# Marmolada: Punta Penia, 3,343 m, and its glacier > Punta Penia on the Marmolada is 3,343 m, the top of the Dolomites, and its glacier is the largest in the range. What the data says before you walk on it. URL: https://myitalia.it/nature/marmolada Last updated: 2026-09-11 The Marmolada is the highest mountain in the Dolomites, 3,343 meters at Punta Penia, and it carries the largest glacier in the range, the glacier where a serac collapse killed eleven people on July 3, 2022. ## 3,343 meters at Punta Penia Punta Penia reaches 3,343 meters, which makes the Marmolada the highest group in the Dolomites. The mountain sits on the line between the provinces of Trento and Belluno, drawn along the watershed in a 2018 definition. That's why Trentino and Veneto both count it as theirs, and why you'll find it on the tourist maps of two regions. ## One of nine systems in the UNESCO Dolomites The Marmolada is one of the 9 systems that make up the Dolomites World Heritage property, inscribed in 2009. In Trentino it's one of four, with Pale di San Martino and the Vette Feltrine, Catinaccio and Latemar, and the Brenta Dolomites. Veneto counts it among its five, all in the province of Belluno, and neither list is wrong: a mountain on a border belongs to both. See [the Dolomites](/nature/dolomiti). ## A glacier in retreat, measured by others The Marmolada glacier is the largest in the Dolomites, and it's in marked retreat. Its current surface isn't given here, because it changes every season. The numbers belong to the Italian Glaciological Committee and to ARPAV, the Veneto environment agency, and those are the surveys to read before a trip that touches the ice. ## July 3, 2022 On July 3, 2022 a serac broke away from the glacier and killed eleven people. That date is the reason the Marmolada can't be written about as scenery alone, and the reason any glacier plan starts from the day's official bulletins. The full account is in [the Marmolada collapse](/stories/the-marmolada-collapse). ## Getting up there: a cable car and a ski run The lift to the top station is the Malga Ciapela to Punta Rocca cable car, and the ski run on the Belluno side is 12 kilometers long. Its timetable, season and prices are not among the facts verified here. Check them with the operator before you build a day around the lift, and assume nothing from last year's calendar. ## Cold even in July At 2,004 meters, the Passo Rolle weather station in the Dolomites averages 53°F (11.9°C) in July and 24°F (-4.4°C) in February, on the 1991 to 2020 normals. No month there averages above 54°F (12°C), and Punta Penia is far higher than the station. Pack for winter on any day you plan to be near the glacier, and read [weather in the Alps](/plan/weather-in-the-alps). A rescue on the ice isn't something the European health card will pay for: the EHIC excludes mountain rescue altogether, along with repatriation. Details in [health cover](/plan/health-cover) and [Trentino](/regions/provincia-trento). ## FAQ ### What is the highest peak in the Dolomites? The Marmolada, at 3,343 meters on Punta Penia. It sits on the border between the provinces of Trento and Belluno and is one of the 9 systems of the Dolomites UNESCO property, inscribed in 2009. ### Is the Marmolada glacier still there? Yes, but it's in marked retreat, and its surface changes every season. It is still the largest glacier in the Dolomites; for its current size, read the latest survey by the Italian Glaciological Committee or ARPAV rather than a guidebook figure. ### What happened on the Marmolada in 2022? On July 3, 2022 a serac broke off the glacier and killed eleven people. The mountain is still visited, but any plan that involves the glacier should start from the official bulletins of the day, not from photographs. ### How do you get up the Marmolada without climbing? By the cable car from Malga Ciapela to Punta Rocca. Its timetable, season and fares are not among the facts verified here, so check with the operator directly; on the Belluno side there's a ski run 12 kilometers long. ## Sources | Fact | Source | Confidence | Valid until | |---|---|---|---| | La Marmolada, con i 3.343 metri di Punta Penia, e' la cima piu' alta delle Dolomiti e ospita il ghiacciaio dolomitico piu' esteso; il 3 luglio 2022 il crollo di un seracco ha ucciso undici persone sul ghiacciaio | [Wikipedia](https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marmolada) | medium | 2029-12-31 | | Dei nove sistemi che compongono il bene UNESCO Dolomiti, iscritto nel 2009, quattro ricadono in Trentino: Marmolada, Pale di San Martino con le Vette Feltrine, Catinaccio-Latemar e Dolomiti di Brenta, l'unico gruppo dolomitico separato dal resto della catena | [Provincia autonoma di Trento](https://www.provincia.tn.it/Argomenti/Focus/Riconoscimenti-UNESCO-in-Trentino/Dolomiti-Patrimonio-dell-Umanita) | medium | 2099-12-31 | | Dei nove sistemi delle Dolomiti UNESCO, cinque ricadono in Veneto, tutti nella provincia di Belluno: Pelmo-Croda da Lago, Marmolada, Pale-Dolomiti Bellunesi (due porzioni) e Dolomiti Friulane. E' la ragione per cui il Veneto e' la regione con la quota maggiore del bene dolomitico. | [Regione del Veneto](https://www.regione.veneto.it/web/economia-e-sviluppo-montano/dolomiti-unesco) | medium | 2029-12-31 | | Alta montagna alpina: normali climatiche 1991-2020 della stazione Passo Rolle (Dolomiti, Trentino) (2004 m s.l.m.). Temperatura media annua 3.2 °C; mese piu' freddo feb (-4.4 °C di media), mese piu' caldo lug (11.9 °C di media). | [WMO Climatological Standard Normals 1991-2020 - serie trasmessa dall'Italia (stazioni del Servizio Meteorologico dell'Aeronautica Militare), archivio NOAA NCEI accession 0253808](https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/archive/arc0216/0253808/6.6/data/0-data/Region-6-WMO-Normals-9120/Italy/CSV/Passo_Rolle_16021.csv); [ISPRA - Sezione Climatologia Operativa, applicazione 'Valori climatici normali'](https://valori-climatici-normali.isprambiente.it/) | high | 2032-12-31 | | La TEAM/EHIC non e' un'assicurazione di viaggio: non copre la sanita' privata non convenzionata, le cure programmate, il soccorso in montagna e il rimpatrio sanitario; per le cure termali serve il modello E112/S2 e non la TEAM. | [Commissione europea - Your Europe](https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/health/unplanned-healthcare/temporary-stays/index_en.htm); [Ministero della Salute](https://www.salute.gov.it/new/it/tema/assistenza-sanitaria-paesi-extra-ue/cittadini-dell-ue-see-e-svizzera-possesso-di-team/) | high | 2027-12-31 | ## Image https://media.myitalia.it/media/nature.marmolada.1600.jpg Author: Dmitry Djouce. License: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0). Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Marmolada,_Lago_di_Fedaia_-_Dolomites,_Italy_-_2025.jpg ## Other languages - it: https://myitalia.it/it/natura/marmolada.md - es: https://myitalia.it/es/naturaleza/marmolada.md - fr: https://myitalia.it/fr/nature/marmolada.md - de: https://myitalia.it/de/natur/marmolada.md