Suspended between heaven and earth. Plan de Corones and the Via Artis
Who has been lucky enough to touch the sky with a finger? It is a sensation you can experience in the heart of South Tyrol, on the border between the Puster Valley, the Badia Valley and the Anterselva Valley, where the Plan de Corones (Kronplatz) rises – one of the most recognisable mountains in the Dolomites. Its rounded summit reaches an altitude of 2,275 metres and dominates a vast, sun-drenched landscape stretching from the Dolomites – a UNESCO World Heritage Site – to the main Alpine range. Plan de Corones is not just a feast for the eyes. Around the summit and in the surrounding valleys lies a network of outdoor experiences that follow the rhythm of the seasons and the pace of the walker.
Family-friendly trails and high-altitude routes linking mountain huts and alpine pastures, alpine lakes where you can stop for a break, e-bike routes winding through villages and pastures, right up to the spectacular scenery of the three nature parks — Fanes-Senes-Braies, Puez-Odle and Vedrette di Ries-Aurina. It is a mountain with many facets, capable of welcoming those seeking a challenge and those seeking tranquillity, those who want to climb and those who prefer to take it easy. In winter, the slopes for downhill skiing, cross-country skiing and snowboarding wind through a veritable paradise, well known to all lovers of snow and sport. The scenery these mountains offer from spring through to summer reveals another side to this region.
Set against this natural plateau, shaped by glaciers and high-altitude pastures, lies Via Artis: a circular route around the Concordia peak, approximately 7.2 kilometres long, which follows the mountain’s ridge. The trail winds through alpine meadows, past dizzying views and across open spaces where the eye can roam freely towards the peaks of the Dolomites: from Sass de Putia to the Sella Group, all the way to the distant Zillertal Alps.
It is this sense of freedom that makes the Via Artis more than just an artistic trail: it is a path that weaves through a living landscape, not one merely contemplated from afar.
The walk can be completed in around three hours. The starting point is easily accessible thanks to the cable cars, which operate in summer. The best time to visit is from June to November, and guided walks are organised on Mondays.
This unique geographical location – a meeting point between Alpine culture, international tourism and the natural environment – makes Plan de Corones a symbolic place where one can reflect on the relationship between humankind and the mountains. A space between heaven and earth where one can rediscover oneself through genuine contact with unspoilt nature. It is therefore no surprise that Via Artis, one of the world’s highest open-air art galleries, featuring large-scale works, was established right here, where the dialogue between contemporary art and nature becomes an integral part of the walking experience.
Where high-altitude meadows coexist within an extremely delicate balance and the climate slowly redraws the boundaries of life, every element seems to remind us just how vulnerable both human traces and the natural landscape are – and, for that very reason, how incredibly precious they are. It is here, where everything seems stable and unchanging, that one perceives most clearly the value of fragility: something rare that must be cherished, respected and protected. A unique and non-negotiable balance that requires awareness to be preserved from potential disruption and contamination.
Along the ridge of Plan de Corones, amidst open horizons and rarefied silences, contemporary art blends into the landscape without dominating it, becoming a means of dialogue between humankind and that which is at risk of being lost. And it is precisely in this silent exchange between art and nature that fragility is transformed into strength.
Three sections tell stories linked to Plan de Corones: the construction of the military road in the 1950s, the mountain pastures and their importance for the conservation of biodiversity, and the impact of climate change on flora and fauna.
Among the works encountered along the Via Artis, “Alpine Geometry” by the artist Alex Dorici stands out as a light red structure rising from the landscape, serving simultaneously as both a gateway and a symbol: a frame that guides the gaze and translates the outline of the Dolomites into geometric form.
With “Geweih (Verlust)”, an enormous deer antler made of polished die-cast aluminium, Wilma Kammerer reflects on the cycles of nature, transforming the work into an immersive sensory experience.
“Broken Ice Core” by Judith Neunhäuserer, crafted from solid glass and galvanised steel, evokes ice cores from the cryosphere – veritable climate archives – inviting reflection on climate change.
Ruth Oberschmied, an artist from Brunico, arranges linen sheep on the lawn in her work “ruhend_palsé” to evoke the pastures of yesteryear and highlight the often-conflicting relationship between tourism and agriculture.
Roland Perathoner’s “Grande Conchiglia”, as well as the avenue “Urra! Crocus! Urra!”, created by Helmut Pizzinini, each in their own way, explore the delicate relationship between humans and nature.
With “Terra Preta – Black Diamond”, a large black cube composed of materials such as charcoal and vegetable carbon, fertilisers and manure, as well as bones and fragments of clay, Rina Treml focuses on the ambivalence between human intervention and the fertility of nature.
Terra Preta – Black DiamondFinally, the concrete artwork “Made 2” by the artist Andreas Zingerle from Bressanone explores the often contradictory perception we have of the world of insects.
In April, a competition was also concluded, through which five works by various artists were selected to be installed along the Via Artis during the summer season.
At the summit of Plan de Corones there are also two interesting museums: the MMM Corones, founded by extreme mountaineer Reinhold Messner, and the LUMEN Museum, dedicated respectively to the history of mountaineering and mountain photography.
Special thanks to:
Kronplatz Plan de Corones for the photos
Text by Sandra Jacopucci
Giornalista detentore dal 2015 del Guinness World Records TV e Ambasciatore Borghi più Belli d’Italia.
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