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On Sunday, August 24, 2025, the beloved summer literary festival Una Montagna di Libri – Meetings with the Author, directed since its inception in 2009 by Francesco Chiamulera, offered its final event: the “Passeggiata Letteraria | Incontrarsi a Cortina. La Ronde du Plaisir della mondanità ampezzana.” This culminating stroll wove together literary lore, cultural anecdotes, and the glittering social life of Cortina d'Ampezzo.

During the walk, Chiamulera also introduced “Accadde a Cortina”, an innovative pilot project described as the first Museum of Literature dedicated to the Dolomites. Developed with the support of the local municipality, it features 18 illustrated panels placed in key locations around town, each recounting episodes, figures, and moments that have shaped Cortina’s rich literary history. Over the decades, Cortina d’Ampezzo has welcomed some of the greatest names in literature and the arts—from Ernest Hemingway to Dino Buzzati, from Mario Rigoni Stern to Nobel Prize–winning authors, as well as painters and sculptors who found inspiration in the Dolomite landscape.

Among these figures, Chiamulera recalled Mario Rimoldi, a central figure in Cortina’s cultural identity. As a passionate art collector and mayor of the town in the 1950s, Rimoldi founded the Museum of Modern Art Mario Rimoldi, which today houses masterpieces by Filippo de Pisis, Giorgio de Chirico, Mario Sironi, Giorgio Morandi, Renato Guttuso, and many others. Rimoldi’s vision helped transform Cortina into an artistic hub, attracting and connecting painters, writers, and intellectuals.

The walk also paid tribute to Renato Balsamo, the Italian artist who arrived in Cortina in 1961 to teach at the State Institute of Art, under Rimoldi’s direction. Balsamo became deeply woven into the town’s creative fabric, forging friendships with artists like Anton Zoran Music and nurturing generations of young talents. The Cortina Institute of Art itself remains a symbol of the town’s enduring commitment to education and artistic excellence.

Another figure celebrated during the event was Rachele Padovan, remembered for her warmth, hospitality, and dedication to preserving local culinary traditions. Her celebrated cookbook, La cucina ampezzana. Storia e ricette, collects around ninety traditional recipes, many of which she prepared in her home in Salieto, where she welcomed friends, neighbors, and members of the artistic community.

The “Passeggiata Letteraria” traced a route from the historic Libreria Sovilla—a long-standing cultural landmark in Cortina—to Rachele Padovan’s residence. Along the way, Chiamulera guided a large group of summer visitors through a tapestry of stories and anecdotes, bringing to life the intertwined histories of literature, art, and society in the “Queen of the Dolomites.”

This final walk capped a summer-long series of literary excursions, each blending nature and narrative: from trails inspired by Dino Buzzati to urban routes recalling Ernest Hemingway, E.M. Forster, and Saul Bellow; from forest paths linked to Indro Montanelli and Giuseppe Berto to explorations of cinema, art, and local legends.