Here a steep mountain shows the wall-like peaks,
A forest stream rushes through and falls upon fall.
The thickly foamed river penetrates the cracks in the rocks
And shoots far over their ramparts with a gusty force.
The thin water shares the deep fall’s haste,
In the thickened air floats an agitated grey,
A rainbow shines through the atomised parts
And the distant valley drinks a constant dew.
A wanderer, amazed, sees streams flowing in the sky,
That fly from the clouds and pour themselves into clouds [...].

Albrecht von Haller: The Alps, 1729, verse 35

 “There cannot be a quieter corner of the world. Here man has learned to rebel against nature and build those “grand hotels” that surprise the traveller with eaux chaudes and eaux bonnes. Long may the shadows of the Schlern fall on nothing more artificial than this humble roof hidden under the dark spruces!”

Excerpt from travelogue by George C. Churchill, 1860

“If you look at the large and successful tourist destinations, they have all become cities today - in accordance with the logic of modernity - with around 25,000 to 50,000 inhabitants (locals and guests) in the high season and with the corresponding infrastructures. Associated with this are urban building structures and a high degree of urban sprawl, which leave little trace of the former farming villages.”

Werner Bätzing in "Die Alpen - Das Verschwinden einer Kulturlandschaft”