Within The Mountain

© Claudia Mann - Road maintenance near San Vigilio di Marebbe. © Claudia Mann - Farmers start jí a munt with a difficult climb to Munt de Sennes. © Claudia Mann - Hubert Comploi, the herder at the Gardenacia hut, counts his cows. View all images ↓
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  • Dates
    2021 - Ongoing
  • Author
  • Location Trentino-Alto Adige, Italy

“Within The Mountain” documents the Ladin people of Italy as they work during the summer months. Ladin people are an ethnic minority who inhabit five valleys in the Dolomites, collectively known as Ladinia: Badia, Gherdëina, Fassa, Fodom and Ampezzo. They are deeply rooted in rural Alpine culture and are distinguished by their trilingualism, their native Ladin, a Rhaeto-Romance language, German and Italian, and by their collective agricultural practices. The most important part of their Alpine culture is the care and protection of their home, the grand, yet fragile mountain environment that surrounds them.

I followed different farmers, herders and their families as they undertook the two vital practices that have created one of the of the most diverse and rich environments in Europe: jí a munt (cattle transhumance), the most important Ladin tradition, and the laborious process of making hay for the winter months. These cultural practices, which stem from ancestral knowledge passed down generations, are intrinsic to the thriving nature of the Dolomites.

For decades now, the Ladin pastoral-alpine lifestyle has been threatened by the pressures of climate change and urbanization. Drawing upon centennial traditions imbued with a spirit of interdependency and adaptability, Ladin people are the force behind some of the most marvelous mountain ranges anywhere and they remain, till this day, an essential presence for the life of the mountain and its biodiversity.

© Claudia Mann - Road maintenance near San Vigilio di Marebbe.
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Road maintenance near San Vigilio di Marebbe.

© Claudia Mann - Farmers start jí a munt with a difficult climb to Munt de Sennes.
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Farmers start jí a munt with a difficult climb to Munt de Sennes.

© Claudia Mann - Hubert Comploi, the herder at the Gardenacia hut, counts his cows.
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Hubert Comploi, the herder at the Gardenacia hut, counts his cows.

© Claudia Mann - Fresh hay ready for the winter months at the Armentara Meadows.
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Fresh hay ready for the winter months at the Armentara Meadows.

© Claudia Mann - The Pallestrong family collects hay on their property in Rina, a fraction od Badia.
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The Pallestrong family collects hay on their property in Rina, a fraction od Badia.

© Claudia Mann - Image from the Within The Mountain photography project
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Osvaldo and Gabriel De Giovanni practice Goasslschnöllen, whip cracking, ahead of their performance at the town’s parade in the fall. Osvaldo’s whip is a little over 3 meters and Gabriel is 2 and a half meters long. The "Goasslschnöllen" is an ancient custom, which is performed on special occasions and has been kept alive for generations. The whip is swung with one hand from front to back and from left to right going over one’s head. All this without hurting oneself, as the handling is tricky and it takes a lot of time and a lot of practice to master.

© Claudia Mann - Emilio, Heinrich and Monica Pallestrong in Rina, a fraction of Badia after a long day of collecting hay.
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Emilio, Heinrich and Monica Pallestrong in Rina, a fraction of Badia after a long day of collecting hay.

© Claudia Mann - Image from the Within The Mountain photography project
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Osvaldo and his goat Ciccio. Osvaldo de Giovanni, 65, is from La Villa in Alta Badia, and now lives with his son, Gabriel, in Badia. Osvaldo worked as a herder for 25 years at Gardenacia hut, where he spent the summer months guarding and tending to cows that grazed freely in high laying pastures. In the winter Osvaldo operated a horse sledding service. He is now retired, but still makes hay every year, cuts down trees to make wood and keeps some goats.

Within The Mountain by Claudia Mann

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