CORTINA D'AMPEZZO

resort town, Belluno provincia, Veneto regione, northern Italy, in a scenic basin in the centre of Ampezzo Valley, 25 miles (40 km) north of Belluno city. It lies at the junction of the Boite and Bigontina rivers and is surrounded by spectacular peaks of the Dolomite Alps. The town is dominated by its modern Gothic-style church, whose tall bell tower plays chimes identical to those of Westminster Abbey, London. The huge Olympic ice stadium and the two artificial ice tracks were built for the Seventh Winter Olympic Games, held there in 1956, and at nearby Zuel is the Olympic ski-jumping chute. One of the most popular summer and winter resorts in the Dolomites, Cortina has many large hotels and villas as well as belvederes in the Dolomite and Austrian Alps, accessible by chair lifts and cable cars. There is much local work in wrought iron, filigree, and inlaid wood, especially cuckoo clocks. Cortina is one of the towns constituting the Great Community of Ampezzo (medieval autonomous region), and the people still retain their national costumes and Raetic, or Ladin, language. Pop. (1988 est.) mun., 7,645.