Originally populated by people who spoke
Proto-Italic,
Euganei and then by the Celtic
Gauls, the area now known as Cadore was later conquered by the
Romans during the second century BC and became part of the
Regio X Venetia et Histria. In the
Late Antiquity era, Cadore was occupied by
invading Germanic populations and was first declared part of the
Duchy of Carinthia and finally, in 1077, part of the
Patriarchate of Aquileia. From 1135 to 1335, Cadore was ruled by the da Camino family, the Counts of Cadore, who later became the
Signori family of
Treviso. It was briefly annexed to
Tyrol and again was ceded to the
Patriarchs of Aquileia. However, the
comuni of Cadore always enjoyed a certain degree of self-government. When the
Republic of Venice conquered the neighbouring
Friuli region in 1420 and put an end to the
temporal power of the Patriarchs, the rulers of Cadore were forced to choose between aligning with Venetia or the
Imperial. It declared its loyalty to the former, becoming one of many parts of the
Terra ferma, administered by a local
podestà. The conflict between Venice and the Empire broke out again at the beginning of the 16th century, during the
War of the League of Cambrai. In the prelude to the war, the Venetians and the Cadorines defeated
Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor in 1508 at the
Battle of Valle di Cadore, and again in 1509. Then, in 1511, Maximilian conquered the town of
Cortina d'Ampezzo, which was incorporated into the Empire in 1516. Cortina, formerly considered part of Cadore, has since developed a distinct identity. Cadore remained part of the Venetian Republic until the
Napoleonic War. A famous Venetian incumbent of the local post of
Commisario del Cadore ('Commissioner'; in 1589) was
Paolo Paruta.
Napoleon I Bonaparte created a
duché grand-fief, a rare, hereditary but nominal honor of ducal rank (extinguished in 1893) for his minister and admiral
Jean-Baptiste Nompère de Champagny. Being a part of the
Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia, Cadore was ruled by the
Austrian Empire until 1866, when it was finally conquered by the newly formed
Kingdom of Italy in the
Third War of Independence. During the
First World War, Cadore was on the
Alpine Front and was the scene of many battles. ==
Comuni of Cadore==