Dolomiti Sound Stories [EN]

Michele Da Pozzo leads the Ampezzo Dolomites Nature Park, a protected area born from the local community's fierce determination to shield their land. Through his voice and the memory of mountain guide Franco Gaspari, this episode explores the disruptive impact of social media and mass tourism. A powerful call to action on managing visitor flows to protect wildlife, silence, and the true soul of the peaks.

Michael Wachtler, a researcher and collector from San Candido, turns the mountains into his own field of scientific exploration. From the discovery of Megachirella wachtleri—the fossil ancestor of lizards and snakes—to major gold finds in the Alps, his story celebrates a life driven by pure curiosity and lived in complete freedom.

Alfredo Paluselli retraces the steps of his grandfather, a pioneering ski instructor and artist. The pioneer's spirit lives on at Baita Segantini, 2200 meters above Passo Rolle, where he chose to live in near-total solitude for thirty-five years. A profound reflection on silence and the most intimate, pure, and contemplative meaning of the peaks, far from modern tourism.

At dawn on July 4th, 1915, on the rocky walls of Monte Paterno in the Sexten Dolomites, one of the most emblematic stories of mountain warfare during the First World War unfolds. Joseph Innerkofler, known to everyone as Sepp, a legendary mountain guide, hotel owner and profound connoisseur of these peaks, climbs through snow and rock to retake a strategic position.

Sepp is no ordinary soldier: he is a fifty-year-old man who built his life among these mountains and chooses to defend them by offering himself in place of his son. Different versions surround his death during the assault on Monte Paterno, suspended between myth, propaganda and historical truth. Yet beyond how he died, what remains is the meaning of his action: a deep bond with his land and community, shattered by a war that turned friends, colleagues and fellow mountain men into adversaries. A story that restores humanity to a symbolic figure and invites us to look beyond borders, to understand the shared tragedy written into these mountains.

Among the larch forests above Cortina d’Ampezzo, the Pocol Military Memorial holds the remains of thousands of soldiers from the First World War, many of them unknown. It is a place of silence and remembrance, inviting visitors to reflect on the fate of men who arrived from distant lands to fight a war they barely understood.

Together with historical reenactor Andrea Orsi, Diego Clara retraces the stories of young Italian and Austro-Hungarian soldiers, thrown into a world of ice, rock and avalanches, where nature itself was often the greatest enemy. Among them stands the story of Second Lieutenant Angelo Fusetti, only nineteen years old, who fell on Sasso di Stria and was never recovered. A powerful journey into memory, giving back a voice to the unknown and reminding us of the immense human cost these mountains once bore.

The Dolomites we know today for their beauty and protection were, just over a century ago, one of the harshest and most dramatic front lines of the First World War. Tunnels carved into rock, underground mines and exposed positions turned these mountains into the stage of an extreme war, fought in inhuman conditions.

Historical alpine guide Franz Brunner Pozzi leads Diego Clara through the symbolic sites of the Dolomite front, from Lagazuoi to Col di Lana, telling the story of soldiers—often farmers and shepherds—thrown into an unfamiliar and hostile environment. Through historical accounts, family memories and personal experience, a powerful narrative emerges: one of a war that deeply shaped both the land and its people. A journey into memory that invites us to see the Dolomites not only as a natural heritage, but as a place of sacrifice, respect and peace.

Every spring, Caterina De Boni sets out with her flock from the Friulian plain to the Dolomites, following the ancient rhythm of transhumance. Hers is a life of tradition and resilience: a nearly vanished craft that survives despite bureaucracy, predators, and the struggle to find pastures. In this episode, Caterina shares her choice to become a shepherdess, her childhood in Cortina between goats and luxury hotels, the discovery of the wild Magredi plain, and her love for a work that is at once toil, freedom, and community.

In Belluno’s old town, Daniela Zangrando opened Burel, a contemporary art micro-museum made up of just two rooms. A stubborn act, born “out of anger”, against depopulation and the absence of cultural spaces. In this episode, she tells how art can become a bridge between the local community and the wider world, rooted in the mountains yet able to look far beyond them. A journey through ever-changing exhibitions, swallows under the arcades, and the determination to stay when everyone tells you to leave.

Marika Favé is the first female mountain guide from Trentino. Raised on skis in Val di Fassa, between snow, races, and fierce competition, she turned her passion for the mountains into a profession that had long been a male domain. In this episode, she shares her journey — the challenges of being "the first", her approach to risk, the emotions of the job, and the ever-changing beauty of the Dolomites. A story of freedom, strength, and sensitivity, where deep respect for the mountains walks hand in hand with the drive to go one step further.

Among the Dolomites, the land tells stories of passion, respect, and dedication. Hubert has found the perfect place to age cheese in an old bunker, turning time and humidity into precious allies to create products with a unique flavor. In Val di Fassa, Sara and Fabio have rediscovered ancient agricultural practices, bringing forgotten varieties back to life and promoting a sustainable and authentic way of farming. Different stories, but united by the same goal: preserving the past to give new strength to the future.