The Dolomites are a mountain range located in north-eastern Italy. They are nearly equally shared between the provinces of Belluno, South Tyrol and Trentino. On June 26th, 2009 The Dolomites have been included in the World Heritage List because of their exceptional beauty and unique landscape, together with their scientific importance from the geological and geomorphological point of view. This is a complex object both in terms of its geography and its administration, consisting of 9 systems covering a total area of 142,000 hectares located in 5 Italian provinces and 3 regions.
And indeed, the Dolomites offer up a magnificent panorama: mountains constructed with walls of rock, ice caps, karst systems, unbelievably high spires, towers and pinnacles – mountains molded and shaped by the elements, and where the cultures of Italy, Germany and the native Ladin community all meet and intertwine.
The Dolomites take their name from the French geologist Dolomieu, who discovered the properties of the dolomite, a hard, chalky rock that is rich in the mineral dolomite, highly present in this mountain system.
The rock evidently gives to the mountains a very distinct white cast (which is why they are also called the "Pale Mountains"), but the most particular tones arise every evening when the sun starts to set: the colors go from pinkish hues to fiery reds, the phenomenon referred to as Alpenglow.