Cortina d'Ampezzo - Dolomiti

HIGH-MOUNTAIN THRILLS
Cortina offers numerous mountain bike itineraries, walks, equipped mountain
paths and climbs in the summer; exploring the mountains and promoting
mountaineering are the main aims of the Scoiattoli di Cortina, the historic
group of non-professional climbers famous for having opened up hundreds
of climbing routes and for their various expeditions. The Alpine and Nature
Guides who operate in the Cortina area, whose slogan is “Adventures in
Safety”, organize trips and hikes, climbs, rock-climbing and free-climbing
courses. And if you don’t fancy climbing, there are plenty of alternatives, such
as canyoning and the adventure park.
HISTORY, ART AND CULTURE
Cortina is not merely a famous holiday resort, it is also rich in tradition and
culture; a place where visitors can enjoy top-class art exhibitions and literary
encounters, musical, culture and folk events, and rub shoulders with the crème
de la crème of the cinema, of politics and of journalism. And then of course
a range of important sport events take place here too, such as the Women’s
Downhill Skiing World Championships, the Dobbiaco-Cortina international
cross-country skiing event and the Serie A ice hockey championships.
FASHION
For the shopaholics, Cortina boasts over 250 exclusive, luxury shops offering
the finest Italian and international fashion wear, as well as art galleries where
you can purchase splendid modern and contemporary artworks, antiques
and local craft products. Both the heart of the local community and the most
popular street with the tourists is the world-famous Corso Italia, one of the
finest shopping areas in Italy, lined with some of the most restigious boutiques
in Italy and indeed in Europe.
TYPICAL CUISINE AND FOOD PRODUCTS
The cuisine of the Ampezzano area is very similar to Tyrolean cuisine, as a
result of the strong links between Cortina and western Austria. The traditional
local dishes are made with simple, yet tasty, genuine ingredients, and in
Cortina there is something to suit all tastes: from sophisticated restaurants
to characteristic mountain refuges and trattorie where visitors can sample
local produce such as cold meats, speck, barley soup, “casunziei”, polenta,
grappa and liqueurs. Traditional sweets include redcurrant jam omelette, apple
fritters, strudel, “brazolà” (a kind of round focaccia sprinkled with grains of
sugar), “fartaia” and “carafoi”.
Foto: D. G. Bandion, G.Maggiolini.