The First World War left indelible and clearly still visible traces on the territory of the Dolomite area, such as the remains of trenches, military emplacements, some of which are now restored for tourism purposes, together with kilometres of tunnels that cross the mountains. A historical heritage of enormous importance, as witnessed by Franco Gaspari, mountain guide and history enthusiast, and Curti Covi, young historian and curator of the Bunker Museum in Dobbiaco.

The farmstead is a typical form of settlement in the Tyrol. A landed estate designed to keep the transmission of land intact between the different generations. In the Ethnographic Museum of Teodone in Brunico, it is possible to visit the different types of farmsteads complete with their furnishings and fittings, moved from their original locations and faithfully reconstructed. Our guide on this journey through time is Evi Weissteiner, museum researcher. Another form of local self-government...

Mountain areas have always been one of the most sensitive indicators of climate change and the health of the planet. Rising temperatures and the exploitation of natural resources are much more evident and tangible. There are also many factors that impact the landscape and the economy of mountain communities and that will mark the destiny of the next generations.  Riccardo Insam, environmental consultant and hiking guide, and Cesare Lasen, botanist and naturalist, explain how to listen to the...

Nature observation and nature photography have recently become popular as valid alternatives to the 'classic' tourist enjoyment of the mountains. Moreover, these are activities that, if carried out with the right attitude and due preparation, are in no way 'impacting on the territory'. However, the advent of social networks and the consequent spread of images online is creating quite a few problems for the environmental protection of many mountain tourist sites. Photographers Alessandro...

The Dolomites are one of the main places for winter sports in Italy. One of the most practised and followed is undoubtedly ice hockey. Most of the main teams participating in the national hockey championship are based here. We find ourselves in Renon, home to one of Italy's first and best known teams, in the company of Adolf Insam, coach of many successful teams including the Italian national team. Together with his son Marco, a current Renon player, and the young Alan Lobis, we witness the...

The Dolomites are often referred to as the 'Pale Mountains' and have always been the source of myths and legends. An environment characterised by the imposing presence of the Dolomite rock, which seems to observe man from above in his daily activities, is in fact the ideal place for the creation of supernatural stories passed down orally. Our host Ulrike 'Ulli' Innerkofler guides us through the Fanes-Sennes-Braies nature park, which, as philologist Paul Videsott points out, is closely...

Mountain tourism as we know it today was born in the Alps. The subsequent discovery of skiing as a sport brought tourists to the mountains and created, starting in the 1960s, the custom of the 'skiing holiday' during the winter season. Franco Gaspari, an alpine guide from Cortina d'Ampezzo, introduces us to the history of mountaineering in the Dolomites and its mythological characters such as Francesco Lacedelli and Paul Grohmann, while writer Ingrid Runggaldier tackles the subject of women...

We continue our journey into the culture of the Dolomites to better understand the relationships over the centuries between the Ladin language and the neighbouring German and Italian language areas. Margherita Menardi, Ladin-speaking host, is joined by a German-speaking host, Ulrike, 'Ulli', Innerkofler, a mid-mountain guide with a past in the Italian national Alpine skiing team. Together with Fabio Chiocchetti, former director of the Ladin Cultural Institute of Val di Fassa, with whom we...

The Dolomites have always been a cultural and linguistic meeting point.  Not everyone who visits this area knows that here Italian and German coexist with Ladin, an indigenous language and culture, which crosses the the Dolomite valleys of Trentino-Alto Adige and Veneto.  Our host Margherita Menardi "Diornista”, musician, mountain hut keeper and radio speaker, introduces us to Ladin culture together with Paul Videsott, professor of Romance Philology at the Free University of Bolzano, Fabio...

Visiting a new place is an experience that can be done in many different ways. You can do it as a tourist, or you can decide to be guided by those who, that place, know it well. Dolomiti Sound Stories is a podcast that helps you get to know the true soul of the Dolomites through the voices of its inhabitants. We will travel across the Dolomite landscape to talk about traditions, history, the environment, language minorities, sport and land management together with those who live these...