Cortina
Known as the “Queen of the Dolomites”, Cortina is famous as a centre of international culture with its up-to-date and vibrant social life and many international sporting and social events are held here, attended by VIPs from Italy and abroad.
Cortina has two important multifunctional centres for concerts, musical events, conventions and conferences and are considered as renowned venues internationally: the PalaInfiniti and the “Alexander Girardi Hall”.
These two structures are considered as cosmopolitan and exclusive venues.
The Natural Wonders
Nature is the dominant feature of Cortina. A mighty and powerful mountainscape with imposing and sometimes fearsome peaks. Impervious, rocky and cold yet at the same time romantic and fascinating; the reflection of the landscape in a cold mountain lake is something to remember.
Cortina è situata all’interno del Parco Nazionale delle Dolomiti e dell’area di Lagazuoi 5 Torri, un paradiso naturalistico protetto, circondato da alte cime, boschi e torrenti che scendono silenziosi a valle.
Cortina is situated in the Parco Nazionale delle Dolomiti (Dolomite National Park) in the vicinity of Lagazuoi 5 Torri, a protected natural paradise surrounded by lofty peaks, woods and mountain streams which flow silently down to the valley. In winter, the lakes are iced over and make a perfect natural ski-rink while in summer the ice melts and the crystal-clear lakes become oases of peace and serenity. Lago di Federa, Limedas, Pizo and the smaller lakes Ghedina and Saropis are some of the countless lakes to be found around Cortina.
Walks
To the West of Cortina, we have the Passo Falzàrego, characterised by the formidable mountains with rocky outcrops and rare coppices of fir trees. Visitors have many activities to choose from: unsullied trekking paths, rock climbing or mountain biking. You can even spend a night in a mountain refuge, witness a wonderful sunset or the dawn with the mountains tinged pink by the rising sun or a clear blue sky with a scattering of white clouds.
The area of Passo Giàu at 2236 m is interesting for its archaeological discovery; the burial site of a Mesozoic hunter from 8000 years ago complete with a burial hoard, a stone obelisk with an inscription of a Rhetic god or a Longobard spear.
Another area full of memories is the Passo Tre Croci (Pass of the Three Crosses), so called because of the three crosses commemorating a woman and her children who, in 1709 returning from Auronzo where they were visiting their grandparents, were caught up in a terrible snowstorm and perished.
