Back in the 1990s, the town of Clauzetto found a way of utilising part of its architectonic heritage for touristic and accommodation purposes. To this end, inside the hamlet of Pradis di Sotto, in a former primary school, nine small and medium-sized apartments for tourist accommodation were constructed.
This was done with the aim of complementing the major touristic attraction of the Grotte di Pradis (the Pradis Caves) and the neighbouring Pradis natural spring water facility.
During the same period, in the nearby towns of Tramonti di Sopra, Tramonti di Sotto and Vito D’Asio, private initiatives were also started with the aim of utilising the their own architectural heritage assets for tourism in a broader way that could include hotel-type accommodation offers and leisure activity projects.
In the year 2003, the town council of Clauzetto, in collaboration with the Comunità Montana (association of mountain communities) of Val D’Arzino, Val Cosa, Val Tramontina and the municipalities of Tramonti di Sotto and Vito D’Asio decided to go ahead with the planning and construction phase of an ‘Albergo Diffuso’ in the district of Pordenone. Today, this is the principal facility of this type in the area. On 8th April 2005, on the initiative of the Comunità Montana (association of mountain communities), three local authorities and four private citizens, together formed the “Cooperative Society of the Albergo Diffuso Val Meduna, Val Cosa and Val d'Arzino”. The new association has its head offices in the town of Clauzetto. In the same year, restoration and modernisation work on buildings belonging to some members of the cooperative got under way. The objective was the creation of further accommodation units to come under the management of the ‘Albergo Diffuso’.
In the summer of 2007, an enlargement of the company was resolved upon, with the admission of seven new partners. In the month of November of the same year these partners chose the name, the logo and the location for the Albergo Diffuso’s reception area. The month of February 2008 saw the birth of the Albergo Diffuso ‘Balcone su Friuli’ (Balcony above Friuli), as the town council of Clauzetto issued the licence for the management of the twenty accommodation units, all of them perfectly furnished and equipped, with a total of eighty-two beds between them.