The path that leads to the Valle d’Aosta Astronomical Observatory, in the narrow side valley of Saint Barthélemy, is already a fairy tale. To reach the hamlet of Lignan, in the Lower Valley, we pass the Castle of Fénis, from the late 12th century, surrounded by embattled walls, on top of a hill, unusually devoid of natural defenses, with splendid balconies frescoed on the courtyard. Nus, a little further on, is a small medieval village known for the production of nut and chocolate kisses. At 1,633 meters and 15 km from Nus, there is the Astronomical Observatory from which the Path of Planets starts, 300 meters long: illustrative panels tell the bodies of the solar system arranged at proportional distances with respect to the orbital reality. From here also the walk to the Sanctuary of Cuney (2,652 meters), the highest in Europe: three hours of walking, among pastures and pastures, with a single non-binding via ferrata passage, a route touched by the Alta Via n. 1 in the stage between the Valtournenche and the Valpelline. At night, you abandon yourself to the stars. Guided tours begin at 9 pm, in July from Tuesday to Saturday, in August also on Sunday. Until July 30, in the megalithic area of nearby Aosta, guided tours from the land to the moon. A journey through space and time includes scaled aerospace models, film screenings and information conferences. From August 10th to 13th the Etoiles et musique 2019 evenings are dedicated to the meteor shower of the Perseids, the shooting stars of S. Lorenzo.
Sleeping: Maison Rosset, an agritourism inn with monastic rooms, small apartments and a light regional cuisine trattoria in a house from 1784.
Festival in the Natural Parks
A territory of 25 thousand hectares of spectacular uninhabited Dolomite landscape, with a handful of shelters and zero light pollution, the Fanes-Sennes-Braies Nature Park, in Alto Adige, could be among the first in Italy, with the Asinara, the Barumini Foundation and the National Park of the Casentino Forests, to present the candidacy for the International Dark Sky Association which brings together parks and sanctuaries that protect the dark. Designed by crevices, wells, sinkholes, with alpine lakes, mugaie and vast high-altitude plateaus that extend beyond the tree line, the plateau is already a Natural Park and, like the Dolomites, registered for 10 years with the UNESCO World Heritage List . The sunset lights up the rocks with amaranth and powder pink reflections. At daybreak, the already silvery rocks live with their own moonlight. Certification, if there ever will be, is demanding: it requires lighting to be controlled using non-LED bulbs that emit a spectrum of light as far as possible from the blue that alters the circadian rhythms of humans and animals. During the day, in the months between June and September, the golden botton, the clematis, the carnation of the glaciers, the gentian of Koch, the arnica and the wild crocus stretch out towards the windswept prairies and screes. It is enough to wait for the blue hour, when the shelters are empty, the cowbells of the cows are quieted and the park becomes again the deer, the ibex and the royal eagles, and in the dark, the star cap is very clear. At the Park one arrives from San Vigilio di Marebbe along the Val di Rudo for 12 km. The walls of pitiless verticality of the plateau accompany you along the route. Climb on foot or by jeep of the shelters from the town of Pederù. The Dolomites Star Party (25-30 July) will also start from San Vigilio, a traveling festival between the Val di Marebbe and Alta Badia, a festival of guided observations, treasure hunts and shows that culminates with the observation of falling stars and the concert of 30 July at the Passo delle Erbe.
Sleeping: Maison Rosset, an agritourism inn with monastic rooms, small apartments and a light regional cuisine trattoria in a house from 1784.
Festival in the Natural Parks
A territory of 25 thousand hectares of spectacular uninhabited Dolomite landscape, with a handful of shelters and zero light pollution, the Fanes-Sennes-Braies Nature Park, in Alto Adige, could be among the first in Italy, with the Asinara, the Barumini Foundation and the National Park of the Casentino Forests, to present the candidacy for the International Dark Sky Association which brings together parks and sanctuaries that protect the dark. Designed by crevices, wells, sinkholes, with alpine lakes, mugaie and vast high-altitude plateaus that extend beyond the tree line, the plateau is already a Natural Park and, like the Dolomites, registered for 10 years with the UNESCO World Heritage List . The sunset lights up the rocks with amaranth and powder pink reflections. At daybreak, the already silvery rocks live with their own moonlight. Certification, if there ever will be, is demanding: it requires lighting to be controlled using non-LED bulbs that emit a spectrum of light as far as possible from the blue that alters the circadian rhythms of humans and animals. During the day, in the months between June and September, the golden botton, the clematis, the carnation of the glaciers, the gentian of Koch, the arnica and the wild crocus stretch out towards the windswept prairies and screes. It is enough to wait for the blue hour, when the shelters are empty, the cowbells of the cows are quieted and the park becomes again the deer, the ibex and the royal eagles, and in the dark, the star cap is very clear. At the Park one arrives from San Vigilio di Marebbe along the Val di Rudo for 12 km. The walls of pitiless verticality of the plateau accompany you along the route. Climb on foot or by jeep of the shelters from the town of Pederù. The Dolomites Star Party (25-30 July) will also start from San Vigilio, a traveling festival between the Val di Marebbe and Alta Badia, a festival of guided observations, treasure hunts and shows that culminates with the observation of falling stars and the concert of 30 July at the Passo delle Erbe.