The memory trail

At 2,188 metres above sea level, the Little St Bernard Pass is much more than a mountain crossing — it is a crossroads of stories and civilisations.
Here, where the Alps connect Italy and France, you can still admire the remains of the megalithic Cromlech (c. 3000 BC), an ancient stone circle of profound symbolic and spiritual significance, alongside traces left by the Romans, such as the Column of Jupiter and the remains of the mansiones along the historic Via delle Gallie.
The San Bernardo Hospice, now a museum and information centre, tells the story of centuries of hospitality for travellers passing through. Just a few steps away, the Chanousia Botanical Garden (founded in 1897) opens like a green book on Alpine biodiversity: with over 1,000 rare species, it is a small paradise of science and nature, blooming anew each summer from July to September.


 

At 2,188 metres in the mountains of La Thuile stands one of Italy’s most fascinating archaeological sites: the Little St Bernard Cromlech, a pre-Celtic megalithic circle dating back to 3000 BC.

Composed of 46 stones arranged in a 72-metre diameter circle, the cromlech was likely used as an astronomical observatory or agricultural calendar, similar to Stonehenge.

Every 21 June, at the summer solstice, sunlight creates a spectacular play of light and shadow: the sacred area of the circle is illuminated, while the surrounding stones are briefly cast into perfect shadow by nearby Mont Lancebranlette.

The site, located near the Little St Bernard Pass, has been considered sacred by multiple civilisations — from the Celts to the Romans, and into the Christian era. Nearby rises the Column of Jupiter, later topped by a statue of Saint Bernard, patron of mountaineers.