Our history began on February 5, 1939, when the “Principe di Piemonte” cable car, the original name of the lift, was inaugurated in Cortina d’Ampezzo. Its construction, carried out over 7 months of work, constituted a grandiose engineering feat for the time, involving the major construction companies of the era: S.A. Radaelli of Milan for the ropes, Cerretti and Tanfani for the mechanical part and assembly, and SICEA of Merano for the masonry. A majestic work that made a dream come true: connecting Cortina to Faloria quickly and comfortably, thus allowing the ever-increasing number of ski and mountain enthusiasts to easily reach the snowy paradises overlooking the “Queen of the Dolomites” from over 2,000 m. At the time of its construction, only one other cable car was present in Cortina, the Cortina-Belvedere (now disappeared) which connected the center of Cortina with the Pocol hill, but nothing comparable to the majesty of the Faloria Cable Car.

In total, the cable car overcomes 900 m of altitude difference and runs, then as now, through 3 stations: the lower one in Cortina, located near the bus station (1,230 meters above sea level), the intermediate one in Mandres (1,500 m above sea level), and an upper station, reached with a single subsequent span, overcoming an altitude difference of 646 m which, “with a very rapid and thrilling surge,” arrives at the Faloria refuge.
The final stretch of the ascent is exhilarating, where the car passes just a few meters from the rock: running parallel to the mountain, passengers are treated to a spectacular view of the Dolomites that could hardly be captured otherwise.