When you first arrive in magical Ortisei, you might feel like you’re in the Bavarian Alps or castle-strewn Austria. But despite its distinct alpine vibe and soundtrack of clanging cowbells, tiny Ortisei is actually part of Italy, located in the heart of the snaggle-toothed Dolomites.

The largest of the towns that make up the Val Gardena - a string of valleys in the autonomous province of South Tyrol-Bolzano - Ortisei is also known as Saint Urlich (in German) and Urtijëi (in Ladin, an indigenous Romance language). With a local identity that meshes the Italian art of living with Germanic efficiency and Ladin warmth, Ortisei is so pristine that you would be hard-pressed to find so much as a cigarette butt on the ground.