When Cortina's century-old bobsled track closed for financial reasons 13 years ago, the adjacent coffee bar kept on serving espressos. Still, bar owner Renzo Costantini pines for the good old days when drivers and brakemen would come whizzing down the track on one side of the café and then hop off their sleds on the other side and come in for a shot of espresso, a vin brulé or perhaps even a taste of the local grappa.

Or the days when his brother would drive him down the twisty track in a two-man bobsled. “It was one of the most beautiful tracks in the world — one of the most technical tracks, like St. Moritz,” the 62-year-old Costantini said inside his café, aptly named the Bob Bar — where old photos lining the walls constitute an informal track museum. “We provided a basic service for anyone that came.”