Italy: The fairytale comes true

In the landscapes of the Dolomites it is easy to feel like a character out of a storybook. Photo / Dolomiti Bellunesi National Park

Once upon a time in an alpine realm there lived a handsome prince. He fell in love with the beautiful princess of the moon but could not live up there for the light was too bright.

And she could not live on Earth under the shadow of the dark and imposing mountains of the prince's land.

Fortunately, the gnomes, i nani silvani, decided to help in exchange for the right to live undisturbed in the realm. The little creatures spun some moonrays and covered the mountain with eternal moonlight so that the princess could feel at home among the now-bright peaks of silver and white, gold and pink.

This is the legend of the Pale Mountains, today known as the Dolomites, standing tall and bright in the northeast Italian region of Veneto.

The mythical alpine realm is long gone, but some say the gnomes still live there.

Last winter my mother tried to convince my little boy of their existence, saying that she often saw them. And we really did see some tiny footprints in the snow just outside our door.

"Those are the cat's," said the savvy older sister. Nonetheless, they did look quite magic.

The valleys of the Dolomites are full of old villages with charming little churches, often graced by an onion-dome bell-tower.

Higher up, woods of deep green shade ancient paths among wild strawberry fields, all topped by breathtakingly tall peaks of bare rock.

In such a landscape it is easy to feel like a character out of a storybook living in a magical and forgotten realm.

The name Dolomiti is relatively new. In 1789, French geologist Deodat Dolomieu discovered a new type of rock, later named dolomite in his honour.

In 1864, English travellers Josiah Gilbert and George Cheetam Churchill extended the name to the entire mountain range when they wrote a book about the region, Dolomite Mountains.

But for many inhabitants of Belluno, the provincial city of the Dolomites, the name Monti Pallidi, or Pale Mountains, remains as dear as the legend itself.

Today the Dolomites are well-known for skiing, having some of the most beautiful slopes in the world, and its resorts such as Cortina d'Ampezzo are frequented by royalty, Hollywood stars and the rich.

But there are other aspects of the Dolomites that are less known and, in my opinion, even more beautiful: the summer season, the hiking, the nature and the traditions.

In 1993 the National Park of the Dolomiti Bellunesi was established, covering 32,000ha, devoted to protecting the natural environment. This includes preserving the life of the mountain dwellers with a series of projects like the recovery of high mountain pastures, where dairying produces wonderful cheese, butter and ricotta.