Cortina d'Ampezzo mixes Olympic legacy with Alpine glamour

## Summary
Valerio Muscella for NPR hide caption toggle caption Valerio Muscella for NPR CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy — Walking the main thoroughfare of Cortina D'Ampezzo is a glamorous experience. Valerio Muscella for NPR hide caption toggle caption Valerio Muscella for NPR 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics The Winter Olympics in Italy were meant to be sustainable. Valerio Muscella for NPR hide caption toggle caption Valerio Muscella for NPR American writer Ernest Hemingway, wearing a hunter waistcoat, stands behind a bar counter and pours gin in Cortina d'Ampezzo in 1948. Valerio Muscella for NPR hide caption toggle caption Valerio Muscella for NPR Italy environment Milan-Cortina d'Ampezzo Facebook Flipboard Email

## Article Content
Cortina d'Ampezzo mixes Olympic legacy with Alpine glamour
March 22, 2026
6:00 AM ET
Ruth Sherlock
Cortina's glamorous history - WBUR
The illuminated bell tower of the Basilica Minore dei Santi Filippo e Giacomo stands at the heart of Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, as evening settles over the valley. Once a small village of farmers and shepherds, this storied town has evolved into the "Pearl of the Dolomites," a renowned luxury destination. Surrounded by the limestone peaks of the UNESCO World Heritage Dolomites, the town's historic center remains a "living room" for celebrities and high society.
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CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy — Walking the main thoroughfare of Cortina D'Ampezzo is a glamorous experience. It is as if every designer brand has decided it needs to be represented in this small town more than 4,000 feet up in the Italian Alps. In a few short steps, you pass shops for Dior, Fendi, Gucci, Prada and more. Among passers-by, fur coats are in fashion.
Cortina has been in the international spotlight in recent weeks as a host to many of the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. But this storied town has a much longer history of fame and fortune that has led to various nicknames like Pearl or Queen of the Dolomites.
A window display for the luxury fashion brand Fendi illuminates a central street in Cortina d'Ampezzo, adjacent to a large outdoor sculpture of a skier. The town's main thoroughfare is a glamorous hub where premier designer brands like Dior, Gucci and Prada are represented.
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2026 Milan Cortina Olympics
The Winter Olympics in Italy were meant to be sustainable. Are they?
On the mountain slopes nearby, skiers stop for hot chocolate or an alcoholic spritz at an Alpine lodge where they are served by Riccardo Fiore, the grandson of the region's winter sport champions. His grandmother, Yvonne Rüegg, is an Olympic gold medalist in giant slalom. His grandfather was the trainer of Alberto Tomba — one of history's greatest Alpine skiers, who learned on these very slopes. "Tomba still stops by here all the time," he says.
Riccardo Fiore, grandson of Olympic gold medalist Yvonne Rüegg, poses inside his family's Alpine lodge in the Dolomites.
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American actor Sylvester Stallone (right) and director Renny Harlin on the set of Harlin's film
Cliffhanger
.
Leonello Bertolucci/Sygma via Getty Images
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A large-scale photograph of Italian skiing legend Alberto Tomba, wearing a traditional fur hat and reading a sports newspaper with the headline "Immenso Alberto," is displayed in a wood-paneled interior in Cortina d'Ampezzo. Tomba, one of history's greatest Alpine skiers, learned to race on these slopes under the guidance of local trainers, further cementing the town's status as a historical cradle of international winter sports.
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For Fiore, there's nothing unusual about serving drinks to famous individuals. He names well-known Italian politicians, actors and singers he has spotted in the lodge. And there are international names who visit Cortina, too — Sylvester Stallone, who filmed scenes from the 1993 action movie
Cliffhanger
here, Snoop Dogg, Justin Timberlake and Ridley Scott, to name a few.
"Many celebrities you barely recognize," he says. "They try to disguise themselves, as they don't want to attract too much attention."
Nonetheless, Cortina has earned another nickname — the "celebrities' living room." The Hotel de la Poste bar, with its wood-paneled ceiling and walls, was a favorite haunt of American writer Ernest Hemingway. A small plaque honors him on a wall by the corner table he occupied for countless hours in the 1940s. And the hotel has preserved the room he stayed in — visitors can look in to see his typewriter.
TV Reviews
Ken Burns' 'Hemingway' Docuseries Dives Into The Writer's Complicated Life
"His room is a time capsule," says Servane Giol, author of
The
Queen of the Dolomites
, a book about the history of Cortina.
"I found some amazing letters from Hemingway explaining how he was a bit against ski lifts, because he believed it was better for the legs to be warmed up by climbing the mountains and skiing down," Giol says. "This really made me laugh; to think that somebody could be against ski lifts."
Servane Giol, renowned expert in Venetian art and lifestyle, poses in the historic wood-paneled
Stube
of the Hotel de la Poste. Giol, who has dedicated her work to preserving the cultural and aesthetic heritage of the region, sits beside an old painted pendulum clock, a symbol of the hospitality and Ampezzo tradition that the hotel has represented since 1804.
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Amer

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## Expert Analysis

### Merits
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### Areas for Consideration
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### Implications
- TV Reviews Ken Burns' 'Hemingway' Docuseries Dives Into The Writer's Complicated Life "His room is a time capsule," says Servane Giol, author of The Queen of the Dolomites , a book about the history of Cortina. "I found some amazing letters from Hemingway explaining how he was a bit against ski lifts, because he believed it was better for the legs to be warmed up by climbing the mountains and skiing down," Giol says. "This really made me laugh; to think that somebody could be against ski lifts." Servane Giol, renowned expert in Venetian art and lifestyle, poses in the historic wood-paneled Stube of the Hotel de la Poste.
- As winters become shorter and warmer because of climate change, there are also questions about the future of this ski resort town.

### Expert Commentary
This article covers caption, cortina, valerio topics. Readability: Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.0. Word count: 1638.