These are new ring routes, with little elevation gain, that invite you to explore small villages, streams and farms by bike. The Easy Bike Rings, marked along the bike path, intersect each other offering the cyclist the freedom to ride a single ring, then return to the starting point, or to make a longer tour exploring one ring after the other. The...

The Dolomites constitute the eastern part of the Alpine Mountain Range, and are one of the 55 Italian sites on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The zone recognized as composing UNESCO covers 141,903 hectares and three regions (Trentino Alto Adige, Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia) and five provinces (Trento, Bolzano, Belluno, Pordenone and Udine); i...

Tour through Star Wars filming locations, the most loved science fiction saga of all time. Trip to the Dolomites, Lake Como, Caserta Royal Palace, and the Mount Etna. Star wars is a famous saga by George Lucas, the US film director, screenwriter, and producer, which was released in 1977. Belonging to the subgenre of science fiction called space ope...

When most people think about making a trip to Venice the last thing that probably crosses their minds is taking a trip into the mountains of northern Italy. In fact, I’m willing to bet that most visitors to Venice are totally unaware that a mere two hours away is some of the most dramatic and majestic mountain scenery to be found anywhere. The migh...

Glitz meets the montane in Cortina d’Ampezzo, the sublime ski destination in the Dolomites. Though the exceptionally jagged limestone mountain range in northeast Italy is part of the Italian Alps, in several ways, it feels a world away. Influences from Austria, its northern neighbor, abound in the cuisine, landscapes, architecture, and culture. Cor...

San Martino di Castrozza, a petite and cozy Alpine town in eastern Trentino, lies in the heart of the Dolomite Mountains (themselves a UNESCO World Heritage Site).  Part of the municipalities of Tonadico and Siror, San Martino di Castrozza boasts 4,757 ft between it and the level of the seas, and it calls the slopes of the majestic Pale di San Mar...

The Dolomiti Bellunesi National Park was officially opened in 1990. The Park covers not only the Belluno Dolomites, but also the Feltrine ones, namely the mountain groups: Vette, Cimònega, Pizzocco, Monti del Sole, and Schiara-Talvèna. It is renowned for its naturalistic circular itineraries which generally run at modest altitudes and are dedicated...

It started in a vast meadow of the Colorado backcountry, mid-summer. In the distance, I saw what looked like a bear, but then realized the large, dark form was accompanied by a human. “It’s just a dog,” I said to myself, relieved. I gripped the leash of my small pup and called out: “Is your dog friendly?” Seconds later the animal — all 120 pounds...

Pink clouds like candyfloss float above as we bump along in our snowmobile past quaint wooden chalets with smoke billowing from their chimneys. It’s that bewitching time of day in the Dolomites. They call it enrosadira (or alpenglow) and it’s when the mountains glow pinky red. Geologists believe the explanation lies in the unusual composition of ca...

Each mountain in the Dolomites is like a piece of art,” said  legendary mountaineer Reinhold Messner, who was born and trained in these mountains in northern Italy, before going on to become the first man to climb all fourteen peaks over 8,000 meters, including the first ascent of Everest without supplemental oxygen.  Extending from the River Adige...