Madonna di Campiglio: the back story

About Madonna di Campiglio: the back story

By the ULTIMATE Ski Resorts Editorial Team

Editor-in-Chief: Jai Michael

Madonna di Campiglio lies at about 1,550 metres between the Brenta Dolomites, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the Adamello-Presanella glaciers. Its slopes link with Pinzolo and Folgarida-Marilleva for 157 km, and every December the Canalone Miramonti lights up for the 3Tre World Cup night slalom.

Under the Brenta

Madonna di Campiglio grew up around the passes of western Trentino, between the pale towers of the Brenta Dolomites and the Adamello glaciers, inside the Adamello Brenta Nature Park. In the early 1900s skiers already called it the ‘Madonna Bianca’, and the tourist board notes that the destination now has the highest concentration of four-star and four-star superior hotels in Trentino.

The Canalone Miramonti and the 3Tre

The Canalone Miramonti was laid out in 1940 by Bruno Detassis, the mountaineer known as the ‘Lord of the Brenta’ and director of Campiglio’s first ski school. In 1967 it hosted the first World Cup race in Italy, and the 3Tre, created in 1948, is now a fixture of the World Cup: its 73rd edition, a men’s night slalom, is on 22–23 December 2026. Ingemar Stenmark won eight races here, and Alberto Tomba won in 1987, 1988 and 1995.

Ski the Spinale by day, watch the 3Tre under floodlights, and ride a snowcat up to a malga for dinner.

One SkiArea, three resorts

The SkiArea Campiglio Dolomiti di Brenta links Madonna di Campiglio, Pinzolo and Folgarida-Marilleva: 157 km of slopes and 109 runs between 850 and 2,500 metres, with 95% covered by snowmaking. Campiglio opens on 27 November 2026 (with an early weekend on the Grostè on 21–22 November), the whole area on 3 December, and the season runs to 11 April 2027. On the busiest days, online sales are capped to keep the slopes uncrowded, an approach the lift company calls the ‘Ideal Number’.

Huts and stars

Few ski villages eat so well. Dolomieu at the DV Chalet, the Stube Hermitage and Il Gallo Cedrone at the Hotel Bertelli each hold a MICHELIN star in the 2026 guide, as does Grual at the Lefay Resort in Pinzolo. Up on the snow, malghe and rifugi such as Malga Montagnoli, Cascina Zeledria and the Graffer serve dinner by reservation, reached by snowcat, snowmobile, snowshoe or skins.

Every budget

Children up to 8 ski at no charge with a paying adult (one child per adult), juniors born 2009–2018 pay reduced prices, and lift passes bought early online are up to 20% cheaper. The Kids on Ski weeks include accommodation, pass, lessons and hire for first-time skiers aged 3 to 6 with a paying adult.

Our advice: book the 3Tre or a snowcat dinner well ahead, buy passes online as early as possible, and test yourself on the Spinale Direttissima’s Schumacher Streif wall before lunch.

Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with Madonna di Campiglio: the back story before you go.