Aosta Valley Cows – Proud and Athletic
In winter, the cattle remain in the stables; in spring and autumn, they graze on the valley pastures; and in summer, they are taken to high-altitude alpine meadows. Valdostana cows possess the perfect physique for mountain life.
The Aosta Valley is home to three native cattle breeds: the Red Pied (la rodze), the Black Pied (la nèye), and the Castana — despite its name, it sports a uniformly black coat. These hardy, medium-sized animals are agile and well-suited to mountain terrain and high-altitude grazing. Renowned for their strong reproductive abilities and longevity, they are raised both for milk and meat.
The Black Pied and Castana breeds are lively and spirited. Every spring, they engage in duels to establish hierarchy within the herd — the origin of the famous Batailles de Reines, a tradition celebrated throughout the region. The climax of these contests takes place in Aosta in mid-October, but throughout the summer, the cows compete in various events. One notable competition occurs during the Fête des Bergers at the Little St Bernard Pass, recalling the times when shepherds from the Aosta Valley and Savoy reunited after long winters when the pass was impassable. The afternoon is devoted to the Bataille de Reines, which crowns the proudest and bravest cow as “Queen of the Little St Bernard.” These contests are non-violent, often decided by a glance or a subtle move demonstrating dominance.
Traditionally, cows were milked by hand twice daily. While fresh milk was consumed, most was transformed into butter and cheeses — staples of the mountain diet. At the end of their working lives, animals were slaughtered, with meat reserved for festive occasions and primarily eaten in winter. Slaughtering took place in late autumn when the weather was favourable. Every part of the animal was utilised — blood, offal, bones, and hooves. Much of the meat was preserved with salt and crafted into cured meats and sausages.
In summer, cows are gathered into large herds and led to graze on mountain grasses and wildflowers. The milk produced at altitude is highly aromatic and is the sole ingredient of Fontina d’Alpeggio, a cheese whose flavour reflects the alpine flora of the meadows.
Life on the alpine pastures remains much as it always was. The herders’ huts are simple, and daily routines revolve around milking and grazing. Each pasture features a casera (a small hut where milk is processed) and a crotta (a cellar or shed where cheese wheels mature).

From Milk to Cheese
Cheesemaking was—and remains—a craft requiring skill and precise technique. The milk, either whole or partially skimmed, was gently heated over the fire to reach the correct temperature before being combined with rennet, an enzyme naturally found in a calf’s stomach that causes the proteins to coagulate. After resting, the curd was stirred to break it into small pieces, separating it from the whey, and then heated once more.
The curd was then lifted from the cauldron using special cloths, placed into moulds to drain, and prepared either for immediate consumption as fresh cheese or for maturation. Each type of cheese follows a precise recipe, testing the cheesemaker’s skill at every stage.
Butter was equally essential and made from cream or the residual whey left after cheese production. The traditional tool was the churn—a wooden cylinder with a closed bottom and a perforated lid, fitted with a plunger that moved a wooden disc inside to agitate the contents. By churning vigorously for 40–50 minutes, the fat collected into small balls, roughly the size of corn kernels, separating from the buttermilk.
Each family marked its butter with a personal stamp or design. Carved butter paddles were used to imprint flowers, animals, initials, or other distinctive symbols, while rectangular moulds shaped the blocks and left decorative patterns simultaneously.

Eternal Ice and Powerful Water
The Rutor Glacier, the third largest in the Aosta Valley, spreads wide and massive across the mountainside, shimmering with blue reflections at dawn and glowing with warm tones at sunset.
Beneath it flows a powerful torrent that descends into the valley in three great leaps, forming the famous Rutor Waterfalls.
These very waters were once a vital source of life for the village below.
The glacier, stretching between 2,500 and 3,350 metres in altitude, has retreated significantly in recent decades. By studying historical photographs and records of seasonal patterns, temperatures, and snowfall, we learn that its ice has advanced and receded many times over the centuries.
Its front advanced notably between 1564–65 and the mid-19th century, during the “Little Ice Age,” which interrupted the warmer climatic period of medieval times.
When the glacier was expanding, its icy tongue extended to block the small valley of Usselettes (where today stands the Deffeyes Mountain Hut). At about 2,400 metres of altitude, this formed a natural dam, creating a lake that held millions of cubic metres of water.
When the lake reached its maximum level, pressure from the melting water broke through the thick ice barrier, releasing torrents that surged violently downstream, causing floods and destruction as far as Morgex.
Such catastrophic events occurred several times between the 17th and 19th centuries (notably in 1594, 1595, 1640, and 1646).
The lake was named Santa Margherita, after the votive chapel built on its shores in 1607. Every year on July 20, villagers would climb in procession to the chapel to ward off the disastrous floods that had once descended from the glacier’s waters.

The Rutor Waterfalls
The Dora del Rutor, a mountain stream originating from the Rutor Glacier, cascades down through three powerful waterfalls at altitudes of 2,030, 1,850, and 1,700 metres, dropping a total of 400 metres in a breathtaking natural spectacle.
At the third waterfall, this marvel of nature can be admired from an iron bridge, built in 2014 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the discovery of the falls. Even from a distance, their energy and the sparkling rush of water, contrasting vividly with the surrounding forest, invite exploration. The trail that links all three waterfalls follows the footsteps of Abbé Chanoux, an eminent 18th-century scholar of the Aosta Valley mountains, who was the first to name them the “rutorine.” By the late 19th century, local mountain guides were already leading visitors to admire the falls, while the most adventurous trekkers, accompanied by alpine guides, would ascend to the summit of the Rutor (3,486 metres), located in the neighbouring Valgrisenche. This summit was first conquered in 1862 by the Englishmen Matthews and Bonney, together with the Chamonix guide Michel Croz.