The patrons of Cortina d'Ampezzo are Saints Philip and James, titulars of the basilica whose bell tower can be seen from the whole valley, and the Madonna della Difesa, Our Lady of the Defence. It is she who is tied to 19 January, the town's holiday.
In 1412 a small group of men from Ampezzo and Cadore managed to halt the imperial troops of Sigismund of Luxembourg at the Cimabanche pass. The feat was credited to the intercession of the Virgin, and since then the Feast of the Vow has been held every 19 January.
For summer the Ampezzo calendar keeps another date: the Fèšta de ra Bandes, the festival of the bands, in the last week of August.
