As I did a bit of reading before traveling to the Dolomites, I knew that there was an ethnic minority – the Ladini – or Ladins, in English, who lived in this area of Italy. There are some 30,000 Ladini in the Dolomites who speak their own language (Ladino – which is taught in school) and try to preserve their ancient culture.
I was fortunate that one of our hiking guides with GuideStarMountain.com, Karen Pizzolini, is an expert on this culture of her ancestors. Since the Ladini are a recognized minority in Italy, television time is provided for programming in their native language. Karen produces monthly segments in Ladino that air on the television station, Rai 3.
In the video below, Karin shares a brief introduction to the culture, history and language of the Ladini: