Cortina d’Ampezzo is one of the original Alpine destinations, part of a small group of pioneer towns where mountain tourism begun. These are the places where winter and summer mountain sports developed and which hosted the early editions of some events that have now become world famous, including the Winter Olympics.
The excitement for the World Ski Championships is palpable in Cortina: it was since the preparation for the 1956 Olympics that the town did not live such an intense phase of joint public and private investment and renovations, involving different sectors and infrastructure: accommodation, roads, electricity lines, high-speed fiber, ski lifts and slopes.
From the second edition ever to 2021, Cortina is one of the few destinations in the World with such a strong and lasting bond with the history of skiing. Including the cursed Championships of 1941.
As the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships are taking place in Cortina, over 450 people are working to prepare the tracks, with 20 snow groomers and 25 quads, in order to provide the athletes with the best possible racing conditions.
In the early decades of Alpine tourism, visitors were drawn to the mountain by a deep, almost mystical longing for discovery, exploration and epic sports. While times have changed – and so have tourists – those early days have left a heritage that is still very tangible in the Dolomites: mountain lodges.
Kristian Ghedina, Ghedo for friends and fans, is Cortina's local world champion, one of the best Italian downhillers of the 1990s and ambassador of the 2021 World Ski Championships.