Le The Dolomites, mountain groups of the eastern Italian Alps, have always aroused a strong interest in the collective imagination. The beauty of these mountains is literally fairytale, just visit them to be bewitched by these imposing ravines. This territory, with its beauty disarming, it constitutes the lifeblood of a myriad of anecdotes and tales. There are dozens of villages, such as that of San Candido, which build fortresses for the Dolomites, points of union between a wild past and the future, passing through the present. These historical caskets are a book to be read, or rather to visit.
The mountain villages
The Italian.it journey reaches the heart of San Candido, a charming town in the Dolomites. The autonomous province of Bolzano, in Trentino-Alto Adige, outlines the territories of the village, located in Alta Pusteria. The tourist boom for this municipality came with the Italian fiction "A step from the sky", set in these unique and rare places. The airing of the film on RaiUno, for several years, has considerably amplified the general public's knowledge of San Candido: a winter destination and more.
San Candido, Unesco heritage
Tribe of Illyrian shepherds, later Celtic, the conquests by Roman soldiers are the first phases of the origins of this small earthly paradise. A territory that is teeming with contaminations and different peoples. It was in the Middle Ages that San Candido unleashed its greatest strength, a force that also led some farming families to colonize a part of Slovenia, to form six municipalities. From the landscape point of view, today, the large square of San Micheal, creates a mixture of colors and constructions to be photographed.
The Church of San Michele in San Candido
This construction dates back to the early 1200s. In a first phase the style was purely Romanesque, but in the 1700s a restructuring in the Baroque style arrives. It is certainly one of the religious structures most appreciated by the many tourists, who invade this municipality every year.
The images of the famous local mayor, a character from the first seasons of the “One step from heaven” series, also turned the spotlight on the town hall. However, the square of San Michele remains the symbol par excellence of this modern day postcard. With characteristic shops, intimate restaurants, the square is one of the most visited areas of the Municipality of San Candido.
The legend of the giant of the Dolomites
According to an ancient tale, the Collegiate Church of San Candido was built with the help of a giant. The story of the giant Haunold it is well known in these territories. He narrates the phases of the construction of the Church and above all speaks of the gifts to the giant, by some inhabitants, to thank him for his help: almost all the stones were transported thanks to his hard work among these idyllic mountains.
