Cortina: the Pearl of dolomites

Author: Serena

Cortina d’Ampezzo is placed in the Italian region called Veneto, near the city of Belluno. This mountain village is placed at 1.224 metres above the sea level, at the middle of the d’Ampezzo valley, being completely surrounded by Dolomites. For this reason Cortina is called the “Queen of Dolomites” being characterized by the most beautiful landscapes of this territory thanks to its magnificent snowy peaks that become pink during the sunset. This natural show is called “enrosadira” that in the local idiom means “the evening pink”: this phenomenon is due to the peculiar geological composition of these mountains. Staying in Cortina you can admire this unique show watching the Croda Rossa d’Ampezzo. In this territory you can also see beautiful frozen waterfalls.

Cortina d'Ampezzo

The pink peaks during the sunset

Cortina d’Ampezzo is one of the most famous Alpine destination in the world and this fact is testified by its presence in the “Best of the Alps” association that unifies the most exclusive mountain locations of five different Alpine nations. Together with Cortina there are some very famous villages like Chamonix Mont-Blanc, Davos, Garmisch- Partenkirchen, Grindelwald, Kitzbühel, Lech Zürs am Arlberg, Megève, St. Anton am Arlberg, St. Moritz, Seefeld and Zermatt.

Cortina is not only very appreciated by the Italian economical, political and cultural elite but it also is an Olympic city and a real symbol of fashion.

For those who love skiing the Ski World Cortina offers 120km of all kinds of ski slopes where you can also do snowboarding (in a recent Snowpark), cross-country skiing, Nordic skiing, extreme skiing and downhill skiing. The resorts where you can ski are Tofane, Falzarego, Cristallo, Passo Giau e Mietres-Pierosà: here there are a great number of ski slopes characterized by different difficulty levels, more precisely the 33% of these slopes are blue, the 62% of them are red and the 5% are black. You can moreover use 52 different ski lifts like 6 aerial lifts, 30 chairlifts, 10 platter lifts that can transport 59.000 people every hour.

The Cortina chairlifts

All the ski-goers can choose among two types of Skipass: which one called “Skipass di Valle” (Valley Skipass) that is just valid for the skiing area made up by Cortina, San Vito, Auronzo and Misurina; or which one called “Dolomiti SuperSki” valid for 12 valleys like Cortina d’Ampezzo, Plan de Corones, Alta Badia, Val Gardena/Alpe di Siusi, Val di Fassa/Carezza, Arabba-Marmolada, Alta Pusteria, Val di Fiemme/Obereggen, San Martino di Castrozza/Passo Rolle, Valle Isarco, Tre Valli and Civetta for an amount of 1.220 km of ski slopes.

A Cortina ski slope

However you can also do many other activities like: excursions with snowshoes or “Ciaspole”, telemark skiing, ice skating, sledding and Bob sledding. With the professional staff of the Cortina Adrenaline Center you can experience the taxi-bob, the snow rafting, the crazy sledge and the Moon Light Sledge. During this nightly activity it is also possible to look at the stars in the Astronomic observatory of the Col Drusciè.

The snow rafting

Another possible activity you can do is the Snowkite that is now the trendiest and most funny sport in Cortina: you will have fun getting in touch with nature. The Kite4freedom association is there to offer you individual or group lessons to start practise this new attractive sport. Every year in Cortina there also is the Cortina Snowkite Contest dedicated to international athletes coming from different countries of the world.

The Snowkite

In the Cortina Olympic Ice Stadium you can watch many sport competitions even if here you can also ice skate, play hockey or curling that is one of the most loved sports in the Dolomites: during the month of June, in fact, in Cortina there is the Cortina International Summer Trophy dedicated to this particular sport.

A curling competition in the Cortina Olympic Ice Stadium

Even in springtime and in summertime the Cortina woods and peaks are the ideal place to practice any kind of sport: you can in fact do trekking, nordic walking or go mountain biking thanks to the presence of 42 paths where you can also find 8 vie ferrate and 6 equipped green areas. There also is the unique possibility of visit three historical paths: two of them cross the territory where the I World War took place and the third one will lead you in a special place characterized by the presence of some fascinating dinosaurs footprints made 220 million years ago.

Cortina during summertime

For those who love great experiences the Cortina Adrenaline Center offers wheel-bob ridings on the Olympic Bobsled track, rafting trips, hydrospeed trips, canyoning trips, and kayak trips in the valley’s torrents.

Obviously you can also do more traditional sports like tennis, horseback riding and fishing.

In summertime you can also go for a walk to see wonderful landscapes especially in the Falzarego-Lagazuoi area. In this wide territory there also are two regional parks that are the Parco Naturale delle Dolomiti d’Ampezzo (D’Ampezzo Dolomites Natural Park) and the Fanes-Sennes-Braies parks.

The Lagazuoi area

Finally you can find in Cortina one of the most beautiful and attractive golf fields of the whole Alpine territory.

The Cortina urban centre is characterized by its main street called Corso Italia where you can find many fashionable and elegant shops.

Corso Italia

Visiting this village you can also see the Church of San Filippo and Giacomo built in 1775. Inside this religious construction there are some sculptures by Andrea Brustolon and some paintings by Francesco A. Zeiler, Giuseppe Zanchi, Luigi Gillarduzzi and by Giuseppe Ghedina. Its tower was built later between 1851 and 1858 being visible in Cortina from different points.

The Church of San Filippo and Giacomo

The Tower of the Church

Another place that deserve your attention is the “Ciasa de ra Regoles” where there are important museums like the palaeontologist one, the ethnographic one and the Mario Rimoldi Modern Art Collection made up by 400 works made by great Italian artists during the XX century. The “Ciasa de ra Regoles” is an ancient association that gathers all the original Cortina d’Ampezzo families called “Regolieri” who tried to apply an harmonic and respectful relationship between nature and men. They created 11 norms for their community in order to promote the well-being and the survival of Cortina itself.

The “Ciasa de ra Regoles”

Art and culture have always characterized Cortina that has always attracted artists from all over the world. During the high season in the different local galleries you can watch many exhibitions and very often writers come here to introduce their new works.

Another interesting place is the Open-Air Museum on the Piccolo Lagazuoi: during the I World War the Lagazuoi hill was contested by the Italian and the Austro-Hungarian armies and now it is an extraordinary historic heritage made up by trenches, galleries and warehouses placed in one of the most panoramic path of the Dolomites.

The Open-Air Museum on the Piccolo Lagazuoi

Other frequent events are: chorus festivals, jazz nightly concerts, photographic exhibitions and performances of sculptors on wood.

Finally the Cortina nightlife offers you many different possibilities of having fun thanks to the presence of a great quantity of cafés, restaurants and discos.

Gastronomy

The two most famous local first courses surely are the Canederli (the Italian variety of the Tyrol knödel) and the Casunziei ( ravioli filled with beetroots or potatoes and dressed with melted butter and poppy seeds). Other first courses are the Polenta (the Italian cornmeal porridge), the rice with peas called “rise e bise”, fava beans or barley soups, the Goulasch süppe that is a Hungarian typical dish made up by spicy meats.

The Goulasch Süppe

As a second course you can choose among the mushrooms braised beef, spare ribs and a great variety of delicious cold cuts.

Cold cuts and Polenta

As a dessert you can choose among the applestrudel, the fartaies, the ricotta cheese cupcake, and finally there are typical Austrian desserts like the krapfen and the sacher torte.

The Fartaies

Events

All year long in Cortina there are important sport, cultural and gastronomical events like:

Women’s World Cup Skiing Standings: downhill women’s race, Super G race and giant slalom race – January

Gran Fondo Dobbiaco: International cross-country ski race of 42 km from Dobbiaco to Cortina – February

Cortina-Dobbiaco: International mountain bike race of 42 km – July

Coppa d’Oro Delle Dolomiti (Dolomites Golden Cup): International historic cars racing – September

Cortina Winter Polo on Snow: International competition of Polo on Snow – February – Misurina Lake

Men’s and Women’s World Cup of Bob – December and January – “Eugenio Monti” Bobsled track

Alpine Skiing World Cup Women – January – Olimpia delle Tofane skiing slope.

“Dalla terra al cielo” (“From sky to the ground”) from the 11th of July 2009 to the 5th of January 2010: this is a festival dedicated to astronomy and made up by meetings, nightly events and gastronomical happenings.

New Year’s Eve in Square – 31 December 2009 – Cortina

How to arrive in Cortina

By Car

Coming from South you can reach Cortina going through the A27 highway from Mestre until the end of the highway itself. At this point go on through the 51 d’Alemagna free way, once you have reached Tai di Cadore go on towards Cortina. Leaving from Mestre this trip will last more or less two hours.

From North you shoulg go through the A22 of the Brennero until the Bressanone exit. At this point you should go on towards Dobbiaco. From Bressanone your trip will last more or less one hour.

In Cortina you can drive your car but you can also use the several public transports that will bring you to the different ski lifts and to the most attractive tourist places.

By Train

Coming from South the main railway line is which one that connects Venezia S. Lucia to Calalzo di Cadore that is 35 km far from Cortina reachable thanks to a bus service that leaves from the Calalzo railway station. This trip from Venice to Cortina (train plus bus) lasts more or less 3,5 hours.

Coming from North the main railway line is which one that connects Zurich to Innsbruck and which one that connects Dobbiamo to Fortezza and from this last village you can catch the bus. Leaving from Innsbruck you can catch every hour a train that will bring you to Cortina in 4 hours.

By Bus

The shuttle service of the Venice and Mestre railway station is efficiently connected to the trains towards and from Milan. This trip lasts 2 hours and 15 minutes.

The shuttle service of the Bologna railway station is efficiently connected to the trains towards and from Florence, Rome and Naples and to the Adriatic line ( Rimini – Ancona – Pescara – Bari). This trip lasts more or less 4 hours.

The ATVO S.p.A. offers a bus service from Venice, Mestre and Treviso to Cortina and to the main Dolomites cities like Tai di Cadore and San Vito di Cadore. Reservation is obligatory and you will do it just purchasing the ticket that is sold by the ATVO ticket office and by the authorized agency. A one way ticket from Venice or Mestre costs 11 €.