San Martino di Castrozza is a

mountain resort A mountain resort is a place to holiday or vacation located in an elevated and typically at least relatively isolated area. The term resort implies integral hotel or inn accommodations, restaurants, and either or both sports facilities or scen ...

in the

Primiero The Primiero (''Primier'' in local dialect) is a valley located in the eastern part of Trentino, Italy. It consists of eight municipalities ('): Canal San Bovo, Fiera di Primiero, Imèr, Mezzano, Sagron Mis, Siròr, Tonadico and Transacqua. ...

valley in the

Trentino Trentino ( lld, Trentin), officially the Autonomous Province of Trento, is an autonomous province of Italy, in the country's far north. The Trentino and South Tyrol constitute the region of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, an autonomous region ...

province in Italy. The western part, with 428 inhabitants, is in the comune of

Siror Siror (german: Siraur) was a ''comune'' (municipality) in Trentino in the northern Italian region Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, located about east of Trento. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 1,244 and an area of .All demographics a ...

, with the eastern, housing 135 inhabitants, in

Tonadico Tonadico (german: Thunadich) was a ''comune'' (municipality) in Trentino in the northern Italian region Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, located about east of Trento. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 1,429 and an area of .All demograp ...

History

The first buildings on the site of San Martino were a religious institution, the hospice of saints Martino and Giuliano, which welcomed travelers crossing the Alps by the

Rolle Pass The Rolle Pass ( it, Passo Rolle) (1989 m) is a high mountain pass in Trentino in Italy. It connects the Val di Fiemme, Fiemme and Primiero valleys, and the communities of Predazzo, San Martino di Castrozza and Fiera di Primiero. The pass r ...

between the valleys of

and Fiemme. All that remains of the hospice is the church of San Martino, which has a romanesque bell-tower. The first alpine hotel in San Martino was built by the Irish traveller, John Ball in 1873. By the first decade of the 20th century San Martino di Castrozza was already established as a tourist destination for the wealthy of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, of which Trentino then formed part. The resort was rebuilt after the devastation of the First World War, and grew rapidly thereafter.

Geography

San Martino is situated in a valley of green meadows, in the Natural Park of Paneveggio-Pale di San Martino. It is surrounded by peaks of the

Dolomites The Dolomites ( it, Dolomiti ; Ladin: ''Dolomites''; german: Dolomiten ; vec, Dołomiti : fur, Dolomitis), also known as the Dolomite Mountains, Dolomite Alps or Dolomitic Alps, are a mountain range located in northeastern Italy. They form par ...

, including the

Pale di San Martino The Pala group (also known as Pale di San Martino) is the largest massif of the Dolomites, with about 240 km² of surface, located between eastern Trentino and Veneto (province of Belluno), in the area between Primiero (valleys of Cismon, Canali, ...

, of which the highest peaks are

Vezzana The Vezzana (also Cima di Vezzana) is the highest peak in the Pala group, a mountain range of the Dolomites, northern Italy. It is located in the northern part of the Dolomites, between the Taibon Agordino and Primiero comunes of Belluno and Tr ...

and the

Cimon della Pala Cimon della Pala, sometimes called Cimone and The Matterhorn of the Dolomites (''il Cervino delle Dolomiti''), is the best-known peak of the Pale di San Martino group, in the Dolomites, northern Italy. Although it is not the highest peak of the ...

In culture

Arthur Schnitzler Arthur Schnitzler (15 May 1862 – 21 October 1931) was an Austrian author and dramatist. Biography Arthur Schnitzler was born at Praterstrasse 16, Leopoldstadt, Vienna, capital of the Austrian Empire (as of 1867, part of the dual monarchy ...

's 1924 novella ''Fräulein Else'' is set in San Martino di Castrozza.

References

External links

Azienda per il Turismo San Martino di Castrozza
Frazioni of Trentino Ski areas and resorts in Italy {{Italy-geo-stub