With the fall of the Republic of Venice in 1797 and the dominion of France first, Austria later, also due to competition from countries within the Austro-Hungarian Empire, this activity underwent a decline that continued even after the annexation of Cadore to the Kingdom of Italy.

There was, however, an event that would revolutionize the economy of this land over time when the eyewear industry began in Calalzo in 1877 by the brothers Angelo and Leone Frescura and Giovanni Lozza, natives of the hamlet of Rizzios.

[5] In the municipal library Enrico De Lotto, Inaugurated in 1986 in the presence of Mario Rigoni Stern,[6] equipped with 20,000 volumes, parchment containing arbitrations, purchases, transactions, and awards dating back to the fourteenth century are preserved, along with other valuable documents.

Two precious donations have found hospitality there: the entire library belonging to Enrico Pappacena, a professor of history of religions at the University of Bari,[7] and numerous works, manuscripts, and documents of illustrious Calalzo residents.

From the station square, a bus service run by Dolomitibus serves Cortina d'Ampezzo, Auronzo, Santo Stefano di Comelico, and Sappada.