Breuil-Cervinia facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Breuil-Cervinia
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Frazione
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Breuil-Cervinia
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| Country |  Italy |
| Region | Aosta Valley |
| Comune | Valtournenche |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| Postal code |
11021
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Breuil-Cervinia is a famous place in Italy that many people visit. It's part of a larger area called Valtournenche. This town is a popular spot for tourists, both in winter for skiing and in summer for other activities.
Contents
What's in a Name?
The name Breuil-Cervinia comes from two parts. Breuil was the original name of the area. It comes from an old local language and means a wet, marshy meadow, or a field with many streams. You can find similar names in other parts of the Aosta Valley, France, and Switzerland.
The second part, Cervinia, was added later. This happened when the Italian government wanted to make place names sound more Italian. Cervinia refers to the famous Matterhorn mountain, which is called Monte Cervino in Italian.
Name Change in 2023
In April 2023, the local council decided to change the town's official name to "Le Breuil." This was part of a bigger plan to update many local place names. In September 2023, the change became official.
However, this name change caused some problems. People worried it would confuse tourists and hurt the town's tourism business. Even Italy's tourism minister asked them to rethink it! The local mayor said it was a "misunderstanding" and that no one wanted to get rid of "Cervinia," which is known worldwide. Just a day after the change, they started the process to bring "Breuil-Cervinia" back. They are now reviewing all the hamlet names again.
Where is it?
Breuil-Cervinia is located high up in the Alps, about 2,050 meters (6,726 feet) above sea level. It sits right at the foot of the mighty Matterhorn mountain. The town is surrounded by other impressive peaks like the Jumeaux and the Grandes Murailles.
It shares a huge ski area with Zermatt, a town in Switzerland. This connection is made possible by the Plateau Rosa glacier, which is about 3,500 meters (11,483 feet) high. The ski season here is super long, lasting about six months in winter and even continuing in summer on the glacier! A small river called Marmore creek flows through the village.
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Weather in Breuil-Cervinia
Since Breuil-Cervinia is one of Europe's highest ski resorts, it gets very cold and has lots of snow. In winter, daily temperatures are usually around -5 to -10°C (23 to 14°F). In summer, it's much milder, about 8 to 10°C (46 to 50°F).
This cold weather keeps the snow in great condition all winter. For example, in December, the town usually gets 40-50 cm (16-20 inches) of snow, and the mountain gets 140-160 cm (55-63 inches). Other winter months like January, February, and March get even more snow, sometimes over 2 meters (6.5 feet) on the mountain!
A Look Back in Time
Breuil-Cervinia has a relatively short history as a town. Before the 1800s, the area was mostly just a place for shepherds to graze their animals in summer. However, in the Middle Ages, it was an important crossing point for merchants traveling through the Alps.
The town really started to grow in the 1850s. This was when alpinism, or mountain climbing, became popular across the Alps. People became very interested in the Matterhorn and other mountains. English adventurers, especially, were keen to explore the wild mountains.
Local shepherds, like Jean-Antoine Carrel, knew the mountains well. They started trying to climb the Matterhorn from the Italian side. Famous climbers like John Tyndall and Edward Whymper came to Breuil. They competed to be the first to reach the top of the Matterhorn. This led to the building of the first mountain shelters, like the Refuge du Théodule in 1852.
In 1865, Edward Whymper successfully climbed the Matterhorn first, from the Swiss side. Just three days later, Jean-Antoine Carrel climbed it from the harder Italian side. After a sad accident on Whymper's team, another climber, Amé Gorret, suggested building a new mountain refuge on the Matterhorn to encourage more tourists. The Italian Alpine Club supported this, and the refuge opened in 1867.
Also in 1865, the Società Guide del Cervino (Matterhorn Guides Society) was founded in Breuil. It's one of the oldest mountain guide groups in the world!
As mountain climbing grew, hotels started to appear, and Breuil slowly changed from a simple pasture into a tourist spot. When ski mountaineering became popular, Breuil's slopes became a favorite for early skiers, speeding up its change into a top tourist destination.
In the 1930s, an engineer named Dino Lora Totino saw the potential to turn Breuil into a major tourist resort. In 1934, he helped create the Società Anonima Cervino. Their goal was to build modern ski lifts. The road connecting Breuil to the main town of Valtournenche was built in 1934. Two years later, the first cable car, connecting Breuil to Plan Maison, opened.
In 1939, Breuil was renamed Cervinia. This was part of a plan by the government at the time to make place names sound more Italian. That same year, the highest ski lift in Italy opened, connecting Plan Maison to Testa Grigia, near the Swiss border. An observatory was also built there to study space and the Earth's atmosphere. Today, it's a weather station.
After World War II, more ski lifts were built. In 1952, a very long cable car was built from Plan Maison to Furggen. It was so long that its designers had to consider the Earth's curve! This cable car was difficult to use, so a tunnel was later built into the mountain to make it safer for skiers.
In the 1950s, Breuil-Cervinia was also chosen by the Italian Alpine Club to train for the famous 1954 expedition to K2, the world's second-highest mountain.
Over the years, older ski lifts were replaced with newer, bigger ones to carry more people. In 1962, a bobsleigh track called "Lac Bleu" was finished and opened by Olympic champion Eugenio Monti.
In the 2000s, the company running the ski lifts faced money problems. In 2006, with help from regional funding, two new chairlifts were built. In 2008, the region bought most of the company, making it public. This helped them invest in modernizing the resort, like building a new chairlift in 2009.
Breuil-Cervinia became a place where architects and engineers experimented with new designs for buildings and ski lifts. They wanted to create a special "alpine architecture." Famous architects like Carlo Mollino worked on projects here.
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What Breuil-Cervinia Does Today
Today, Breuil-Cervinia relies completely on tourism. People visit all year round because they can ski in summer on the Plateau Rosa Glacier. The town is also part of the "Matterhorn Ski Paradise," a huge ski area, and is known for its beautiful mountain scenery.
In summer, the flat areas around Breuil-Cervinia are used as pastures for cows. The milk from these cows is used to make famous local cheeses like Fontina and other toma cheeses.
Places to See
Here are some interesting spots in Breuil-Cervinia:
- Lago Blu (Blue Lake) or Lac Bleu.
- Lac de Goillet, an artificial lake near a lift station.
- Plateau Rosa, a high glacier.
- Plan Maison, a mid-mountain area.
- Furggen arrival lift station, offering great views.
- Refuge Jean-Antoine Carrel, a mountain hut.
- Refuge Duc des Abruzzes à l'Oriondé, another mountain hut.
Churches and Monuments
- Notre-Dame-des-Ermites chapel, built in the 1500s.
- Notre-Dame-des-Neiges church, built in the 1950s.
- Saint Anne and Pope John Paul II chapel.
- Alpini chapel.
- Croce del Papa (Pope's Cross), a monument for Pope John Paul II.
- Croix Carrel, a monument for Jean-Antoine Carrel, marking where he died.
Museums
- Luigi Amedeo Hut, a mountain hut that is now a museum.
Sports and Fun
Alpine Skiing
The ski area here is huge and has great snow because it's so high up (from 2,050 m to 3,500 m).
Breuil-Cervinia is connected to Zermatt in Switzerland by the Plateau Rosa glacier. You can even ski there in summer! It's also connected to the Valtournenche ski resort.
Breuil-Cervinia hosted a Women's FIS Alpine Ski World Cup race in 1977. Since 2022, Breuil-Cervinia and Zermatt have been hosting a special cross-border World Cup race. This is the first time in the Cup's history! Skiers start in Switzerland and finish in Italy on a slope called Gran Becca, which means "Great Peak" in the local language.
A cool event called Azzurrissimo used to happen here. It was a long skiing competition on the 11-kilometer-long Ventina slope. Skiers of all levels, from pros to regular people, took part. It was a unique event that mixed different types of alpine skiing. It ran from 1987 to 1998.
Cross-country Skiing
In winter, Breuil-Cervinia has a cross-country skiing trail near the town center.
Snowboard Cross
Breuil-Cervinia has hosted the Snowboard Cross World Cup four times (in 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2022). It's a regular stop on the World Cup circuit.
Cycling
Breuil-Cervinia has been a stage for the famous Tour of Italy cycling race five times (1960, 1997, 2012, 2015, and 2018).
In summer, you can also do downhill mountain biking on special trails. A well-known competition called Maxiavalanche involves riding down from the 3500 m Plateau Rosa glacier to Breuil-Cervinia. The resort is working hard to make summer tourism even bigger with these activities.
Bobsleigh
The "Lac Bleu" bobsleigh run in Breuil-Cervinia hosted the World Championships three times and the European Championships four times. It closed in 1991 because it was too expensive to keep running and needed major repairs.
The bobsleigh track was considered for the Winter Olympic Games twice, for the 1998 Olympics and the 2006 Olympics, but other locations were chosen instead.
Speed Skiing
Breuil-Cervinia has been the site of many speed skiing competitions. This is where skiers go as fast as they can down a slope.
In 1947, Zeno Colò set a record here, reaching 159.291 km/h (99 mph) on normal skis without a helmet! Steve McKinney, the first person to ski over 200 km/h (124 mph), also competed here. In 2005, the Speed Skiing World Championships were held in Breuil-Cervinia.
Ski Touring
Ski touring, which is skiing uphill and then downhill, has a long history in Breuil-Cervinia. Before ski lifts were common, people would ski tour from Breuil-Cervinia up to Plan Maison and even to Plateau Rosa, then ski back down.
Breuil-Cervinia also hosts one of the oldest and most famous ski touring races, the Mezzalama Trophy.
Events
Since 1998, Breuil-Cervinia hosts the Cervino CineMountain. This is a film festival that shows documentaries about mountains, adventure, exploring, and nature. It's part of an international group of mountain film festivals.
Since 2019, in July, Breuil-Cervinia hosts La Settimana del Cervino (The Matterhorn Week). This event encourages people to connect with nature and learn about protecting the mountain environment. It includes talks with entertainers, athletes, and experts, as well as concerts and walks.
Images for kids
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Panorama from Theodulpass towards Breuil-Cervinia with the Matterhorn
See also
In Spanish: Breuil-Cervinia para niños
