Majestic Dolomites - on the Steps of Empress Sisi

Predazzo, Val di Fiemme

Three days ago as I put my suitcases in the car for the return journey I looked at the majestic mountains around me and tried to breath in as much air as I could. So, this was it, my holiday in the Dolomites was over and I would have to wait for another twelve months before returning. As always I started thinking of what I could do to change my life and come and live here. Because this area of Italy is stunningly beautiful, all dense emerald woods, forests, small turquoise lakes and rocky pinnacles which take on a rosy colour at sunrise and sunset.

Every summer I spend at least one week in one of the towns either in Val di Fiemme, Val di Fassa or Val Rendena.  My parents spend their time just doing short walks in the town and Ian and I do some trekking. This year we went to Predazzo in Val di Fiemme - the area where Stradivari used to source the wood for his violins.  Like all the other towns in the Dolomites Predazzo is very pretty, with alpine style houses and balconies laden with colourful geraniums.  

One of the most beautiful holiday locations of the Dolomites (alas, also one of the most expensive) is Madonna di Campiglio in Val Rendena. This town is known as the Pearl of the Dolomites and has a certain allure: there are very smart shops and boutiques, lots of hotels and even a 'champagneria', which is a bar specialising in champagne.  However, it must be said, the reason it has become so popular with the Italian upper class over the last two centuries is its enchanting position and wealth of trekking routes, lakes and waterfalls.  

In the Dolomites a few different speaking people live side by side: those speaking Italian, those speaking German and those speaking Ladin, which is an ancient Romance language that has little to do with Latin. Generally the different ethnic groups live together peacefully and it doesn't seem to matter whether someone greets you with 'buongiorno', 'guten tag' or 'bun dé'!

Dolomiti del Brenta and Madonna di Campiglio

Two men were responsible for turning Madonna di Campiglio into a smart tourist resort in the latter part of the 19th century. The first was Gianbattista Righi di Strembo who was a native of the area and who in 1865 purchased the monastery which was then the only building in the valley. Righi turned the monastery into a hotel and also built the roads to link Madonna to the other villages of the valley. The second man was Franz Joseph Oesterreicher, who in 1882 bought the hotel from Righi and upgraded it, thus transforming the town into an exclusive resort.

Empress Sisi, Portrait by Franz Winterhalter

Oesterreicher was said to be an illegitimate son of the emperor Franz Joseph (he bore the same first names, which for the town gossip was an added proof....!). Among the guests of the hotel between 1889 and 1994 were none other than the Austro-Hungarian emperor himself and his wife, the famous Empress Sisi.  Sisi absolutely loved the town and was an intrepid walker - you can actually walk her favourite route, which is really steep, and see a plaque dedicated to her. 

At the outbreak of WWI the inhabitants of M.d.C. were quite divided between those who wanted to remain under the Austrian rule and those (whose surnames were no doubt Italian) who wanted their region to be annexed to the Kingdom of Italy. 

I can imagine the emperor Franz Joseph wasn't too happy when he lost the war, part of his empire and on top of it all, his favourite holiday resort!

Salon Hofer, Emperor Ball, Hotel Des Alpes, Madonna di Campiglio

The old hotel still exists and boasts a beautiful ball room, Salone Hofer, decorated in Art Nouveau frescoes showing landscapes of the valley, the Hapsburg eagle and many other imperial symbols. 

Next to the Rendena Valley and Madonna di Campiglio you find Val Genova, which is quite narrow and wild and again very beautiful, although not very touristy at all.  Here in WWI many military operations took place and you can still climb the steep paths carved into the mountains both by Italian and Austrian soldiers - at one time the front  line ran right here through the valley.  

I sometimes wonder why not many foreign tourists visit these beautiful mountains. They are definitely an ’off the beaten track’ type of place, full of authentic alpine character and magical beauty. If you are interested in a holiday there please keep an eye on my website because I will be taking tours there next year. Maybe a year from now you too will fall in love with the Dolomites too.