In the village of Santa Maddalena, Val di Funes, Dolomites, Italy

 " ... I see skies of blue and clouds of white

The bright blessed day, the dark sacred night

And I think to myself what a wonderful world ...."

(Lyrics from"What a Wonderful World," a pop ballad first recorded by Louis Armstrong; released in 1967, Armstrong's recording was inducted in the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999.)

Santa Maddalena, Val di Funes, Dolomites, Italy

Santa Maddalena is a small village located in the Dolomites of Italy. It’s both a village and a church. And it’s a symbol of the Val di Funes. This wee village of just 370 people is

located in the Trentino-Alto Adige region of Northern Italy. It’s specifically in that very favorite province of mine — the Alto Adige (also known as Südtirol in German). And digging in even deeper it sits in the rear part of the Val di Funes. So in the Trentino-Alto Adige region there are a lot of valleys because of the all the Dolomite mountains. It’s just natural that there are valleys between the mountain ranges. Often you’ll see that the towns in this region sit in a specific valley — Val. Santa Maddalena is at one of those towns. And it is located at the end of the very picturesque Val di Funes. So let’s dive into why you should stop by this mountain village.