It is not too early to start thinking of the 2026 Winter Olympics, which takes place in two locations — the city of Milano and the mountain village of Cortina d’Ampezzo. Several of Cortina’s current piste-side mountain lodges are still interwoven with that of Cortina 1956, Italy’s first Olympic games.
While times changed, and so have tourists, those early days left a beautiful heritage still evident in the Dolomites: Cortina’s mountain lodges.
Rifugio Duca d’Aosta was built in 1938 by local Giuseppe Lancedelli in a strategic area at the base of the Tofana, at an altitude of 6,883 feet. The mountain hut was named after the title of its most prestigious regular guest: Prince Amedeo of Savoy-Aosta, Duke of Aosta, and a member of the Italian royal family. When the town hosted the ’56 Winter Olympic Games, several of the ski races were held on the Olympic slope of the Tofana ski area, which passes alongside Rifugio Duca d’Aosta.
Rifugio Pomedes was also located by the side of an Olympia slope, close to the starting point. This lodge owes its name to that of the area where it was built, on a spot offering a panoramic view off the Ampezzo Valley. Luigi Ghedina was a talented climber and successful Cortina mountain guide who dreamed of building and managing his own piste-side hut for fellow climbers and tourists. He saw the opportunity of making his dream come true as the Olympics approached, and at the end of 1955, his Rifugio Pomedes opened, serving as a privileged viewing spot when the Austrian skier Toni Sailer won the ’56 downhill race, his first gold medal of the three he would win in Cortina.
The third mountain lodge with a history of the ‘56 Olympics is Baita Pié Tofana, chosen as the timekeepers’ hut during the Olympics as it was very close to the final part of the Olympic ski slope. After the competition, the hut was abandoned for several years, until Livio Calzà, brother of Olympian Carlo Calzà, decided to transform it into a restaurant. Baita Pié Tofana became one of Cortina’s finest and most famous restaurants, and its excellent service and cuisine continues to this day, as proven by the fact it was awarded a place in the 2022 Michelin Guide Italy.
Rifugio Duca d’Aosta, Rifugio Pomedes and Baita Pié Tofana are still part of Cortina’s economic and social fabric, and they will still be there in 2026 to offer more piste-side comfort and history during the 2026 Winter Olympics.
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