Cortina is a town in the region of Veneto located in the heart of the Dolomites in the Alpine valley and is a very popular winter resort known for its ski ranges, scenery, accommodation and vibrant nightlife.

Apart for the renowned après-ski, Cortina d’Ampezzo is one of the most popular ski resorts in Italy, and can boast more than 100 ski runs over 140km, 30 chairlifts, 6 gondolas and 15 surface lifts. The longest run measures 11km.

A turbulent past, the town belonged to the Holy Roman Empire until the 15th century when it was conquered by the Republic of Venice in 1420. At the beginning of the 16th century the town was returned to Austria, and Cortina stayed Austrian until after the First World War when it was handed to Italy as part of the peace settlements. As most of the male population of the city had been sent to fight for Austria on the eastern front, there was little confrontation when Italy sent their troops to annex the town.

Geographically, the town is situated in the centre of the Ampezzana valley at a height of 1 224m and is completely surrounded by mountains, which peak at 3 244m, with the Cadore to the south, the Val Pusteria to the north, the Val d’ Ansiei to the east  and the Agordo to the west. The Cortina region covers 254.51km squared and is rich in flora and fauna, even if the temperature can descend to a minimum of -7.6 degrees.

Cortina was scheduled to hold the 1944 Winter Olympic Games, which however were cancelled as a result of the Second World War. As compensation, Cortina was awarded the 1956 edition of the Winter Games and on that occasion 32 nations took part, amongst them the USSR, who were participating in their first Winter Olympics. The region also hosted the 1941 Alpine World Skiing Championships, as well as the 1927 and 1941 Nordic championships.

Traditionally Cortina hosts three events in the FIS Women’s Alpine World Cup, a downhill, super-G and giant slalom race. The super-G is generally the first event, and is held on the Friday. The downhill is then held on the Saturday whilst the Sunday is dedicated to the giant slalom event.
In 2009, Cortina will have the rare honour of hosting a fourth World Cup race, with a second downhill being held on the Friday and the super-G on the Thursday.

The second downhill event is the rescheduled race from Lake Louise, Canada, postponed as a result of bad weather. Although it is quite rare for one location to host four races in four days, with the abundance of snow on the Alps this year, the FIS have accepted Cortina’s bid to host the extra race.

This year will mark another important milestone for Cortina, as it will be the 40th time the World Cup makes a stop in the Italian Dolomites. It will also be the 17th consecutive year that Cortina hosts a World Cup event.

Austrian skiers tend to dominate the event; in fact 21 of the winners have been from Austria. Two of the more successful Austrians have been Renate Götschl, who has won  in Cortina ten times, and Annemarie Pröll, who triumphed three times.

The host nation has only seen its competitors triumph on seven occasions, mostly as a result of Isolde Kostner winning five consecutive races between 1996 and 2001. The other two Italian victors have been Deborah Compagnoni in 1997 and Karen Putzer a decade later.