As dusk slips into the Ampezzo valley, the bell tower of the Basilica Minore dei Santi Filippo e Giacomo glows over Cortina d’Ampezzo, a town that has traveled from a community of farmers and shepherds to an internationally known luxury destination. Framed by the jagged limestone of the UNESCO-listed Dolomites, the compact historic center functions as a kind of public living room where high fashion and high society mingle.
Strolling Cortina’s main street feels like a runway: Dior, Fendi, Gucci and Prada share window space, and fur coats and formal après-ski attire are common sights. Recent Olympic and Paralympic events returned the town to the global stage, but Cortina’s glamour dates back decades, earning nicknames such as the “Pearl” or “Queen” of the Dolomites.
On the slopes, family-run rifugi still welcome skiers for hot chocolate or an aperitif. One host, Riccardo Fiore, points to his family’s deep winter-sports roots: his grandmother, Yvonne Rüegg, was an Olympic giant slalom champion, and his grandfather coached the great Alberto Tomba, who continues to visit. The lodge’s regulars mix Italian political figures, film stars and international visitors; Sylvester Stallone once shot scenes nearby for Cliffhanger, and celebrities from Snoop Dogg to Ridley Scott have been glimpsed around town. Many guests prefer to remain incognito in what locals affectionately call their communal living room.
Historic hotels preserve Cortina’s literary and cinematic ties. The Hotel de la Poste, with its wood-paneled bar, was a favorite of Ernest Hemingway; a plaque marks his corner, and the room where he stayed is kept intact, complete with the typewriter he used. Writer Servane Giol describes that preserved chamber as a time capsule and notes Hemingway’s wry remarks about preferring climbs to ski lifts.
Cortina’s ascent as a resort accelerated in the 1920s after visits from European royalty and high society made it fashionable between the wars. The town’s international profile was cemented by hosting the 1956 Winter Olympics—the first Winter Games to be televised—which broadcast grainy images of athletes from more than 30 nations and left behind sporting landmarks like the bobsled track and racecourses. Filmmakers also took advantage of Cortina’s dramatic terrain: scenes from the Pink Panther, For Your Eyes Only (with Roger Moore’s ski chase) and Cliffhanger showcased the Dolomites on screen.
Today the area’s serrated peaks and turquoise alpine lakes are a UNESCO draw and a social-media magnet, attracting crowds year-round. The recent winter events brought visitors in February and March, but organizers relied heavily on artificial snow—a reminder that shorter, warmer winters driven by climate change pose an existential challenge for snow-dependent resorts.
At the same time, Cortina is broadening its appeal. Summer hikers and nature lovers fill trails around the Tofane massif, and the culinary scene has grown more adventurous. SanBrite, led by Ludovica Rubbini and Riccardo Gaspari, holds a Michelin star and a Michelin Green Star for sustainability. Their “agricucina” links kitchen and farm: servers tell guests which cows produced the butter on the sourdough, and many ingredients are homegrown or foraged. Dishes nod to the mountains—a Jerusalem artichoke cigar filled with artichoke cream, mushrooms and marinated shallots, or a dessert that evokes a frozen lake with panna cotta under an ice-like layer dotted with elderflower and yogurt powder—while décor includes dried flowers and lamps salvaged from the 1956 Games.
Traditional alpine hospitality persists in rifugi, museums and wood-paneled stube rooms adorned with Ampezzo textiles, even as designer boutiques and luxury hotels steer the town toward upscale tourism.
Cortina’s identity is layered: it is a cradle of winter sport and Olympic memory, a film and celebrity backdrop, a mountain village with living traditions, and an aspirational luxury destination. The coming years will test how the town balances conservation and sustainable tourism with the glossy image that has made it a jewel of the Dolomites.