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Area information
Surface:
9,302 hectares

Provinces:
Bolzano, Trento

Main peaks:
Catinaccio d’Antermoia (3,002 m)
Catinaccio (2,981 m)
Cima Scalieret (2,887 m)
Croda di Lausa (2,876 m)
Campanili del Latemar (2,842 m)
Cima Val Bona (2,822 m)
Molignon (2,820 m)
Torri del Vajolet (2,813 m)
Roda di Vael (2,806 m)
Corno d’Ega (2,799 m)
Schenon (2,791 m)
Cima di Terrarossa (2,580 m)
Punta Santner (2,413 m)

Nature reserves:
Parco Naturale Sciliar-Catinaccio				
Selection criteria

Reasons why the Sciliar, Catinaccio and Latemar were included in the Dolomites World Heritage serial property

Aesthetic and scenic criterion:

Elevata presenza di fenomeni naturali, quali dislivelli verticali e rocce nude. Sono ottimamente rappresentate le principali componenti della struttura del paesaggio: ampi basamenti, imponenti mantelli detritici, elementi strutturali orizzontali, grandi masse rocciose verticali. Grande importanza estetica citata anche in letteratura e nelle arti figurative.

Geological and geomorphological criterion:

Well-preserved stratigraphic succession and abundance of fossils. Significant intrinsic and extrinsic geodiversity. Typical Dolomite Landscape. Evidence of the geomorphologic effects of climatic and landslide phenomena.

Visit the Dolomites

Sciliar-Catinaccio and Latemar

The colored mountains

Roda di Vael in the Catinaccio Group – picture taken at the sunset | Author: Manrico Dell'Agnola Sciliar, Catinaccio and Latemar are the seventh of the nine system forming the Dolomites UNESCO World Heritage Site. The area extends between the provinces of Trento and Bolzano, with the exception of the Sciliar, situated entirely in South Tyrolean territory. The system has an indisputable aesthetic value, recognized all around the world, and a high geological value.


View of the Torri di Vajolet – picture taken by the Re Alberto mountain hut | Author: Mario Vidor System 7 can be divided into two separate sections: Sciliar-Catinaccio on one side and Latemar on the other. These two sections have in common an extraordinary number and variety of sharp pointed peaks, bold jagged towers and vast rock faces which light up with the pink and reddish hues of sunset and sunrise. The two massifs Sciliar and Catinaccio overlook the valleys of Tires and Isarco to the north-west, and the valleys of Val di Fassa and Val di Duron to the south. The Catinaccio, with the spectacular Vajolet Towers, forms a series of peaks and sharp needles showing the movement of the advanced part of an island which sank into the sea 240 million years ago.

The Catinaccio, which according to the legends was the reign of King Laurin, is joined to the Sciliar through Forcella Terrarossa. The peculiarity of this massif is that its outline changes greatly depending on which slope you are looking at: from Bolzano it shows itself as a vast plateau with two high pinnacles, Punta Santner and Punta Euringer; from Alpe di Siusi you can admire an imposing, compact massif with gullies, ravines and a huge scree slope with green pastures at its feet. The western slope instead is one of the best preserved tropical reefs.

The second section is constituted by the third massif, the Latemar, an ancient and isolated atoll separated from the Catinaccio by the Costalunga Pass and rising between Val di Fiemme in Trentino and Val d’Ega in South Tyrol. Its pale-colored rocks, the horizontal lines of the lagoon sediments, the sloping profile of the escarpment and the peaks, amongst which the Torre di Pisa stands out, are reflected in the waters of the beautiful Carezza Lake.

Geomorphology and geology

From a geomorphological point of view, the Sciliar is a compact dolomite massif, the Catinaccio has an irregular, fragmented shape with jagged peaks, and the Latemar shows pale-colored peaks of calcareous and dolomite rocks. The Sciliar-Catinaccio and Latemar show ample evidence of the effects of tectonic movements, which created a large variety of forms, and present a variety of rock types. There is also ample evidence of glacial and landslide phenomena.

From a geological point of view, the Sciliar-Catinaccio and Latemar is one of the most important systems worldwide for the study of the stratigraphy of the Triassic, thanks to the abundance of fossils on Alpe di Siusi, the relationship between volcanic and carbonate sediments , and the fact that the outcrops are easily accessible.

Did you know that…

The German name of Catinaccio is Rosengarten, which means “Garden of Roses”, a name referring to the legend of King Laurin.

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