The 19th Century saw the Unification of the Italian peninsula and one of its authors, Giuseppe Garibaldi, on the 13th of March 1867 passed through both Belluno and Feltre; it was met with great excitement by the local citizens.

If on one side the Unification was happily accepted on the other hand it didn’t really affect the population much. In spite of the initial joy, the province’s agricultural sector wasn’t able to adapt to the demands of that time, the industrial sector didn’t develop enough and the only active commerce road that passed through the territory, the Alemangna, wasn’t bringing any kind of income to the population. 

At the same time, the 19th century still marked an important step forward for this Province. It was during this time that the first foreign excursionists were accompanied by local hunters to the peaks of the Dolomites, pointing the spotlight to this previously unexplored part of the Italian Alps. John Ball, a British excursionist, was the first man to reach the height of  Mount Pelmo in 1857. This led the way to develop new kinds of incomes based on tourism.

This was a game changer for Cortina who quickly became the pearl of this new system, with at that time around 15 high quality hotels ready to accommodate tourists. Not only the Ampezzo territory but also the territory of Cadore benefited from this exposure with places like Misurina, Auronzo, Caprile and San Vito whose hotels became hotspots for travelers including eminent figures like Queen Margherita of Italy and famous writer Giosuè Carducci. 

Finally, in 1886 Belluno was connected to the overall Veneto railway system. Connecting Treviso to Belluno with around 14 stations on the way. At that time it took 3 hours to reach Treviso by train from Belluno. After encountering great excitement, it quickly became a reason for discontent, since the transport of wood started to be carried out almost  entirely by train leaving many people jobless.