The Nave d’Oro: the small Grand Hotel of Science

Soon the streets of the village were bustling with foreigners, who spoke foreign languages, wore different styled clothes, and all, without exception, landed up at the Nave d’Oro. The small hotel was transformed into one of the most illustrious salons of the time. From the royal chamberlain of Prussia, Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859), the well-known geographer and naturalist, to Ferdinand von Richthofen (1833-1905), the tireless German scholar and traveller; from the famous French naturalist and geologist Déodat de Dolomieu, whom these mountains are named after, to Maria Mathilda Ogilvie Gordon (1864-1939), an English geologist, botanist and zoologist, who with great passion devoted a good part of her life to studying these mountains and was the first woman to receive the title of Doctor of Science. All of them were investigating the exciting history of the Dolomites, trapped in the crystal lattice of the pale rocks, and all, without exception, were renowned guests of the Nave d'Oro.

However, the secrets and beauty of these mountains were not entrusted only to the inquisitive eyes of scientists because their research was in fact passed on in the writings of writers, the colours of artists and the ropes of mountaineers, in a medley of different fields of expertise, which contributed to spreading the word on the unique features of the Dolomites. Brilliant characters and restless souls, who are remembered thanks to their elegant signatures on the pages of the guest record books of the Nave d’Oro, testifying to the intellectual excitement of the period.

If you go to Predazzo today, you will not find any trace of the Nave d'Oro. However, the precious memories contained in its records and the stories of the exciting adventures that revealed the splendour of the Dolomites throughout the world are preserved in the halls of the Geological Museum dedicated to them, which is situated on the side of the square of the small village. An atmospheric visit that allows you to immerse yourself in the exciting atmosphere of those years, when the beauty of these rock towers inspired science, art and many adventures.