Dolomites villages reject plan to replace Ladin on public signs

In the Dolomites, a coalition of small villages in northern Italy has formally rejected a regional plan to replace Ladin with Italian on public signage, insisting that the language is integral to their community identity. The decision was announced at a council meeting in the town of Ortisei on Thursday, after the Trentino‑Alto Adige provincial government proposed a new signage policy that would eliminate Ladin from road signs and tourist information.

The move comes amid a surge of tourism that has turned the Dolomites into a global destination, with more than two million visitors each year. While the mountains bring economic prosperity, they also threaten the survival of Ladin, one of Europe’s oldest minority languages spoken by about 30,000 people in the region. Ladin is recognized by UNESCO as a cultural heritage language and is protected under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. However, the provincial plan, aimed at streamlining signage for foreign tourists, was seen as a step toward language homogenisation and sparked protests from local educators, cultural associations and residents.

Village councils, together with the Ladin Cultural Association, drafted a resolution demanding bilingual signage and the continuation of Ladin-language schools. The resolution cites EU funding programmes for minority languages and the need to preserve the Dolomites’ unique cultural landscape, which is part of its UNESCO World Heritage status. The provincial government has acknowledged the pushback but says it will still push for a “unified” sign system. Local teachers say that removing Ladin from public spaces would erode the language’s visibility and discourage younger generations from learning it. The European Union has pledged to support minority language projects, and the villages are preparing a joint appeal to the national government.

If the provincial plan is halted, the villages could secure legal protection for Ladin and secure EU