Saint Bernard Passes are two high passes across the Alps. The Great St. Bernard Pass is on the border between Switzerland and Italy, and the Little St. Bernard Pass is on the border between France and Italy. The Romans used the passes as military roads about 2,000 years ago. Today, motor roads cross the passes. Each pass has a hospice (refuge for travelers). The Great St. Bernard Tunnel for automobiles, which is about 31/2 miles (5.6 kilometers) long, links Italy and Switzerland. It was opened to traffic in 1964.
Great St. Bernard.
The road leading across Great St. Bernard begins at Martigny, in the Rhone Valley. It follows the Val d’Entremont to an elevation of 8,100 feet (2,469 meters). The road then descends into northwestern Italy by way of Valle D’Aosta. The Great St. Bernard Hospice stands at the highest point in the pass. It was founded in the 1000’s by Saint Bernard of Menthon. Augustinian monks offer refuge for travelers at the hospice. In the past, the pass became well known because the monks used their famous St. Bernard dogs to save the lives of many wayfarers during severe winter months. In normal winters, the road to the pass is only partially open, isolating the hospice from the outside world. Food and other necessities are brought to the hospice by truck in the summer. In the winter, necessities are flown in by helicopter. Many summer travelers visit the hospice, which has room for more than 300 people. But only those traveling on foot may stay.
Little St. Bernard
lies about 25 miles (40 kilometers) southwest of Great St. Bernard. Its hospice also dates from the 1000’s, and is nestled in the pass at an elevation of 7,178 feet (2,188 meters). Little St. Bernard is 10 miles (16 kilometers) south of Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in the Alps.
