The 9 protected sites

There are nine protected sites in all: Pelmo – Croda da Lago, Marmolada, Pale di San Martino, Dolomiti Friulane, Dolomiti Settentrionali (Northern Dolomites), Puez – Odle, Catinaccio, Rio delle Foglie and Brenta. The mountains were selected for the UNESCO list as a natural heritage (not cultural, like many other Italian sites).

A large part of the "awarded" area is part of the Belluno province. For environmentalists there were some arguable exclusions, among which Sassolungo and Civetta particularly stand out.