Many people have written about the Zoldo valley, most of them from here: mountaineers, local historians, collectors of stories and words. Here is a selection; nearly all the books are in Italian. Many are easiest to find in the valley itself, at the tourist offices, the library in Forno di Zoldo or from the local associations.
Hiking and mountains
- Paolo Bonetti and Paolo Lazzarin, “La Val di Zoldo. Itinerari escursionistici” (Cierre, 2009). 51 hikes in the mountains around the valley, from the Pelmo to the Moiazza–Civetta range. Publisher’s page
- Paolo Bonetti and Paolo Lazzarin, “Dolomiti. Sentieri dedicati”. 45 walks from the Brenta Dolomites to the Carnic ridge, on trails dedicated to people.
- Silvano Cavallet and Paolo Lazzarin (eds.), “Con gli sci in testa – un secolo di storia dello sci in Val di Zoldo” (Sci Club Valzoldana, 1997). A hundred years of skiing in the valley. Sci Club Valzoldana
History and memories
- Michelangelo Corazza, “Storie di Zoldo. 100 e più racconti del passato” (2025). More than a hundred stories of everyday life, emigration and solidarity in the valley. Book launch report
- Michelangelo Corazza, “Soprannomi zoldani” (2006). The nicknames of the valley’s families, a piece of living village history.
- Luigi Lazzarin (1891–1915), memoirs. The notes of the young man from Zoldo were published in 2000, edited by Floriano Pellegrini, Paolo and Silvano Zammatteo with the support of the municipality of Forno di Zoldo.
- Pietro Monego, “Gli oscuri inizi della storia della valle di Zoldo”. How the valley was settled, starting from Giorgio Piloni, who first wrote about it in 1607. Read the PDF
Dialect
- Enzo Croatto, “Vocabolario del dialetto ladino-veneto della Valle di Zoldo” (Angelo Colla, 2005). The big dictionary of Zoldano.
- Don Raffaello De Rocco, with Augusto Gamba, “Vernacolo della Val di Zoldo”. Words and sayings of the dialect.
Novels about the valley
- Sebastiano Vassalli, “Marco e Mattio” (1992). The best-known novel about Zoldo, by an author from Novara: the life of Mattio Lovat from Zoldo in the 18th century, ending in an asylum in Venice. The valley remembers Vassalli with readings and talks. Read more
- Lucia Berardi, “Due zoldani” (2023). The story of two young people born in the valley, shaped by the emigration of the ice-cream makers. The book
- Vanna Cercenà, “Come la stirpe delle foglie” (Fatatrac, 1992). Almost 400 years of Zoldo told through one family.
Gelato
Gelato maker Donata Panciera, whose family comes from the valley, has written several books on gelato:
- Il gelato (Hoepli): techniques, equipment and more than 120 recipes, a standard work for gelato makers.
- Il mio gelato (Italian Gourmet).
- Italian Artisanal Gelato According to Donata Panciera: the manual in English, about 130 recipes.
- No Sunset on My Voyage (2024): her autobiography, from childhood in the family gelateria to Japan.
The tourist board keeps a longer list of reading tips on the Dolomites and Zoldo: Letture dolomitiche.
Missing a book? Write to me, the list is happy to grow. kontakt (at) zoldo (punkt) de