Of Dogs and Children

                                               

Cortina

Cortina d’ Ampezzo, a small town set high in the Italian Dolomites, might be called the Aspen of Northern Italy .Once home to a winter Olympics, this picturesque village offers fabulous skiing, hiking, and nature viewing . Only two hours from Venice by car, Cortina is easy to reach, though it feels remote.

The main street in Cortina is closed to motor vehicles and has become a promenade, where visitors and locals stroll, shop, and socialize. On a warm summer evening there might be several hundred people walking the streets, talking, and eating gelato. In the summer musicians give free concerts at a small outdoor theatre in the middle of town.

The children of Cortina are highly valued. The birth rate in Italy is on the rise for the first time in years, and that fact is evident in Cortina, where it seems almost every couple is pushing a baby in a carriage or walking with young children. The walking children are often dressed in the Tyrolienne style of the region, which features lederhosen and miniature hiking boots. At first these outfits seem more for the benefit of the parents who appear to be creating little alpine dolls, but further observation reveals that the children have ample space to be themselves in a variety of ways.

One night there was a rock and roll group playing in the center of town. The group was lively, funny, and energetic, jumping around, interacting with the audience. Gradually a few of the children in the audience began to sit on the edge of the raised platform which made up the stage. To the delight of the parents the children sang and danced along with the band, which enjoyed having them in the show. One three year old girl would run up to the lead singer, get a response from him, and run shrieking in mock terror back to her mother in the front row, before 

repeating the process all over again.  The crowd loved it.

Near the concert was a rock climbing wall supervised nightly by the local mountain guides. Children as young as four or five were encouraged by their parents to scamper up and down the vertical walls. Older local children showed up on their mountain bikes every night to tackle the harder, over hanged wall. One eight or nine year old girl was particularly fun to watch. Dressed in camouflage pants with her hair cinched by a neat red band, she would tackle the wall over and over, begging the guides for another chance. She seemed to know everyone, and she received much crowd support for her considerable climbing skills.

After children Italians love their dogs. Americans are drawn to large dogs like Labs, Retrievers, and Huskies. The visitors to Cortina seemed to like small dogs they could keep in their rooms, bring to restaurants, and transport in their Lancias and Alpha Romeos. It was surprising to see how well behaved these dogs were. I suppose it had to do with the fact they were well traveled canines, which

had frequented some of the finest hotels and eateries in Northern Italy. Rarely did they bark, and they seemed to enjoy immensely their nightly walks with their masters up and down the promenade.

There are few Americans in Cortina de Ampezzo, though it’s easy to find people who speak English. A friendly place, set in a beautiful valley, this small mountain town provides a different kind of experience than a stay at one of the bigger Italian cities like Florence or Rome. If you have a child or a pup, the local guides might even give you a chance on the climbing wall.