The Village Festivals in Cortina

Introduction

The Village Festivals of Cortina d'Ampezzo, in Italian "Feste Campestri," were six summer events where you could eat, drink, and have fun. They were one of the most awaited appointments of the summer in Cortina, both by residents and tourists. Actually, they are suspended, but there are some alternative events, which we'll describe a few lines below.

Village Festivals 2025

We asked the association if there's some news for the "Feste Campestri" in 2025. The association's response was straightforward: they have suspended the village festivals.

The reason is the security problems of organizing such large events, especially in conjunction with an event like the 2026 Olympics. They have been searching for three years, without success, for an adequate space compatible with the regulations on hydrogeological and logistical safety.

There is a commitment for the future, and the association known as "Sestieri d'Ampezzo" will do its best to find a solution. We believe that this is not a stop, but only a few years of pause: the spirit is still strong; we just need to be able to organize ourselves.

We'll update this page with any news we can gather, as it's a subject we are particularly fond of. We're also in close contact with the organization, so we'll be promptly updated if there's something new.

Alternative Events

Most of the money collected during the village festivals was devolved to pay for the sports activities of children and young people of the district, such as cross-country skiing courses or the soccer tournament. Now that this money is not available anymore, each district is doing its best to find alternative methods of sustainment.

These activities are still being refined; year after year small changes are made to the programs, both for organizational reasons and due to the Olympic construction work. For precise information, we recommend visiting the official Instagram page of the "Sestieri d'Ampezzo" or searching for the posters that are made available in the interested district. Let's see them briefly:

• "Chiave," on June 13th, celebrates Saint Anthony, but its main source of support is the Madonna's fire on "Ferragosto," an Italian festivity in the middle of August, when a large bonfire with an attached refreshment service is lit to celebrate the Assumption of the Madonna into heaven.
• "Cadin," in mid-July, organizes a running race: "Il Giro del Sestiere di Cadin." After the running race, a refreshment stand is set up for the public. Historically, the start was at the arrival of the bobsled track, but with ongoing construction, it remains to be seen how it will be organized this year.
• "Alverà," around mid-July, organizes a barbecue in the area known as "Picheto", in the locality of "Pierosà." It is an enjoyable barbecue on the grass, very scenic and picturesque.
• "Zuel," around mid-August, organizes "El Siro de Pianozes," a non-competitive running race, seven kilometers long, starting from the Zuel soccer field, located at the landing area of the Olympic ski jump "Italia." Here too, a refreshment stand is set up, which is becoming increasingly popular.
• "Cortina," in recent years, in mid-September, has organized a beautiful "festa inze piaza," with a welcoming tent and a very successful concert that enlivened the evening in the town's central square.
• "Azon" takes advantage of the setup of the Delicius Trail, and the weekend next, around the beginning of October, they organize a party that has a good success thanks to the covered tent.

The Town Fair

The village festival season begins on the first Sunday of July with the town fair, in Italian: "Sagra d'Ampezzo." It is a typical event, with stalls all along "Corso Italia," the pedestrian center of Cortina. During this fair there are also a series of sporting events, including a running race locally known by its dialect name "Ra Corsa dei Seštiére," the stump sawing competition, and the tug-of-war, all of which are held by local representatives of the various districts.

All these events take place in the main square of the town, "Piazza A. Dibona," which also features a kiosk where the participants and fans of the competitions will celebrate until late in the evening.

If you'd like more information about the activities of the "sestieri," the regulations of sports competitions, and other curiosities, we have written an article about it; you can find it below:

What are the "Sestieri" A non-profit association, a cultural heritage and a geographical division. Reading time: 6 min.

What are village festivals exactly?

But what exactly were the "Feste Campestri?" They were six countryside festivals organized by the six different "sesteri" of Cortina, which are the six districts in which the town is divided. Each "sestiere" set up its local festival within its own borders, so they all took place in different locations.

The essence of the village festivals was volunteering: all the people working there, plus all those who took care of assembly, disassembly, and organization, did it for free.

Organizing these activities, each district involves its young citizens, creating a group of friends who practice outdoor activities together and that, growing up, hopefully will help in the organization of future local festivals and events. This system has been going on for many years and works quite well.

Participating in any event organized by the "Sestieri d'Ampezzo," it may happen that you have to wait a few minutes in a queue. In that case, remember: those who are working are not professionals, but people who are there, for free, to help their district.

By eating a sausage or a sweet or drinking a beer, you'll help a child to take, for example, free ski or soccer courses.

The dishes offered were the classic ones of the village festivals, such as "polenta," sausage, melted cheese, chips, beer, and wine. Over the years, however, each district had specialized, offering a dish that distinguished it, such as the famous "fartaies," a sweet fritter of the "Alverà" district. Let's go now to see each countryside festival in detail in order to understand what the characteristics were that distinguished them.

The Village Festival of "Azon"

The village festival of "Azon" has been held for years on the penultimate Sunday of August, but later they decided to change the date, moving to the weekend immediately after the town fair, and thus becoming the first village festival in Cortina.

The district of "Azon" is one of the smallest, and its party took place in a moment of the year where tourism was far away from its peak. For this reason it has always been the most rustic festival; it was made by the residents for the residents.

The Blackbirds, in italian "Merli," is what the inhabitants of "Azon" call themselves, because their flag is represented by a blackbird. They are a very close-knit group and are also great party-goers, so they knew well how to organize a party.

The specialty of the "sestiere" was the "Nighele," a delicious spherical fritter, fried at the moment. For this reason, at certain moments, you had to wait in long lines to get your hands on a plate. During the carnival week, it's still possible to eat them at a temporary kiosk that is assembled in front of the "Cooperativa."

The festival moved to different locations from year to year, according to the organizational needs. The last edition was celebrated in "Son dei Prade," a location that can be reached only with a car but with a rather large parking lot in the same square as the festival. Given the distance from the center, a shuttle service was generally offered from the bus station.

The Village Festival of "Cadin"

The village festival of "Cadin," for many years, was the opening of the Cortina's country festivals, so it was one of the most popular among the lovers of village festivals, thanks to a kiosk at the entrance that was a magnet for the thirstiest.

As said above, the festival of "Azon" moved, becoming the first one, but "Cadin" maintained an affective value for a great part of the population. The party was organized in a parking lot that was located here but now is part of the now bobsleigh track.

In addition to great burgers, "Cadin" was famous for its special, freshly made apple fritters, in Italian called "frittelle di mele." You could have parked on the nearby streets or in the parking lot of the climbing gym, but probably the best choice was to take a walk from the center, because the distance was not so excessive and the parking places were not so many.

"Cadin" was, without any doubt, a party with a capital P, where more than one was captured by the kiosk and stayed to celebrate until late at night.

The Village Festival of "Cortina"

The village festival of "Cortina" was the one that took place in the most central position. It was set up in the parking lot of "Via del Parco."

It was a festival where many people went to eat, thanks to the convenience of reaching it. The menu was structured with traditional Ampezzo dishes. As a specialty, you could have eaten the "Spätzle," spinach dumplings seasoned with melted butter and speck, as well as the classic roast chickens, sausages, and fries.

The evening was accompanied by live music, beer, and dancing. The dessert of the "sestiere" was the egg omelette with the marmalade. The country festival was very close to the center, making it quite easy to reach on foot, but if for any reason you had to take the car, in the immediate vicinity, there was the parking lot of the Revis Gym, which is large but not immense. It was not so obvious to be able to park in the immediate vicinity, also because the second large parking lot in the area was used to host the fest. There were, anyway, many other reasonably close parking places, such as the one at the elementary school and the parking lot of the "Ex Mercato."

The Village Festival of "Chiave"

The village festival of "Chiave" was generally set up in the locality "Guargnè," near the dismissed swimming pool, even though some editions have taken place in the locality of "Fiames" for organizational reasons.

In that case the distance from the center, for those who moved on foot, was a problem, so it was generally organized a shuttle bus for transportation on site. Among the gastronomic specialties of "Chiave" there were the "trippe," which is beef tripe, and the "tirtlen," a disc of fried dough filled with spinach or jam; in addition to these, there were the classic dishes like roasted chickens, sausages, and pork chops, all with polenta or bread. Of course, there was also a phenomenal kiosk for drinking, listening to music, and having fun.

When the party took place in "Fiames," the parking lots were abundant; when it was set up near the dismissed swimming pool, parking spaces were organized on the lawns nearby, so the village festival could have been reached with a short walk uphill.

The Village Festival of "Alverà"

The village festival of "Alverà" was historically organized in the locality of "Rio Gere," along the "Tre Croci" Pass. Given the distance from the center, a shuttle service was generally offered from the bus station.

Always very focused on the cuisine, the residents of the district of "Alverà" offered their guests various specialties, among which were the pork fillet in a crust and the "fartaies," a fried sweetness with an interesting shape, accompanied by blueberry jam. Ampezzo inhabitants and tourists were very greedy for the "fartaies," as you would have seen from the queue needed to take one.

The country festival was organized in the month of August, so you'd have found a large influx of tourists and passers-by. The parking lot of "Rio Gere" is huge, so you wouldn't have had any difficulty parking your car nearby. Due to some problems related to the road, the last edition of the village festival was held in the locality of "Fiames."

The Village Festival of "Zuel"

The village festival of "Zuel" was organized under the Olympic Ski Jumping Tower "Italia." Considering that it was organized on the 13th and 14th of August, it was certainly the most heartfelt country festival for the guests of Cortina, who in that period were more numerous.

The dishes offered, without considering the usual grilled specialties, had the scents of the forest with mushrooms and wild berries with whipped cream. There were also the "porchetta," a traditional Italian roasted pork dish, and a homemade pasta stuffed with red turnips, a very typical dish of Cortina, called "casunziei." It was also possible to find the "smorum," an egg and apple shredded pancake inspired by the Austrian "kaiserschmarrn."

The party proceeded until night with music and a dance floor. After a certain hour, the die-hards moved to the kiosk to party until late at night. The village festival of "Zuel" was the best way to end the season of country festivals.

Due to the large number of people, most of the time it was necessary to park in the parking spaces organized in the meadows of "Zuel" and then walk a few minutes, slightly uphill, before reaching the village festival. Generally a bus service from the town center was also available.

Conclusion

We hope you liked this page on the village festivals of Cortina d'Ampezzo. Before saying goodbye, we would suggest you read our home page, with all the articles we wrote about Cortina d'Ampezzo.

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