Meridiani Montagne – Viaggio in Dolomiti
The November 2013 edition of the two-monthly magazine Meridiani Montagne is dedicated to the Dolomites, its cover depicting the striking orange hue of Monte Paterno. Viaggio in Dolomiti is a six-part route taking in the nine systems of this UNESCO World Heritage Site, a voyage of discovery among “the world’s most beautiful mountains”. Over a thousand kilometres exploring valleys, high plateaus, canyons and dizzying rock walls, offering much more than those familiar postcard images. This project was made possible by the publisher’s partnership with the UNESCO Dolomites Foundation.
On 26 June 2009 the Dolomites were added to the World Heritage List. This recognition by UNESCO came just a century after the inauguration of the Grande Strada delle Dolomiti, (Great Dolomite Road) that was the symbol of the opening up of the Pale Mountains to the tourist trade. What with new roads, hotels, cars and then motorbikes, the Dolomites became the most visited mountains in the world, the most photographed, the most famous, and thus “with all those picture postcards and souvenirs, the most stereotypical mountain landscape in the urban imagination”, as Marco Albino Ferrari puts it in the leading article in the magazine. He then adds that UNESCO recognition “is not just a recognition of the magnificence of the Dolomite locations but also a way of assigning responsibility for coming to new terms with the environment”.
Meridiani Montagne Viaggio in Dolomiti retraces the road network inaugurated by the Grande Strada delle Dolomiti “to dig beneath the glossy surface presented by all those tourist brochures”. The magazine goes in search of the daily life of the “human species” that, with all its problems and aspirations, inhabits the Dolomite valleys.
The first stretch of the route circumnavigates the Brenta Dolomites. From Trento, through the Bletterbach and the Pale di San Martino peaks, is the route taken by the second stretch, leading to Feltre. The destination of the third stretch is the Padova refuge, along the way exploring the Belluno Dolomites. The fourth stretch runs from the north to Cortina d’Ampezzo, passing through the Dolomites of Friuli e d’Oltre Piave. Now we plunge into the heart of the Ladin culture from Cortina to Antermoia/Untermoi in Val Badia. The fifth stretch takes in the Pelmo-Croda da Lago and Marmolada systems and the Northern Dolomites. The final trip links Antermoia/Untermoi to Bolzano with a view over Puez-Odle and Sciliar-Catinaccio-Latemar.
The Dolomites edition of the specialist magazine Meridiani Montagne also tells stories of landslips, collapses and ever-changing mountains, it presents new climbing routes and essential hiking trails, lists local libraries and gives reading tips for the Dolomites, anniversaries to commemorate and much more besides.
Photo by: Region Friuli Venezia Giulia. Monfalconi