What is another name for the Italian Alps?

(And, yes, both Italian mountain ranges technically belong to the Alps. But most locals call the range in Italy's northeast corner the Dolomites, while those in the northwest, in the Valle d'Aosta, are the Alps).



While the broad term is the Italian Alps, the range is most famously known by the name of its most iconic sub-region: the Dolomites (Dolomiti in Italian). Located in northeastern Italy, these mountains are also historically referred to as the "Pale Mountains" (Monti Pallidi) because of the unique, light-colored carbonate rock (dolomite) that glows during sunrise and sunset—a phenomenon known as enrosadira. Geographically, the Italian Alps are also divided into the Western Alps (including the Italian side of Mont Blanc and the Matterhorn/Cervino) and the Central Alps. Another regional name often used is the South Tyrol (Südtirol) for the northernmost section. In 2026, the Dolomites remain a UNESCO World Heritage site and are the most frequent answer to this question due to their distinct jagged peaks and worldwide fame as a premier skiing and hiking destination that sets them apart from the rest of the Alpine chain.

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The fantastic scenery of the Dolomites is due to their geology. These shapes are quite strange and unusual compared to the rest of the Alps and to the other mountains on our planet. The main geological difference is the combination of two different kinds of rocks, volcanic and dolomitic.

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The Dolomites are farther east and slightly north, concentrated around Trento/Bolzano. The mountains surrounding Lake Como are the Pre-alps or Alpine foothills. Looking north, up toward Colico from Bellagio, you can see part of the Bernina Range of the Alps. In a word no.

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The Dolomites, also known as the Pale Mountains, take their name from the carbonate rock dolomite. This was named after the 18th-century French mineralogist Déodat Gratet de Dolomieu (1750–1801), who was the first to describe the mineral.

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People have lived amid the Alp's soaring peaks since prehistoric times, and the range is also home to some 13,000 types of plants, myriad minerals and crystals, and about 30,000 wildlife species that range from marmots to brown bears to snow fleas.

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Bolzano (Bozen) is a beautiful city often referred to as the “Gateway to the Dolomites”, which is comprised of a lovely mixture of cultural displays, open air markets, restaurants and high end shops.

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Cimon della Pala, sometimes called Cimone and The Matterhorn of the Dolomites (il Cervino delle Dolomiti), is the best-known peak of the Pale di San Martino group, in the Dolomites, northern Italy.

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Its inhabitants speak different languages: German is spoken in the north and northwest; Italian in the south; and Ladin in the central area – in the four valleys that branch off the Sella Massif (Val di Fassa, Val Gardena, Val Badia, and Livinallongo) – and in Ampezzo.

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