San Martino di Castrozza is a

mountain resort A mountain resort is a place to holiday or vacation located in an elevated and typically at least relatively isolated area. The term resort implies integral hotel or inn accommodations, restaurants, and either or both sports facilities or sceni ...

in the

Primiero The Primiero (''Primier'' in local dialect) is a valley located in the eastern part of Trentino, Italy. It consists of eight municipalities ('): Canal San Bovo, Fiera di Primiero, Imer, Trentino, Imèr, Mezzano, Sagron Mis, Siror, Siròr, Tonadi ...

valley in the

Trentino Trentino (), officially the Autonomous Province of Trento (; ; ), is an Autonomous province#Italy, autonomous province of Italy in the Northern Italy, country's far north. Trentino and South Tyrol constitute the Regions of Italy, region of Tren ...

province in Italy. The western part, with 428 inhabitants, is in the comune of Siror, with the eastern, housing 135 inhabitants, in

Tonadico Tonadico (''Tonadìch'' in local dialect) was a ''Communes of Trentino, comune'' (municipality) in Trentino in the northern Italy, Italian region Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, located about east of Trento. As of 31 December 2004, it had a popula ...

History

The first buildings on the site of San Martino were a religious institution, the hospice of saints Martino and Giuliano, which welcomed travelers crossing the Alps by the

Rolle Pass The Rolle Pass () (1989 m) is a mountain pass in Trentino in Italy which can be reached by motor vehicles. It connects the Fiemme and Primiero valleys, and the communities of Predazzo, San Martino di Castrozza and Fiera di Primiero. The ...

between the valleys of

and Fiemme. All that remains of the hospice is the church of San Martino, which has a romanesque bell-tower. The first alpine hotel in San Martino was built by the Irish traveller, John Ball in 1873. By the 1900s, San Martino di Castrozza was already established as a tourist destination for the wealthy of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, of which Trentino then formed part. The resort was rebuilt after the devastation of the First World War, and grew rapidly thereafter.

Geography

San Martino is situated in a valley of green meadows, in the

Paneveggio-Pale di San Martino Natural Park The Paneveggio-Pale di San Martino Natural Park () is a nature reserve in Trentino, Italy. Established in 1967, it stretches over nearly in the Dolomites (in the territory of seven municipalities, all in the Province of Trento), encompassing th ...

. It is surrounded by peaks of the

Dolomites The Dolomites ( ), also known as the Dolomite Mountains, Dolomite Alps or Dolomitic Alps, are a mountain range in northeastern Italy. They form part of the Southern Limestone Alps and extend from the River Adige in the west to the Piave Va ...

, including the

Pale di San Martino The Pala group (also known as Pale di San Martino) is the largest massif of the Dolomites, with about 240 km2 of surface, located between eastern Trentino and Veneto (province of Belluno), in the area between Primiero (valleys of Cismon, Canali ...

, of which the highest peaks are

Vezzana {{Infobox mountain , name = Cima di Vezzana , photo = Vezzana from Rolle.JPG , photo_caption= The Vezzana from the Rolle Pass , elevation_m = 3192 , elevation_ref = , prominence = 1,273m , prominence_ref = , listing = Alpine mountains a ...

and the

Cimon della Pala Cimon della Pala, sometimes called Cimone and The Matterhorn of the Dolomites (''il Cervino delle Dolomiti''), is the best-known peak of the Pale di San Martino group, in the Dolomites, northern Italy. Although it is not the highest peak of the ...

In culture

Arthur Schnitzler Arthur Schnitzler (15 May 1862 – 21 October 1931) was an Austrian author and dramatist. He is considered one of the most significant representatives of Viennese Modernism. Schnitzler’s works, which include psychological dramas and narratives ...

's 1924 novella ''Fräulein Else'' is set in San Martino di Castrozza.

References

External links

Azienda per il Turismo San Martino di Castrozza
Frazioni of Trentino Ski areas and resorts in Italy Primiero San Martino di Castrozza {{Italy-geo-stub