Great St Bernard Pass

The Great St Bernard Pass is an Alpine pass at about 2,470 metres linking the Swiss canton of Valais with the Aosta valley in Italy. Used since Roman times, it carried traffic between northern Europe and Italy throughout the Middle Ages. A hospice founded there in the 11th century by Bernard of Menthon gave the pass its name and later became known for its rescue dogs; Napoleon crossed it with an army in 1800.