Val Gardena, South Tyrol, Dolomites, Italy 20 Dec 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
20 Dec 2024Santa Claus Village in Rovaniemi, Lapland, Finland

More Desktop Wallpapers:

4 Oct 2023World Space Week
Gravity-defying wonders of the world
An ocean of stars above the desert
13 May 2024Fish River Canyon, Namibia
30 Apr 2025International Jazz Day
14 May 2025Porto Flavia, Sulcis-Iglesiente, Sardinia, Italy
Prehistoric trails
28 Jul 2024Colourful bathing huts on the beach in Skåne County, Sweden
22 Mar 2024World Water Day
Gem of the Côte dAzur
A magical resting place
10 Dec 2023Sand dunes in the Sahara, Algeria
12 Jan 2025Crescent-tail bigeye fish, Great Barrier Reef, Australia
A day for giving
Sway with the Amazonian canopy
12 Mar 2024Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah, USA
A walk in the clouds
11 Oct 2023The Painted Hills, Oregon, USA
14 Jan 2024Whooper swans
30 May 2025Little Pigeon River, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, United States
A world within a world
Lighting the world
Celebrating our looming lunar neighbour
27 Dec 2024Lake Bled, Slovenia
A curious little otter pup
Back to the future
10 Feb 2024South Downs Dark Skies Festival
Doves of peace
A prehistoric pavement
Rock House in Hocking Hills State Park, Ohio