A normally peaceful Alpine refuge — “rifugio” — high in the Italian Dolomites has been overrun with hundreds of tourists who aren’t there simply for the panoramic views, but rather a sweet treat. The huge queues in northern Italy’s Val di Fassa valley is all because of a US$4 pastry, which has been promoted by food bloggers and influencers on social media. The pastry is known locally as a krapfen or bombolone, which is a donut-like delicacy usually filled with vanilla cream or apricot preserves. Staff at the Friedrich August refuge — a type of waystation in the mountains that historically offers hikers sustenance and shelter from storms and a place to rest — told CNN that the mayhem started last week after tourists posted footage on TikTok of themselves eating the krapfen against an idyllic backdrop. The videos quickly went viral, with lines forming outside the hut as people journeyed to the site, eager to try one for themselves. Although some of the #krapfen posts are years old, interest in the spot has peaked this year, according to two managers at the refuge, who believe the spike has been caused by extreme temperatures and people seeking cooler areas to visit. They said that, as people search for spots in the higher mountain ranges, the krapfen posts naturally resurfaced. Now the managers, who asked not to be named, say they can’t keep up with the production or even the payment system since everyone uses tap payments instead of cash, which caused their internet to crash on Tuesday. “People who used to come here were avid hikers who were properly dressed who stopped for a bite and a rest,” one of the managers told CNN by phone. “Now people are taking great risks with no hiking experience and without gear to eat the pastry. That’s missing the point.” Social media crazes The spike in visitors is not just annoying to traditional hikers who climb for the solitude and silence, it can also be dangerous. Francesco Abbruscato, president of the local Alpine Club, told local media that those who come for pastries instead of peace are causing irreparable damage. “With Covid, a great desire to experience natural environments has arisen. Until five or six years ago, we didn’t see overtourism” in certain parts of the Dolomites, he said. “Now there are iconic places where it’s no longer possible to appreciate the beauty, surrounded by dozens of people taking selfies and who are there just for that.” The pastry problem is one of several recent examples of social media crazes. Earlier this year, local authorities had to close off trails to limit those going to photograph the Seceda mountain. And last summer, farmers actually set up a turnstile to charge people traipsing through their fields to get a good shot of the Seceda and Drei Zinnen (Three Peaks) mountain ranges. Marco Bussone, president of UNCEM (Italy’s National Union of Mountain Municipalities, Communities and Bodies), says that these increasing episodes should cause officials to reflect on tourism flows and protection. “The mountain is not a playground,” he told local media last weekend. “The krapfen is a singular episode but not representative of mountain tourism as a whole,” he said. “The real issue is the need to manage the peaks without forgetting that the mountains are not a playground, but a territory inhabited all year round.”
