Aosta Valley is a region that in its landscapes as much as its people, has always kept its own specific cultural identity, as a result of the fusion of various traditions. Roman ruins, churches and castles testify to Aosta‘s thousand year old role as a junction with Switzerland and France and as a European trans-Alpine and Mediterranean meeting place. As well as this, we also recognise in the typical regional cuisine, characteristics of quality and tradition. Aosta Valley is the smallest region in Italy and lies right in the heart of the Alps, surrounded by four of the highest mountains in the whole of Italy and Europe (Monte Bianco, Cervino, Monte Rosa and Gran Paradiso) and with the Dora Baltea river, the most important tributary of the river Po, running through it. The main passes are the Colle del Piccolo San Bernardo and the Colle del Gran San Bernardo with it's tunnel of the same name. The southern part of the territory is part of the Gran Paradiso National Park (Parc National du Grand-Paradis).