An area of outstanding beauty I frequent at least once a year in search of magnificent landscapes to photograph is Rolle Pass (Passo Rolle in Italian). It is a high mountain pass that connects the Fiemme and Primiero valleys and the communities of Predazzo, San Martino di Castrozza and Fiera di Primiero in northern Italy.

My favourite place to get great shots is high up at a mountain hut called Baita Segantini, which stands on a large, undulating plain giving a superb view of the most famous peaks in this enormous group: Cimon della Pala, Cima di Vezzana and Sass Maor. Spectacular sunsets make this place an ideal location to get magnificent photographs or relax and enjoy the scenery.

This small wood and stone mountain hut is located 2291 metres above sea level at the foot of the Pale di San Martino and was built by artist and poet Alfredo Paluselli. This well-known painter spent part of his life here during the summer and during the long and harsh winters at the foot of the Pale di San Martino. Today this beautiful mountain building is a restaurant and shelter destination for many hikers and photographers who go up to capture these magnificent panoramas and reflections of the peaks in the small lake at the foot of the Baita.

From Passo Rolle, I usually carry the pass downs to the Paneveggio National Park, where the forests, also known as the Forest of Violins are situated. It is said that it was Stradivarius in person that wandered in the Paneveggio Forest in search of the trees best suited to the building of his violins. These were centuries-old spruces whose wood, thanks to its particular ability of “resonance”, gave him the ideal raw material for constructing the soundboards.

Whatever time of the year, these magnificent mountain areas in northern Italy offer visitors and photographers like myself the best mountain scenery our land has. This photo was taken during October, with these magnificent low clouds with some sunshine peaking through now and then.