I can confirm there's a train going from Venice to Pieve di Cadore. I remember seeing it, two aged self-powered diesel cars, going slow and stopping at every station on the line; I hope Trenitalia changed them by now. Buses should be easy to find too, as Pieve is on the road to Cortina d' Ampezzo, a famous ski resort, but you have to be sure you don't suffer motion sickness, as the trip is long. The easiest way is by car this time: A-27 highway from Venice to Belluno an then just a bit of SS51, a main road running on the Piave river valley. If you're looking for REAL mountain roads, try the Falzarego pass just out of Cortina. And speaking of scary mountain roads, I remember driving in Cinqueterre on a road not much wider than my car, rotten asphalt and no side protection, without the slightest idea where and when it could end, though I guess the scariest ever was at night on Panamericana, running high along the Pacific in Southern Peru, when the bus driver got fuzzy, the bus went off the road and stopped just a few yards from the edge. Abruptly awakened and without knowing what had happened, we stood outside in the deepest darkness, looking at the white rim of ocean breakers, listening at their powerful sound and thanking our lucky star (or our guardian angel ). Bye Paolo Trieste, Italy