If you thought Italy’s allure lay largely in the opportunity to wile away the hours eating and drinking endlessly in pastel-hued piazzas—well, you’d be right. But that’s just part of its perennial magic.

For those whose version of la dolce vita includes extraordinary natural beauty, the Dolomites are a true Valhalla. Rising over 10,000 feet in the northern Italian Alps and bookended by the ritzy enclaves of Cortina d’Ampezzo to the east and Bolzano to the west, the mountains—annexed by Italy from Austria after World War I—cast an ethereal spell, thanks to their otherworldly vertical rock formations, evergreen-blanketed valleys, and clouds that hover close enough to touch.