VIA AMELIA – Time travel in the DolomitesItinerary 10: Corvara to BolzanoWe follow Amelia and Lucy as they completed their fascinating journey through the Dolomites along the valleys where few foreigners travelled in 1872 and nobody had ever met two independent English women before. In the last part of their adventure they crossed the notorious Colfosco Pass, now called Passo Gardena, where the path was littered with crosses marking where people had perished in bad weather. Today's road is very safe and we have the option of crossing by mountain lifts. We explore Ortisei / St. Ulrich, the centre of a prosperous wood carving industry, and compare today's factory-style production with the cottage industry that fascinated Amelia and Lucy.  We leave the Dolomites, on foot, across the invigorating Alpe di Siusi / Seisser Alm with its striking panoramas in all directions, before descending through an enchanting forest to Bad Ratzes, one of the most beautiful places on this journey where Nature embraces us completely.VIA AMELIA is a tour of the Dolomites inspired, and guided, by Amelia Edwards, one of the first foreigners to explore these majestic mountains and write about them.In her book Untrodden Peaks and Unfrequented Valleys, first published in 1873,  Amelia tells us the story of her astonishing adventures. It is not only the improbable journey in a bygone age that amazes us, but also the incredible illustrations drawn by the author herself.  Even today, it is one of the most popular guidebooks ever published about the Dolomites. In VIA AMELIA we bring it back to life, with Amelia as our courier. Along this guided tour, Amelia enthrals us, in her own words, with a vivid account of her travels by horse-drawn carriage and cart, riding side-saddle on mules over rougher trails and on foot up and down steep rocky paths accompanied by a female friend Lucy Renshaw.VIA AMELIA enables us to follow Amelia's and Lucy’s precise route, from Venice to Bolzano, by road and footpath, through the same valleys, across the same mountain passes and over, or around, the same magnificent peaks. Along the way we pass through places that Amelia and Lucy visited to discover what has happened to the inns and hotels where they slept, and to meet descendants of people Amelia and Lucy met. We also pause where Amelia stopped to sketch, so we can compare the view today with the beautiful engravings from Untrodden Peaks and Unfrequented Valleys, or Amelia’s original paintings.As our guide, Amelia fascinates us with detailed descriptions of the places she visited and witty accounts of her conversations with the wide range of ordinary people they encountered. Her delightful sketches and exquisite pen-portraits enable our imaginations to travel through time, and picture what life was like at the dawn of tourism in this World Heritage Site. The precision of Amelia’s writing provides a rich historical insight that allows us to linger awhile and consider: What has changed? What remains the same? And, more importantly, what must we do to cherish and preserve our precious natural and cultural heritage?VIA AMELIA is divided into 10 separate itineraries. Each itinerary covers part of Amelia's and Lucy’s journey and provides an interesting and worthwhile experience on its own. Some itineraries take several days, if all the points are visited. Others may be followed in a single day. By completing all 10 itineraries we enjoy an all-embracing tour of the Dolomites, visiting the most iconic and famous places. We also explore some of the most pristine and unspoilt parts, where we feel closer to Amelia's and Lucy’s experiences.Transport today is compeletly different from Amelia's and Lucy’s journey. In each itinerary we provide details of public transport, but we can also follow on bicycle or private transport.Narrator: Susan BoyleVoice of Amelia Edwards: Judith BaggottFollow this link for information about a high-quality facsimile of Untrodden Peaks and Unfrequented Valleys.Follow VIA AMELIA from your armchair with Spirits of the Dolomites in which the authors retrace Amelia's and Lucy's journey and describe their own encounters with descendants of people Amelia and Lucy met. Click here to peek inside.