifested itself most obviously in the 800s when the palace, then called "Palazzat" and residence of the Earls, was alienated for sale and other activities.
The earthquake of 1976 greatly deteriorated the already precarious conditions of the underused palace which was once the residence of the Earls of Polcenigo-Fanna.
It is only thanks to the intervention of the superintendence of environmental goods of Friuli Venezia Giulia that we can today admire, in its beautiful majesty, the palace which became home to the Cavasso's Municipal offices in the year 2000.
The origin of the name Cavasso was derived from the word "Càvàs" (rock quarry).
The denomination "Nuovo" was added in 1886 (Unification of Italy) with Royal Decree n. 3893, following the accession of Friuli and Veneto to Italy.
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