Urtijëi, Mountain municipality in Val Gardena, South Tyrol, Italy.
Urtijëi is a mountain municipality in Val Gardena, South Tyrol, sitting at 1,230 meters elevation and surrounded by Dolomite peaks and dense alpine forests. The settlement stretches along the valley and serves as a starting point for hikes and ski areas in the surrounding mountain ranges.
Between 1860 and 1914, construction of a major road connecting Val Gardena to railroad networks transformed the municipality into a center for woodcarving and tourism. This connection opened the region to visitors and brought economic change to the valley.
Museum Gherdëina preserves local heritage through collections of wooden sculptures, geological findings, and archaeological artifacts from the surrounding peaks. These objects show the close connection between the people here and the mountains that surround them.
In winter, the municipality offers direct access to several ski slopes, while summer brings numerous hiking trails through the surrounding peaks. Most trails start directly from town and cater to different difficulty levels.
The population maintains a strong Ladin linguistic identity, with 84 percent of residents speaking this ancient Romance language as their primary means of communication. In schools and public offices, Ladin is actively used alongside Italian and German.
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