Man has left a number of ancient marks in the Cinque Torri-Averau area since the early traces of seasonal settlements of shepherds and woodcutters and the alterations of the environment that followed.
An unpublished collection of 47th vintage postcards of Cortina and surroundings, from the 20's to the 50's .
The castle of Botestagno, high on the cliff, dominates the king’s highway. Imaginary engraving by a German artist of the 18th cent.
Chapter 5 - The name on the parchment. A long life to Botestagno
On the 15th June 1156, anniversary of St Vito martyr, two brothers, named Giovanni and Paganello, purchase from a man of Treviso a plot of land that, as they report to the notary, lies in "Ampitium Cadubri". This is the earliest record in which the name Ampezzo appears; it is written on the parchment kept in the archives of San Vito, because it was there, 10 km from Cortina, that the buyers lived.
This brings clear evidence that in 1156 our valley was inhabited and had certainly been inhabited since long if even people from Treviso owned properties free from servitude. The notary, in fact, takes due note without further explanations. Since when? Since Barbarian invasions? Since the Roman times or, why not, the Venetics who wrote their missives in Etruscan? Nobody knows.
A second intriguing document dates from 20 years later. It reports of another transfer of property. The seller is a nobleman from Monguelfo, the purchaser Gabriele da Camino. The price agreed upon "60 lire of Verona". It is an important business that takes place before many witnesses whom the notary duly mentions: "several Romans, Lombards, and Germans; Ladin Ruopreto with brothers Almerico and Federico Rudiger; lastly, Cadorini Leonardo da Lorenzago, Gerardo da Vallesella, etc." A fortress or a castle was already existing at Botestagno, some four kilometres north of Cortina, yet it is not mentioned in the document. Still, there is strong evidence that all the persons in attendance had that in mind while defining the property. Why? We don't know. This second transaction, instead, is to confirm an all important circumstance: the valleys around Cortina were inhabited by a civilized people, already organized in a community called Cadore. Some of the villagers would speak German, some others would claim their Roman origins, others felt themselves heirs of the Lombards, two among them wanted to be called Cadorini while a few simply called themselves "Ladins". These were (are) the offspring of the first settlers of the valleys. All the persons attending the transaction, the notary, the contracting parties, the witnesses knew Latin, the official language used by notaries, clergymen, merchants and travellers. Latin was still the universal language of Europe. Though each of them would use his own mother micro-language or dialect when speaking with the family. This transaction, written on a parchment kept at Pieve, marks the entrance of Cortina into history. We can infer it lies along an important highway, the "king's highway" which will be dealt with further on; that to the north it is protected by defences, the castle of Botestagno; finally, that it is included in the community of Cadore, jurisdiction of the Aquileia patriarchate. The Ampezzo people have contacts with the Germans of the north, yet even more with their neighbours of the south with whom they share a common language: Latin.
