Val Gardena, South Tyrol, Dolomites, Italy Dec 20, 2023

The Val Gardena valley in Northern Italy is renowned as a tourist destination for skiing, rock climbing and woodcarving enthusiasts. Don"t let the model village appearance fool you, Val Gardena is a real, yet magical site in the Dolomites of South Tyrol that transforms in winter. Wooden huts open their doors to visitors, and a nostalgic cable car ride, each cabin adorned with twinkling fairy lights, travels above the village. During the 18th century, the valley became famous for its production of statuettes and intricately carved wooden figurines, which were initially crafted to decorate Catholic churches. Amongst those creations, the peg wooden doll emerged as one of Val Gardena"s best-known products and is still being produced today.

© Ingus Kruklitis/Getty Images

palette

Today in History

Dec 20, 2024Santa Claus Village in Rovaniemi, Lapland, Finland
Dec 20, 2025Red fox

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Jun 19, 2024Water tower in Cuxhaven, Germany
Aug 6, 2025Ring-tailed lemur
Sep 13, 2023Hemakuta Hill, Hampi, India
Nov 13, 2023Serra de Tramuntana, Balearic Islands, Majorca, Spain
Apr 24, 2024White trilliums in Ontario, Canada
Sep 22, 2023Marsala salt pans, Italy
Jan 7, 2026Turret Arch the in Arches National Park, Utah, United States
Dec 11, 2024Tre Cime di Lavaredo, Italy
Mar 28, 2026African buffalo, Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania
Nov 30, 2025Christmas market in Leipzig, Germany
May 15, 2024The Blue City of Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India
Mar 26, 2024Vinh Hy Bay, Vietnam
Nov 30, 2023The Old Man of Storr, Isle of Skye, Scotland, UK
Jan 7, 2025Moeraki Boulders, South Island, New Zealand
Nov 26, 2023Fallow deer in Bradgate Park, England
Apr 23, 2026Common chiffchaff, Germany
Aug 27, 2025Sørvágsvatn lake, island of Vágar, Faroe Islands
Jan 18, 2026White Sands National Park, New Mexico, United States
Feb 1, 2025Königstein Fortress, Saxon Switzerland, Germany
Feb 3, 2026Emerald Bay and Fannette Island, Lake Tahoe, California, United States
Mar 29, 2025Superbloom in Carrizo Plain National Monument, California, United States
Jun 6, 2025Common pheasant, Normandy, France
Oct 10, 2023Mount Sopris, Colorado, USA
Nov 17, 2024Red deer stag
Dec 4, 2023Cheetah and her cubs
May 6, 2025An ultralight aircraft flying over the sands of Namibia
Aug 14, 2025Piz Nair mountain, Switzerland
Feb 8, 2026Corfu, Greece
Jan 14, 2026Fortress of Palamidi, Nafplio, Greece
Sep 28, 2023Container ship near a commercial port in Thailand