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 into a place known as Christmas Valley during the festive season. Wooden huts open their doors to visitors, and a nostalgic cable car ride, each cabin adorned with twinkling fairy lights, travels above the Christmas 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

Reflecting on Christmas
Dec 20, 2024Santa Claus Village in Rovaniemi, Lapland, Finland
Dec 20, 2025Christmas star lanterns, Germany

More Desktop Wallpapers:

May the 4th be with you
Mar 21, 2026International Day of Forests
Purple bliss as far as the eye can see
Mar 22, 2025Bihar Day
Jan 16, 2025Pinnacles National Park, California, United States
Butterfly, fly away
Jan 10, 2026The Matterhorn reflected in Lake Stellisee at sunrise, Zermatt, Switzerland
The picturesque Mughal architecture
Nov 21, 2025Small island near Ezhikkara, Kerala
The sprout with amazing potential
Sep 6, 2025Pacific Park, Santa Monica State Beach, California, United States
Oct 9, 2023Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India
Jan 28, 2025Short-eared owl
Jun 9, 2024Bardenas Reales Biosphere Reserve and Natural Park, Navarra, Spain
When life imitates art
Apr 10, 2024Dragon waterfall, Venezuela
Dec 14, 2023Boreal owl
Trunks packed for road
Jul 31, 2025Kalalau Beach on the Nā Pali Coast, Hawaii, United States
Jan 29, 2025Chinese New Year
Nov 5, 2024Ranakpur Jain temple, Ranakpur, Rajasthan
40 years of recovery
May 31, 2026Highway through Xitai Jinaier Lake, Qinghai Province, China
Feb 2, 2024Alpine Marmot
Rainbow around the sun
Jul 5, 2024Daintree Rainforest and Noah Beach, Queensland, Australia
An underwater paradise to explore
Dec 24, 2025Christmas Eve
Jun 15, 2024Nazaré, Portugal
Where the humpback whale sings