Cortina d'Ampezzo historical timeline

Origins

The valley was settled by Ladin-speaking people whose language descends from the Latin of the Roman Alps and survives in the Dolomite valleys. The Regole d'Ampezzo, the communal institution that still owns and manages the forests and pastures, is documented from the middle ages.

Turning points

Ampezzo passed to the County of Tyrol in 1511 and remained Austrian for four centuries -- longer than it has been Italian. It was transferred to Italy after the First World War.

Influential people

The front ran directly through these mountains in 1915-17. Both armies tunnelled into the rock; the galleries under Lagazuoi and the restored trenches at the Cinque Torri are what remain.

Cultural evolution

Tourism began in the nineteenth century with British and Austrian alpinists, and the town's hotel tradition dates from then. The 1956 Winter Olympics made it internationally famous and built the ski jump and bobsleigh track.

Present-day significance

Cortina co-hosted the Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics in February 2026, which brought new venues and transport investment to the valley -- and a live local argument about what a town of 5,000 does with them afterwards.