Cortina has been for centuries on the border between the Republic of Venice and Tyrol, at first being part of the former, then as a territory of the Austro-Hungarian Empire for over 400 years. Towards the mid-1800s, the first wealthy Anglo-Saxon, German and Russian travellers started visiting Cortina to discover and explore its beautiful mountains and nature, starting the long history of tourism in Cortina. Thanks to newspaper articles and guidebooks written by pioneering mountaineers, Cortina d’Ampezzo was soon known all over the world as a destination for relax, sports and exploration, and the first hotels and mountain lodges started to be built. The 1950s marked the beginning of the golden era of the Ampezzo valley. Hosting the 1956 Winter Olympics, the first Games broadcast live on television internationally, firmly established Cortina as a prestigious location for winter sports and a privileged stage for La Dolce Vita in the following decades.
Cortina D’Ampezzo
