In the northern part of Italy close to the border with Austria lies a group of mountain ranges called the Dolomites. Although it’s been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, this portion of Italy remains relatively unknown to people from outside the region. It is just around 200 kilometers from Venice but the autonomous province of South Tyrol or Alto Adige seems like a world apart from the Latin heritage of Italy. German is the lingua franca rather than Italian while the alpine landscape makes the area look like a scene from neighboring Austria or even Switzerland. Sometimes, the sight of a single picture is all it takes to inspire me to go somewhere. This was exactly the case with South Tyrol. I had encountered a picture of some unreal scenery some months back and I knew instantly I had to go there no matter what it took. When I next had a chance to visit Europe, I made sure I allotted some time to venture to South Tyrol.
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