Lake Misurina (;
Cadorino dialect
Cadorino, a dialect of Ladin, is the language of Cadore, at the feet of the Dolomites in the province of Belluno. It is distinct from neighboring dialects, and though it has received relatively little attention, it is important to an understandi ...
: ''Lago de Meśorìna'') is the largest natural lake of the
and it is 1,754
m above
sea level
Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an mean, average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal Body of water, bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical ...
, near
Auronzo di Cadore
Auronzo di Cadore is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the province of Belluno (Cadore) in the Italian region of Veneto, located about north of Venice and about northeast of Belluno. While Auronzo is geographically only from the Austrian border, i ...
(
Belluno
Belluno (; ; ) is a town and province in the Veneto region of northern Italy. Located about north of Venice, Belluno is the Capital (political), capital of the province of Belluno and the most important city in the Eastern Dolomites region. W ...
). The lake's perimeter is 2.6 km long, while the maximum depth is 5 m.
Near the lake there are about ten hotels with accommodation for around 500 people.
The particular climatic characteristics of the area around the lake make particularly good air for those who have respiratory diseases. Near the lake is the only center in
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
for the care of childhood
asthma
Asthma is a common long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wh ...
.
The lake was the theme of a famous song by
Claudio Baglioni
Claudio Baglioni (; born 16 May 1951) is an Italian Pop music, pop singer-songwriter and musician. His career has been going on for over 50 years.
Considered one of the most successful pop rock singer-songwriters in the history of Italian mu ...
. Lake Misurina is also the theme of the theatrical representation of the
Longane di Lozzo.
Lake Misurina is where the
speed skating
Speed skating is a competitive form of ice skating in which the competitors race each other in travelling a certain distance on skates. Types of speed skating are long-track speed skating, short-track speed skating, and marathon speed skat ...
events were held during the
1956 Winter Olympics
The 1956 Winter Olympics, officially known as the VII Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Cortina d'Ampezzo 1956 ( or ), were a multi-sport event held in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, from 26 January to 5 February 1956.
Cortina, which ...
of
Cortina d'Ampezzo
Cortina d'Ampezzo (; , ; historical ) sometimes abbreviated to simply Cortina, is a town and ''comune'' in the heart of the southern (Dolomites, Dolomitic) Alps in the province of Belluno, in the Veneto region of Northern Italy. Situated on the ...
– the last time Olympic speed skating events were held on natural ice.
Misurina lies on the route of the
Dolomites Gold Cup Race
The Dolomites Gold Cup Race (translation: ''Coppa d' Oro delle Dolomiti'') was a car race on public roads open to traffic, which was run in the Dolomite Mountains of northern Italy for ten years from 1947 to 1956. It took place along an anti-cl ...
.
Folklore
left, Lake Misurina. In the background the Tre Cime di Lavaredo (Three Peaks of Lavaredo)
There are at least two different legends associated with Lake Misurina. In the first one, which was also made famous by a song named "Il lago di Misurina" by Claudio Baglioni, Misurina is a little capricious and spiteful girl who lives literally held in the palm of the hand of her gigantic father, the king Sorapiss. He is transformed into a mountain to fulfill another desire and obtain for her the magic mirror from the Queen of
Monte Cristallo
Cristallo () (German: Kristallspitze) is a mountain massif in the Italian Dolomites, northeast of Cortina d'Ampezzo, in the province of Belluno, Veneto, northern Italy. It is a long, indented ridge with four summits higher than 3,000 metres. The ...
. During the last stages of the transformation he sees his daughter fall and his tears flow like rivers and form the lake beneath which his daughter will forever live with the magic mirror.
In the second one, Mesurina (who is later nicknamed) is a daughter of wealthy merchants from
Venice
Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...
who is sent away to the mountains by her father who is anxious not to fulfill a prophecy that would see the girl give away all their possessions. Following some tragic amorous events vaguely reminiscent of
Romeo and Juliet
''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...
, the girl dies, and she is recognized on the point of death by a lover whom she met in bloom and from whom she was brought away by deception from the stables of his father and a servant sent by him.
Gallery
File:Marmarole1.jpg, Marmarole and Sorapiss from Misurina
File:Dolomites2006-169.jpg, Istituto Pio XII Asthma Treatment Institute
File:CadiniMisurina4.jpg, Cadini di Misurina
See also
*
References
*
External links
*
Misurina web site1956 Winter Olympics official report (pp. 180–88)
{{Olympic venues in speed skating
Misurina
Olympic speed skating venues
Auronzo di Cadore
Speed skating venues
Venues of the 1956 Winter Olympics
Cadore