Alta Badia: Authentic experiences in the mountains

TEXT: CORNELIA BRELOWSKI

Deepening one’s knowledge of the culture, traditions and customs of the holiday destination will add value, enrichment, and emotions to one’s travel experience. In Alta Badia, in the heart of the Dolomites UNESCO World Heritage Site, traditions are still lived every day. With the help of local ambassadors, visitors can experience authentic experiences in the area – just like a local.

The Ladin people, the inhabitants of Alta Badia, are shaped by millennia-old culture and traditions. The residents of these villages would like to share these values with the guests of Alta Badia and are offering appointments with the ‘Nos Ladins-We Ladiner’ event series again in summer 2024. These allow visitors to spend a few hours with the locals and have authentic experiences that deepen their knowledge of the culture, traditions and customs of the Alta Badia destination.

Alta Badia: Authentic experiences in the mountains

Photo: Alta Badia – Alex Moling

Five personalities, each with their own story and life experience, united by their belonging to the Ladin people and therefore by a deep and innate passion for the territory in which they were born and raised. These are the protagonists of Nos Ladins-We Ladiners in summer 2024, an initiative that offers guests visiting Alta Badia the opportunity to spend a few hours like a real local. Participants will discover people, places and traditions that are an integral part of the history and culture of Alta Badia. After all, no one can convey these experiences more authentically than the people who live in these places.

This year too there will be no lack of new personalities who will arouse the curiosity of participants through the various activities offered from June to September. Let’s see what will be offered in 2024.

Photo: Alta Badia – Matteo Mocellin

Discover the work of a violin maker

Violin making is an art and for Anna a true passion, which arose from meeting the famous violin maker Claudiu Man on the soccer field in her home village of La Val. After an apprenticeship with the great violin maker, Anna went to France and then to Cremona, where she deepened her knowledge of this craft, which is now an integral part of her life, with outstanding masters. Anna uses ‘Peció’, the pine wood from the forests of her homeland, to make her Ladin violins. A visit to her workshop among violins, wood, strings and cases is a unique experience on June 26th and September 4th from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Photo: Alta Badia – Alex Moling

Ladin culture up-close

Katy studied art history and is a true lover of Ladin culture. She has been working at the Ladin Museum Ciastel de Tor for 14 years and runs a place where Ladin history and memory are preserved with care, attention, and vision. Katy, who will be present on July 11th and August 22nd from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., is an exceptional contact person who can explain to participants the fascinating history of the Ladin world through the works kept in the rooms of this museum.

Photo: Alta Badia – Alex Moling

The world of the White Cross

La Villa is the headquarters of the White Cross, a voluntary first aid and public assistance association. Lucas joined the volunteer group at the age of thirteen and has never stopped helping those in trouble in the valley. Working in a group fills him with satisfaction and responsibility. Anyone who visits the headquarters with him enters a world full of people with big hearts. On June 27th, August 1st and 29th, from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., Lucas will tell participants what volunteering means and what it’s like to do volunteer work in the mountains.

A day on the farm

Rosa and Tone are old-style farmers. Together they run the family farm, one of the oldest in Alta Badia, which dates back to the 13th to 14th centuries. With their simplicity, they pass on their passion for working on the farm to their four children. At the events on July 25th and August 28th from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., participants can not only watch the farmers at work, but also lend a hand when it comes to getting the animals out of the stable or cutting the grass mowing. During lunch, guests can taste the simple but genuine dishes of Ladin cuisine, freshly prepared by Rosa.

Photo: Alta Badia – Alex Moling

Become a protagonist of the Ferragosto procession

The Ferragosto parade is an event with a long tradition in the lives of the residents of La Villa. The event in the village centre takes place every year on August 15th and consists of a themed parade – this year under the motto “Artisans yesterday and today” – which is organized by local associations. Together with Daria, who has been responsible for organizing the parade for several years, an expert in Ladin art and customs and editor for the RAI’s Ladin editorial team, it will be possible to get to know the background of the event. In the days before the parade you can help set up one of the floats and on the day of the parade, participants in Nos Ladins-We Ladiners can jump on it and parade through the village.

Other activities

Ladin is one of the three official languages of South Tyrol, along with Italian and German. It is a Romansh language spoken by around 30,000 people in the five Ladin valleys. The week from June 24th to 28th, 2024 will be dedicated to this language minority for the first time. During this time, activities and initiatives take place to introduce holiday guests to the Ladin language and its peculiarities. Ladin courses, Ladin poetry and music evenings are organized, as well as visits to the most important institutions in the valley and the Ladin Museum Ciastel de Tor, which preserves the history and culture of the Ladin minority.

Photo: Alta Badia – Alex Moling

I Jun A Munt

The ‘I Jun A Munt’ hiking event on August 18th will take place in La Val, a village in Alta Badia that has preserved much of the Ladin farming culture. Along the hiking tour path, which is completed exclusively on foot, participants come across various stations where they can discover the special features of farm work in the mountain meadows during the summer months. At each location, participants have the opportunity to do something together with the farmers, learn something new about this profession and, last but not least, try some typical Ladin dishes, a simple but genuine cuisine. During the hike, participants meet the people who live in these places and can watch the mowing of the meadows, using ancient agricultural customs and modern techniques. Together with an expert, hikers can plant a tree and thus actively contribute to the reforestation of the environment. With the guides from the Fanes-Senes-Braies Nature Park, the participants also get to know the special features of the mountain meadows, which, thanks to the work of farmers, offer protection to numerous animal and plant species. Participation is free and registration is not required.