Cortina d’Ampezzo (Italy)

...so simple to tell what Cortina is.

When you think to Cortina the first idea that comes to mind is 'a rich place for really rich people' and you think to politicians, to movie people or to rich people in general that always go there for holidays.

Well, this is a part of what Cortina is, we should tell that this is its visiting-card for tourists, visitors and foreign people who like the idea to meet the 'high society'. ...
...from rocks.

Cortina in particular is sorrouded from the very best mountais of all Dolomites. Coming up from the street that lead from San Vito di Cadore to Cortina, you have on your left the Croda da Lago and the Croda Rossa, two mountains group whose rock is reddish also during the daylight.

On your right you have The Pelmo, made of pure Dolomia rock, white and fairly translucent.

Going straight away ... more

Cortina. It isn't so simple to tell what Cortina is.

When you think to Cortina the first idea that comes to mind is 'a rich place for really rich people' and you think to politicians, to movie people or to rich people in general that always go there for holidays.

Well, this is a part of what Cortina is, we should tell that this is its visiting-card for tourists, visitors and foreign people who like the idea to meet the 'high society'.

But Cortina is more than this: much, much more. The Pearl of Dolomites is really something extraordinary, that also lies in an extraodinary region.

The sorrounding of Cortina, the Dolomits are all beatiful. For example Selva of Val Gardena is an extraordinary small village that lies where three streets cross themselves, and any street go up to a mountain Pass (The Sella, The Gardena, the Fedaia). I should give you hundreds of these examples, but if you have never see Dolomites, you probably should not be able to understand.

The first thing to tell about Dolomites is that Dolomia rock has a particular color, that changes during the day.

In a summer day rocks are translucent, but at the beginning of the sunset they became red, and than pink and when the sun goes down, you are sorrounded from translucent pink rocks that reflect the sun light for more that an hour after the down.

Can you imagine it? The sky is dark blue, while the rocks 'gives back' the sun light, so you will have light after the down, but it comes from the bottom, from rocks.

Cortina in particular is sorrouded from the very best mountais of all Dolomites. Coming up from the street that lead from San Vito di Cadore to Cortina, you have on your left the Croda da Lago and the Croda Rossa, two mountains group whose rock is reddish also during the daylight.

On your right you have The Pelmo, made of pure Dolomia rock, white and fairly translucent.

Going straight away you will enter a narrow round valley: beyond you the mount Cristallo (if you see it, you probably will stand out of the car to touch the rock: it is so translucent, that is seems a mirage.

Than the street turn on itself and you face Cortina. Cortina is in the center on this round valley, and it lies on a so green grass, that your eyes will be dazzled. The houses and hotels of the the village are all small, there are no huge hotels, any house and any hotel is similar to an alpine hut.

From the majority of the balconies hundreds of red, white and pink geraniums jut out, but on any balcony there are only plants of the same color.

Now, if you turn on yourselves you will see all the moutains that sorround Cortina. There is the Giau, covered from a green carpet of grass that became a carpet of red selvatic flowers near to the peak, and than became rock on the peak itself.

Going up to the pick of the Giau you will probably met marmots that live quite at the end on the carpet of grass, hidden in big rocks where there are their burrows.

On the other side, turning on your left the Cristallo, and than, always turning on the left, the two reddish Croda, and the Giau.

Well, I know that probably you can't undestand, that you should see it by yourself, but Cortina is really the most dazzling place of the entire Dolomites.

Now, at the end of this description, I realize that is it probably useless and I have to apologize: it is impossible to describe Cortina, but I was so stupid that I wanted to try. 

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