"CERVINIO and SAINT VINCENT" Saint-Vincent by jaam

The old Italian mountain settlement of Breuil was re-named Cervinia by the fascists in the 1930s after Italy built one of the world's first high-altitude purpose built ski centres there in the early '30s. The reason for the name change was that it sounded too French, and had no reference to Monte Cervinio - the magnificent mountain above, known as 'The Matterhorn' to English speaking folk.

saint vincent at the foot of cervinio

Saint Vincent is a small town with modern appearance but preserves precious evidence of the past. A stop at the roman bridge is a must, of which remains a particular type of prop which perhaps indicates the origins of this town.
The Fons Salutis in the park still distributes water that contains "bicarbonate-sulphate-sodium-magnesia". Water that locals believe to be "miraculous for illnesses of the liver and gall-bladder".

snow in June

Snow is still so very white up here in the middle of June!! An easy hike up from the village of saint vincent takes you close to these snow packs....

• Pros:Never to be missed especially for snow lovers
• Cons:Small village which can get very crowded during peak snow seasons.
• In a nutshell:Hard to believe I'm in Italy around these huge mountains!!