CINEMA
In Cortina
Discovering the 20 top film and TV locations
The link between Cortina d’Ampezzo and cinema dates back to the 1950s and has allowed the Queen of the Dolomites to become a sought-after international film destination.
Thanks to the spectacular nature of its peaks, the charm of its timeless centre, the fashionable life and the glamour that can be felt along its streets, Cortina attracts directors and film tourists from all over the world.
Several Italian and international films that have made history were shot here: from James Bond’s For Your Eyes Only, to the first Christmas comedy Vacanze di Natale a Cortina, to Cliffhanger. Even today, films and TV series continue to choose the Queen of the Dolomites as one of their locations, such as the Netflix film My Name is Vengeance with Alessandro Gassmann, the series Lift, the brand new Christmas comedy Cortina Express (2024) or the latest seasons of the Rai series Un Passo dal Cielo.
The famous sets are popular destinations for those who come on holiday to Cortina: from Piazza Roma to the Ice Stadium, from the Lagazuoi mountain hut to the suspension bridge over the Cristallo, from the ski slopes of Col Drusciè to those of Faloria. Not to mention the most iconic hotels in the Ampezzo Valley: Hotel de la Poste, Hotel Cristallo, Hotel Faloria, Hotel Ancora and Miramonti Majestic Grand Hotel.
Discover the 20 top film and tv locations in Cortina to relive the scenes of the most famous films and the most loved TV series shot in the Queen of the Dolomites!
1. The centre and Corso Italia
The streets of the centre are the backdrop for many films and TV series. Along Corso Italia, today the hub of social and fashionable life, James Bond is involved in a sensational chase in the famous film For Your Eyes Only (John Glen, 1981), the twelfth instalment of the 007 saga, in which Bond (Roger Moore) travels to Cortina d’Ampezzo on the trail of a criminal. Valerio also walks along Corso Italia in the melodramatic film Amanti (A Place for Lovers, Vittorio De Sica, 1968) while looking for Julia, a young American woman who is his lover. Several scenes from Vacanze di Natale (Vanzina brothers, 1983) were also shot in this iconic street, the first Christmas comedy and the first film shot entirely in Cortina, which left its mark on Italian culture and influenced other Christmas comedy films set and shot in the Queen of the Dolomites.
2. The station
Cortina Station, yesterday a railway station and today a bus station, has been honoured several times by Italian cinema. Already in the film Il Conte Max (Giorgio Bianchi, 1957) the protagonist (Alberto Sordi) goes to Cortina on holiday and reaches the station by train. In the film Vacanze d’inverno (Carlo Mastrocinque, 1959), starring Alberto Sordi and Vittorio De Sica, the protagonist, at the end of a holiday in Cortina, is forced to take the train to Rome after pawning his car to pay off his debts. A few years later, The Pink Panther (Blake Edwards, 1963) stages the arrival of Princess Dala at the station. In Cortina, the events will see the clumsy police inspector Jacques Clouseau trying to prevent the thief Sir Lytton from stealing a precious diamond.
3. The Olympic Ice Stadium
The Ice Stadium, venue of the 1956 Olympic Games and soon of the 2026 Games, hosted in 1967 the filming of some scenes from The Tiger, directed by one of the most famous directors of Italian comedy, Dino Risi, and starring Vittorio Gassman. Fifteen years later, it became the set for the twelfth instalment of 007, For Your Eyes Only. The sequences are filmed at the stadium’s outdoor bar and at the ice rink, where Bond gets into his car and is attacked by hockey players. Several scenes from the iconic Christmas comedy Vacanze di Natale (1983) were also filmed here.
4. The Olympic Ski Jump
The Italian Olympic Ski Jump, unused for years, stands on Strada Alemagna at the gates of Cortina d’Ampezzo. Alberto Sordi photographs it from the train in Count Max (1957) and in For Your Eyes Only (1981) agent 007 jumps off the Ski Jump during a chase in a memorable scene.
5. Malga Giau
At Malga Giau, easily recognisable thanks to the unique view of the imposing Lastoi de Formin mountain range, several scenes with Alessandro’s lover and his father are filmed in the sixth season of Un Passo dal Cielo (2021). A few kilometres from the famous Passo Giau, the Malga offers typical cuisine and a welcoming, family atmosphere: the ideal stop for visiting the Averau Group.
6. Gores de Federa
An entire episode of Un Passo dal Cielo revolves around an unsolved murder and the filming focuses on a fairy-tale area reachable with an easy trek: Gores de Federa (or the Gorges of Federa). The route, made up of gentle climbs and slight descents, runs alongside waterfalls, gorges and suspension bridges.
7. Croda da Lago: Palmieri mountain hut
On Croda da Lago, near the Palmieri mountain hut, the Eden Farm was set up specifically for filming Un Passo dal Cielo. At 2,000 meters you find yourself immersed in the greenery of the high-altitude pastures in front of the iconic alpine lake of Federa. The facility, which in the series is where difficult girls are cared for, was dismantled after filming, but the enchanted mountain hut can still be reached via scenic hikes.
8. Cinque Torri
The series Un Passo dal Cielo was filmed in an iconic setting not only for Cortina d’Ampezzo, but for the entire UNESCO Dolomites: the Cinque Torri. Here stands a wooden bivouac where the protagonist Francesco Neri lives – sadly not visible today because it was built specifically for the set and then dismantled. In the following seasons, the events of Un Passo dal Cielo take us back to the Cinque Torri, where a murder occurs during a historical re-enactment. The re-enactments are also proposed annually in the summer in real life, right in the area of the Cinque Torri and Averau.
9. Ospedaletti at Col dei Bos
Un Passo dal Cielo chooses the Ospedaletti at Col dei Bos as its setting: a series of ruins that during the Great War housed the military hospital and the Italian command. The ruins make the view of the Cinque Torri, the Averau and the Croda Negra even more special. In this place, Mirko, after running away from home, seeks shelter by building a tent and, subsequently, has an encounter with a wolf.
10. Lagazuoi
Lagazuoi, the mountain that overlooks the Passo Falzarego and Valparola, hosted some filming of the movie Point Break (Ericson Core, 2015), a remake of the original Point Break filmed in 1991 with Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze. In the film scene, Bodhi and his companions cause a landslide to sabotage the transportation of gold from a mine. Even some scenes from the film Amanti (1968) were shot here: the two protagonists take the cable car and reach the top of the mountain, where Valerio films his beloved. In the background, the silent and majestic Tofana di Rozes rises and the famous Rifugio Lagazuoi stands out.
11. The Dolomites Road
The Dolomites Road is without a doubt the most scenic road you can drive through the Dolomites. The film Point Break (2015) includes a daring motocross chase sequence down the mountain at Col dei Bos. Even the famous Marvel movie Spider Man: Far from Home (Jon Watts, 2019) uses the road as a backdrop for the sequences in which Peter Parker goes on a school trip on a bus. The Tre Sassi Fort and the flat peak of Averau are clearly recognisable.
12. Cason de Rozes
Cason de Rozes is one of the countless huts that were used as a set for the famous TV series Un Passo dal Cielo. In the fiction, it is Christoff’s farm, a building made entirely of stone where the wise man of the mountain lives together with an eagle. Cason de Rozes, owned by the Regole d’Ampezzo which has always safeguarded the Alpine environment, can be easily reached from Cortina by taking the Dolomites Road and then walking along path n. 402.
13. Tofana Cable Car
In the film For Your Eyes Only, agent 007 takes the cable car and reaches Cima Tofana, on the Tofana di Mezzo at over 3,000 metres above sea level, where he meets his contact: the cable car as well as the view of the Conca d’Ampezzo and the Cristallo Group are unmistakable. Even Point Break (2015), which collects a series of extreme sports and breathtaking views, films its most exciting chase right here, during which Johnny (Luke Bracey) throws himself onto the roof of the Tofana -F reccia nel Cielo cable car.
14. Col Druscié mountain hut and slopes
In Vacanze d’Inverno (1959) Col Drusciè, on the Tofane, appears several times: on the solarium of the hut, Moretti (Alberto Sordi) falls in love with Countess Paola (Eleonora Rossi Drago) and, trying to impress her, ends up rolling on skis down the black slope. In the dramatic love story Ash Wednesday (Larry Peerce, 1973) Elizabeth Taylor enjoys a stop at the Col Drusciè mountain hut, sipping a drink and admiring the unmistakable view of the valley, the Pomagagnon and the Cristallo mountains in front.
15. Malghe di Fedarola
The two protagonists of the film Amanti (1968) stay in one of the Fedarola shelters, located in the Dibona area along the path that leads to the Dibona mountain hut just below the majestic Tofane. Easy to reach and perfect for a family hike, the mountain huts are isolated and immersed in an almost fairy-tale atmosphere among green meadows and thick woods.
16. Pian de Loa
On the sunny meadows of Pian de Loa, reachable via a beautiful up-and-down path in nature, is the Baita of the same name which in the sixth season of Un Passo dal Cielo (2021) is Dafne Mair’s farm. Here we are at 1360 m above sea level in a flat area in the heart of the Natural Park of the Ampezzo Dolomites, as well as at a crossroads of paths that can be travelled on foot or by bicycle.
17. Ra Stua
Visit Ra Stua for an easy walk through the woods leading to a cave. In the series Un Passo dal Cielo, the natural cave appears several times as the one in which Leyla, protagonist of the sixth season (2021) and known as the Mountain Lioness, gives birth. The trail ends shortly after at Malga Ra Stua, where you can enjoy some excellent local cuisine.
18. Monte Cristallo: the suspension bridge
Monte Cristallo was the film set of the famous action movie Cliffhanger (Renny Harlin, 1993), the American production shot among the Dolomite peaks with Sylvester Stallone. On the Cristallo along the Ivano Dibona via ferrata, the protagonist crosses the impressive suspension bridge which, for the needs of the script, was actually blown up.
19. Faloria: The Cliffhanger Lodge
Cliffhanger (1993) was also filmed on Mount Faloria: here Stallone was forced to flee, eventually finding himself in a refuge: the famous Cliffhanger Lodge, built specifically for the film. The Cliffhanger Lodge, now a ruin that can be visited along a circular path starting from the Faloria mountain hut, is again the set in the filming of the seventh season of Un Passo dal Cielo (2023) where it is the home of Nathan, the bear man.
20. Faloria: the slopes
The snow-covered slopes of Faloria are easily accessible by cable car that leaves directly a stone’s throw from the centre of Cortina d’Ampezzo. On these slopes, among the most famous in Cortina, several great Italian actors skied in what has gone down in history as the first Christmas comedy: Vacanze di Natale (1983).
