Santa Caterina nestles in the basin that opens out between Mount Tresero, at the far southern end of the Ortles-Cevedale range, and the Confinale, a mountain from which one can gaze out over an uninterrupted series of Alpine peaks that stretch as far as the eye can see. The houses stand close to one another, a charming collection in which houses in wood alternate with stone roofs, and the slopes around the town are covered with a thick forest of conifers. Santa Caterina Valfurva still has many examples of rural architecture, with buildings made entirely of wood going back to the 16^ century and more recent constructions of stone and wood or made entirely of stone.
There are more than 500 examples of these "Alpine herdsman's cottages" in Valfurva alone. Santa Caterina is situated in the heart of the Stelvio National Park, where respect for nature becomes a chance to enjoy the myriad nuances in each season of the year. During the summer, visitors can try different kinds of excursions: from walks along paths through the woods to alpine climbs up towards the peaks of the Ortles-Cevedale range.
The Forni glacier can be admired by visitors in all its majesty and unchanging grandeur: a white, apparently immobile ocean. The glacier extends for about 13 km square into the valley of the same name north of Santa Caterina Valfurva and crossing it is necessary on many climbs. For its length, and for the peculiarities of its landscape and events in its history, it has been one of the most visited and studied glaciers in the Alps since the days of the Abbot Stoppani, who dedicated a chapter of his Bel Paese to it.
Winter comes early to Santa Caterina; its mantle of snow transforms the meadows into ski runs and attracts skiing enthusiasts onto the slopes that seem to be specially designed by nature to enhance the skiers' technical qualities. This ski-area has already hosted important races for the World Ski Championships in recent years and it features a great variety of scenary: from the ski slopes going through the woods, to the steep slope near the peaks, and to the gentle descent from an altitude of more than 2.700 metres at its highest point, down to the valley, with the sun that accompanies the skiers as far as the town in spring.
