A brief history of Passo Cimabanche and its inhabitants
The history of Cimabanche and the history of our family began many years ago. Everything started with Mr. Santo Siorpaes, born in 1832 in Cortina d'Ampezzo. He was great-great-grandfather of Nilo, current owner of the chalet. Around 1870, Santo worked for the railway company in Cimabanche, when Cortina was still part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Santo was also forester, hunter and became one of the first mountain guides of the Alps. Among his many adventures, in 1872 he conquered first, together with the alpinist W.E. Utterson Kelso, the "Becco della Civetta" (2063 mt) which was later renamed "Becco di Mezzodì" just because Santo touched the summit while the Cortina bell tower rang noon.
In the early twentieth century, his son Giovanni, hunter and mountain guide too, built a big hotel in Cimabanche of 4 floors, one of the first to be equipped with water and electricity. The hotel was later destroyed during the 1st World War. Giovanni died prematurely at the age of forty in 1909 in a trivial accident: he was hit by a car while he was driving on a cart towards Cortina. The horses that pulled his cart were frightened at the sight of the unknown vehicle, made the cart rebalt and Giovanni was seriously injured. Weakened by trauma, he died of pneumonia the following spring. After him, Emilio, son of Giovanni, and his wife Amalia lived in Cimabanche near the little train station that connected Calalzo di Cadore to Dobbiaco from 1921 to 1964 . Among their children we mention Ada Siorpaes, mother of Nilo, who in Cimabanche runs with passion along with the whole Snaidero family the Chalet del Passo, which he own built in 1973.
In the early twentieth century, his son Giovanni, hunter and mountain guide too, built a big hotel in Cimabanche of 4 floors, one of the first to be equipped with water and electricity. The hotel was later destroyed during the 1st World War. Giovanni died prematurely at the age of forty in 1909 in a trivial accident: he was hit by a car while he was driving on a cart towards Cortina. The horses that pulled his cart were frightened at the sight of the unknown vehicle, made the cart rebalt and Giovanni was seriously injured. Weakened by trauma, he died of pneumonia the following spring. After him, Emilio, son of Giovanni, and his wife Amalia lived in Cimabanche near the little train station that connected Calalzo di Cadore to Dobbiaco from 1921 to 1964 . Among their children we mention Ada Siorpaes, mother of Nilo, who in Cimabanche runs with passion along with the whole Snaidero family the Chalet del Passo, which he own built in 1973.