On Saturday 21 February, the Cortina Dolomiti Lounge hosted an evening aimed at highlighting how the meeting between different nations, which marked the Milan Cortina 2026 Olympics and will be relived in the forthcoming Paralympics, finds a reflection in the spirit with which since 1945 UNESCO has sought to bring peoples closer together and, thanks to the subsequent World Heritage Convention, has indicated the path of shared responsibility for the protection of those sites which, like the Dolomites, are characterised by Outstanding Universal Value.
A HERITAGE THAT SPEAKS TO THE WORLD
With this in mind, the Province of Belluno and the DMO Belluno Dolomites Foundation wished, in the space prepared by the Cortina Foundation, to dedicate the closing evening of the Olympic event to the Dolomites World Heritage Site. An evening that opened with greetings from Stefano Longo, President of the Cortina Foundation, and continued with an address by the President of the Province of Belluno and of the UNESCO Dolomites Foundation, Roberto Padrin: “Among these mountains,” he stated, “we have seen friendship, peace and the meeting of peoples take shape in the name of the highest values of sport. The Dolomites are a land of dialogue and coexistence, not a mere backdrop, but a space that unites, that invites us to overcome borders and barriers, just as the Olympic ideals show us.”
GEOLOGY, CULTURE, CONSCIOUS ENJOYMENT
The guests of the evening then explored the theme from multiple perspectives: following the in-depth contribution by the Director of the UNESCO Dolomites Foundation, Mara Nemela, on the spirit with which UNESCO seeks to promote dialogue among peoples through education, science and culture, and on the management of the UNESCO Dolomites Site, which in itself entails geographical, administrative and linguistic pluralism, the geologist from the University of Ferrara, Alberto Riva, offered an overview of the geological values of the World Heritage Site, while journalist Francesco Chiamulera recounted the creation of that collective Dolomite imagery in which local and international perspectives meet. Thanks to the Director of the Belluno Dolomites National Park, Sonia Anelli, it was possible to broaden this view to the wilder areas of the Belluno mountains, authentic treasure chests of biodiversity, where human impact is minimal, and yet the role of local communities remains central. Finally, a reflection on the future of visiting the Dolomites was offered by the Head of Marketing and Communication of the DMO Belluno Dolomites Foundation, Elisa Calcamuggi, who presented the “Mindful Mountain” (Montagna consapevole) project, developed in synergy with many other local bodies to promote prudence and awareness among visitors. A way to conclude the evening with an invitation to responsibility, both on the part of local communities, which must find a balance between tourism development and sustainability, and on the part of mountain visitors themselves.