The intention of the "Caneva network" is the detection of tectonic movements in the area. It consists of 11 points and has a dimension of about 700 × 2200 m. The point positions are chosen by topographical necessities. The first epoch was observed in 1985, the others followed in annual intervals-up to now there have been eight epochs. Observables are high precision distances, directions and levellings. The paper is restricted to the horizontal aspects of the deformation and strain analysis. After a short introduction to the tectonics of the Adriatic region and a review of geodetic activities in the Eastern Alps and in Friuli, the paper mainly treats the hypothesis of a significant block movement in the southern part of the network with respect to the congruence of the points in the northern part of the network. Some considerations concerning the improvement of the network design conclude the paper.
