Why tourists are flocking to a tiny mountain village in Italy

Santa Maddalena is covered in snow, which only enhances its picturesque charm that is drawing a growing number of visitors - something locals describe as a mixed blessing.

The village, home to some 500 people, is nestled in the heart of Italy's Dolomites, with the jagged mountain backdrop highlighting the diminutive church tower.

Named the most beautiful village in South Tyrol by Geo magazine, Santa Maddalena is located within the Unesco-listed Puez-Geisler Nature Park between Villnöss and Val Gardena.

Nonetheless, it is increasingly overrun with tourists, from nearby European countries to as far away as Beijing, China.

Han Gengai and Li Shangxi, two students from the Chinese capital, came after seeing a picture online of the 3,000-metre Geisler mountains. Han, 24, says, "I knew immediately: I have to go there."

Back when people used to send postcards, this would have been an ideal motif. Now, fans like Han call it highly "Instagrammable".

After all, influencers and travellers alike are moving from overtouristed cities like Venice and Amsterdam to remote destinations far off the beaten track.

That search for an image has sent Instagrammers to the lonely lighthouses of Brittany, the Dynjandi waterfall in Iceland Ireland's dramatic Cliffs of Moher - or even this remote valley in the Dolomites.

Most visitors don't linger in Santa Maddalena, but simply head up to the church, a few photos with their phones, maybe a selfie, upload it then head off again.

Still, there are tens of thousands of pictures of Santa Maddalena on Instagram, TikTok and Flickr.

It's a beloved image on Xiaohongshu, China's version of Instagram. "Everyone knows the picture," says Han.

Peter Pernthaler, mayor of the main municipality of Villnöss, attributes this to the fact that a Chinese telecommunications company used the Alpine panorama in an advertisement a few years ago.

"That's how the whole mess started," he says. And now, people are really suffering.

The downside of Santa Maddalena’s newfound fame first became apparent when tour buses began blocking the valley’s narrow roads.

Now, even travel agencies in Verona, 200 kilometres away, are offering tours of the church: Romeo and Juliet in the morning, Santa Maddalena in the afternoon.

And the fee of €250 for a bus parking space is not putting off any tour operators. The same applies to cars. When the car parks are full, people find a spot - anywhere, anyhow - in the village.

The situation is most acute at the hilltop church, a 15-minute walk from the village.

Although a barrier restricts access, some visitors ignore it and drive up anyway, despite the road being reserved for residents and guests attending weddings or funerals.

In pursuit of the perfect photo, many show little restraint. Fences are climbed, meadows trampled, rubbish left behind. For some, even paying less than one euro to use a toilet is too much.

For a time, a handwritten sign in three languages stood at the Obermesner farm beside the church: Privatbesitz - Privat - Privata. It did little to help.

The farmer's daughter, who prefers not to give her name, complains: "Not even that stops people. They come into our kitchen with their mobile phones."

Others wander into the barn. The cattle from the Fallerhof farm below are now probably among the most photographed in Europe. That led the farmer to use ropes to cordon off the property.

The mayor says, "It's worse than in Venice. People have no manners. Privacy is no longer respected at all."

However, the municipality wants to put an end to this soon: for €20,000, the access road to the church and the village will be blocked by a state-of-the-art barrier system, including cameras.

It is scheduled to go into operation in May at the latest. "We hope that this will get things under control," says Pernthaler. "But we're not sure."