Sci in Veneto

Cortina d’Ampezzo is the “Queen of the Dolomites”, a title unchallenged for more than a century. This small Ampezzo basin, enclosed by an amphitheatre of Dolomite walls that shift in colour from dawn to dusk through the enrosadira phenomenon — the mountains appearing to burn with light — has built its reputation at the intersection of elite sport, culture and glamour. The visitors who step off the high-speed train in Venice and travel north through the Piave valley arrive with the highest expectations, and Cortina rarely disappoints: the boutiques of Corso Italia, the historic hotels, the unmistakable Ampezzo accent, the cafes where sports and entertainment celebrities pass each other in the street.

But Cortina is far more than glamour. In 1956 it hosted the VII Winter Olympic Games, marking Italy’s post-war comeback on the international stage and opening the Dolomites to mass international tourism. Seventy years later, history repeats: for the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, Cortina returns to the world stage. The resort will host the women’s downhill and super-G, with substantial infrastructure investment transforming its runs and lifts into a world-class system for decades to come.

Veneto’s Dolomite skiing does not end at Cortina. Arabba, in the Valparola, is the preferred entry point to the Sellaronda from the Veneto side: a small no-frills resort beloved by serious skiers for the technical quality of its black runs and its direct connection to the four-valley circuit. The Civetta area, above Alleghe and its mirror-like lake beneath sheer walls, is among Italy’s most scenic resorts; the north-west face of the Civetta, known as “the Wall of the Dolomites”, dominates the skyline from nearly every piste.

The Marmolada, “Queen of the Dolomites” by altitude at 3,343 metres, is the Dolomites’ largest glacier and the only one offering summer skiing in this territory. The Dolomites UNESCO World Heritage inscription of 2009, shared with neighbouring provinces, has enshrined at international level the extraordinary character of this landscape. Skiing in the Veneto is therefore something more than a sport: it is an immersion in one of the planet’s most precious natural treasures.