Bataille des Reines in Vertosan Italy and other Valle d'Aosta, Italy Off The Beaten Path Tips

In the summer (this year it was in August) there is a battle of the queens (not drag queens - these are alpine fighting cows - no bull!) held at Vertosan.

The cows are not 'goaded' into fighting - this is simply a more organized version of what the cows do naturally in the field. They will butt heads to find out who is the bossiest bossy.

This spot in Vertosan (which is a valley, not a town) is so lovely, remote and strange/difficult to get to that it makes the entire experience colored with a very old fashioned flavor. You can imagine you are back in the year 1859 when the first battle of the queens was held here in this very spot.

There are now many of these qualifying contests held in the Valle D'Aosta, starting in March and finishing with the regional finals in the city of Aosta in October.

There are more fun pictures of this non-bloody event in the Travelogue section.

To reach it take the local road (not the highway!) to the small town of Avise (between Courmayeur and Aosta). Start going uphill. Go and go until you reach what appears to be the 'end of the road' in a small parking lot (this will be 1/2 hour of uphill through many tiny villages) in Vens. Then, follow what appears to be a footpath (but is in fact a 4x4 trail) up and up and up some more. Just when you are going to give up, the valley of Vertosan will open up before you and you will see more than 300 people and their cows gathered. . . .

Did I mention that drinking wine is mandatory at these events? There is always food, wine and plenty of local color to soak up.

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