Cortina and its history
Cortina d'Ampezzo, the “Queen of Dolomites” is one of the most famous Italian tourist resorts, and is located in the North-Eastern part of the Veneto region, in the province of Belluno.
The city lies in a valley at 1224 m above sea level, and is surrounded by a unique landscape, with some of the most beautiful mountains in the world, such as Tofane, Cristallo, 5 Torri, Lagazuoi, which are part of the UNESCO World Heritage.
Due to this extraordinary position, Cortina has been considered for centuries a breathtaking viewpoint over the surrounding peaks.
Cortina d'Ampezzo: a beloved holiday destination for the economic elite, a privileged place for the dolce vita, and the only one in Italy belonging to the European “Best of the Alps” group.
Cortina is a real paradise for winter sport lovers. It belongs to the Dolomiti Superski area, the biggest ski carousel in the world, and offers 70 slopes (115 km on the whole) served by 5 cableways, 26 chairlifts, 6 ski lifts, and divided into 3 ski areas: Tofane, Faloria Cristallo and 5 Torri Lagazuoi.
Furthermore, it offers an excellent cross-country center, the Fiammes Sport Nordik Center.
Cortina boasts a very long history. The presence of human settlements on the Alpine regions is witnessed by some relics dating back to 4th-5th millennium b. c. A settlement called Ampicium probably existed during the Roman period, but there is no concrete evidence of this. Since the fall of the Western Roman Empire, and after the barbarian invasions, we have no certain information about the whole region of Cadore, including the important area of Ampezzo. It is thought that during this long period, peoples living in the neighboring valleys took refuge in the Fassa, Badia, Cordevole and Ampezzo valleys with the aim of excaping the barbarian invasions: this is probably how the valley started to be peopled.
The Lombard rule had a strong influence on the life in the valley, and in this period an important institution was created, which still exist: the so-called regole.
The first written mention of the name “Cortina” goes back to a notarial act dated 15th June 1156.
After different dominations, the Ampezzo valley was ruled by the Republic of Venice. Cortina had strong commercial relations with the Serenissima: it received from the plain all convenience goods and transported to Venice large quantities of wood by river.
On the year 1511, after some years of war against the Republic of Venice, the troops of the Habsburg Empire guided by Maximilian I invaded Cortina and asked the city to submit to Austria. Cortina was able to preserve the privileges it had acquired under the Republic of Venice even during the Austrian rule. Apart from a short Napoleonic period, the Austrian rule lasted until the 4th November 1918: this is when the Austro-Hungarian empire signed the armistice at the end of the 1st World War, and Cortina was reannexed to Italy.
The First World War was a very hard period for Cortina: the city was occupied by the Italian army at the beginning of the hostilities, on 24th May 1915, and the front was located around its wonderful mountains: here, a terrible trench war was fought, which caused thousands of deaths.
At that time, the inhabitants of Cortina had to cohabit with 20-30000 Italian soldiers, with camps, depots, field hospitals and many discomforts for the civilians.
This situation lasted 2 years and a half, until the defeat of Caporetto (November 1917): at that time, the Italian Army had to retreat from the mountains, forming a new defensive line along the Piave river. The situation swung again the following year, and in autumn 1918 Italian troops occupied Cortina again, going until the Brennero pass. With the armistice, Cortina went back to Italy definitively.
The following years are recent history. Cortina was annexed to the province of Belluno, and it started to be appreciated by tourists, also because of the Dolomites railway, connecting Calalzo and Dobbiaco. Until the 30s, it was a very beloved holiday destination for the Fascist hierarchies.
Anyway, Cortina started to be an international renowned tourist resort after the 1956 Olympic games, the first ones to be broadcasted on TV.
Nowadays, after more than 50 years, Cortina is one of the most important tourist resorts in Italy and in the Alps, and it is visited by the elites and by the international jet-set.
