Incontri d’alt(r)a quota (Other High Altitude Encounters)
Food for the soul, and much more besides. This year’s events organised by the UNESCO Dolomites Foundation taking place in the mountain huts will be really special. Mark these dates in your diary: Sunday 1 July at Rifugio Galassi (Forcella Piccola dell’Antelao), Wednesday 1 July at Rifugio Dal Piaz (Vette Feltrine) and Saturday 25 August at Rifugio Berti (Vallon Popera).
The programme
The stars of the opening event in the programme entitled “Incontri d’alt(r)a quota” (Other High Altitude Encounters), taking place on Sunday 1 July at 11am at the Galassi Refuge, are the brother and sister team Susan and Alan Boyle following in the footsteps of Amelia Edwards, author of the famous book “Untrodden Peaks and Unfrequented Valleys” (1873), marking out a trail with all the necessary features to create a new Alta Via (www.avamelia.com) 400km in length, its ups and downs covering a gradient of 33,000 metres, divided into 30 legs. The meeting with the creators of this new Alta Via, high-altitude trail, will present a marvellous opportunity to find out if Alan and Susan’s experience reflects the same sense of enchantment felt by Amelia Edwards in a voyage of discovery through Cortina, Pieve di Cadore, Auronzo, Livinallongo, Alleghe, Caprile, Zoldo, Agordo, Primiero, Predazzo, Val di Fassa, Val Gardena and Bolzano.
The second event takes place on 4 July at the Dal Piaz Refuge on the Vette Feltrine peaks, featuring chef Alessandro Gilmozzi who for many years has been exploring new and unusual ways of cooking the products of these mountains. This is what he will be doing once again, this time involving all those taking part in the event which starts at 8am at Croce d’Aune. From there they will take a walk up to the refuge on which Alessandro will tell visitors all about the properties of the local plants and then he will cook them in the company of their producers.
The programme ends on 25 August at Rifugio Berti, in the shadow of Monte Popera. This event will also feature a chef intent on tickling the palate of the visitors and thus deliver a complete sensory experience combining the fragrance of the mountain flowers, the soft feel of the grass, the sound of the breezes and the breath-taking views.
Focus on the network of producers
Particular attention will be paid to the ingredients used by the chefs and these will be supplied by the network of producers of the ingredients in question. The Network of Quality Producers and Products of the UNESCO Dolomites, set up by the UNESCO Dolomites Foundation, brings together food and farming industry growers and producers who are already certified or selected by the local natural parkland authorities. This makes it possible further to enhance an experience involving a growing number of farmers who not only care deeply about the quality of their products, but also wish to protect the biodiversity of the landscape. They do this by sharing good practice with other producers located all over the Dolomites UNESCO World Heritage Site and who are firm believers that being part of the heritage of the whole world imposes the need to work to the highest quality standard.
San Candido previews “9 Years of the UNESCO Dolomites”
The “Incontri d’alt(r)a quota” programme of events will be previewed at the San Candido Adventure Outdoor Fest on 27 June whose opening day will be dedicated to the UNESCO Dolomites Foundation, celebrating the ninth anniversary of UNESCO listing. In the garden of the Sporthotel Tyrol, chef Markus Holzer will be offering his personal culinary creations from 5pm onward, while at 6.30pm, Marcella Morandini, Director of the UNESCO Dolomites Foundation, journalists Piero Badaloni and Fausta Slanzi, as well as Stephan Perathoner and Dieter Wurmböck will be addressing the audience at the Residence Wachtler.
At 9.15pm the Cinema/Teatro Casa Resch will host the opening ceremony of the festival, still focusing on the Dolomites World Heritage Site with the showing of the second part of the documentary “Dolomiti: montagne, uomini, storie” (The Dolomites. Mountains, People and their Stories), directed by Piero Badaloni in collaboration with Fausta Slanzi and with photography and graphic design by Nicola Berti.
During the Adventure Outdoor Fest it will also be possible to visit the exhibition “Straordinaria bellezza” (Extraordinary Beauty) which made its debut at the Trento Film Festival, featuring photographs taken by Foundation supporters Alessandro Caon, Moreno Geremetta, Nicolò Miana, Patrick Odorizzi, Andreas Tamanini and Georg Tappeiner.