Marmolada Historical Timeline

Origins

The Marmolada is a block of Triassic limestone tilted by the same tectonics that shaped the Dolomites, which is why one face is a wall and the other a ramp -- the whole massif is a slab set on edge.

Turning points

From 1915 to 1917 the front between Italy and Austria-Hungary ran across the mountain at over 3,000 metres. To survive on it, the Austro-Hungarians dug a network of tunnels and chambers inside the glacier -- the Città di Ghiaccio, the City of Ice, running to some twelve kilometres of galleries with dormitories, kitchens and a chapel.

Influential people

The City of Ice no longer exists. The glacier that housed it has moved and melted, and the tunnels went with it.

Cultural evolution

The Museo Marmolada Grande Guerra at Serauta, at about 2,950 metres, is the highest war museum in Europe, built on the front line itself and reached by the cable car.

Present-day significance

The glacier is retreating rapidly and is widely projected to vanish within a couple of decades. On 3 July 2022 a serac broke away after a period of exceptional heat and killed eleven people on the normal route -- a loss that changed how the mountain is discussed and managed.