Читать книгу Shorter Walks in the Dolomites. 50 varied day walks in the mountains онлайн

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In addition to natural beauty, the valleys of the Dolomites offer attractions ranging from old-style farms – still run according to ancient traditions – to towns including Trento, Bolzano and Bressanone, which boast priceless medieval and Renaissance art treasures and make for a fascinating visit on any rainy days. Early peoples fleeing barbaric invaders in about the fifth century, many of whom spoke the ancient Rhaeto-Romanic language known as Ladin, made their homes in the protection of the remote mountain valleys. Incredibly, Ladin has survived to this day and is now the declared mother tongue of 4.3% of the inhabitants of the South Tyrol (Alto Adige in Italian), which accounts for a third of the Dolomites. However, the region is dominated by the German language (68.2% of the population), which is the legacy of sixth-century invaders and later Austro-Hungarian domination. Along with the adjoining Italian-speaking Trentino, it has been part of Italy since 1919. That was ratified in the wake of the First World War, which had seen the Dolomites transformed into a terrible war zone where the crumbling Hapsburg Empire fought the fledgling Italian Republic on mountain passes, crests and even glaciers. Many of the old military mule tracks are still walkable and many wartime trenches and fortifications are often encountered on the walks in this guidebook, all poignant reminders of man’s folly. The remaining southeastern chunk of the Dolomites is administered by the Veneto region, which is based in Venice. Centuries before, during the glorious era of the Serenissima Republic, which stretched from the sixth century until the late 1700s, immense rafts of timber were piloted downstream to the city for its foundations and ships.