The Italians call the Matterhorn Monte Cervino, and in the local dialect it’s known as Gran Becca, or Great Peak. — Photos: BERNHARD KRIEGER/dpa
The Matterhorn has made the once poor village of Zermatt rich, and world-famous. People from all over the world flock to the foot of the spectacular mountain, which rises pyramid-like 4,478m into the pure alpine sky. It is one of the most photographed peaks in the world.
What many people don’t realise is that car-free Zermatt shares not only the view of the iconic peak, but also the surrounding ski area with the down-to-Earth municipality of Breuil-Cervinia in the Aosta Valley, across the border in Italy.
Spectacular Swiss views
The Italians call the Matterhorn Monte Cervino, and in the local dialect it’s known as Gran Becca, or Great Peak.
The dialect is a mixture of French and Italian, the two official languages of the autonomous region of Valle d’Aosta. The bilingualism is also evident in the town’s double-barrelled name, although most locals just call it Cervinia.
It seems a very down-to-Earth place when compared with the up-market Zermatt. “It’s not as dressed up,” many Swiss would say – “It’s not as sterile,” some Italians would counter. The Chiesa di Maria Regina Vallis Augustanae – a church in the centre of town – makes a nice photo motif with the Cervino in the background. But viewed from Zermatt, which is at an altitude of around 1,600m above sea-level, the Matterhorn looks even more spectacular.
The Swiss also score higher when it comes to architecture, with pretty wooden chalets and hotels that are more than 100 years old. In Cervinia, on the other hand, some horrendous monstrosities were concreted into the slopes in the 1970s. Nevertheless, Breuil-Cervinia – at an altitude of over 2,000m – has its own range of charming hotels, up to the five-star level.
There is a lot of traffic on the slopes between Cervinia and Zermatt during ski season.
Cervinia’s trump card
The big winner for the Italians is the food on offer – and, of course prices are much cheaper than in the expensive and exclusive Swiss resort. You will pay €1 (RM4.70) for an Italian espresso, instead of a few francs on the Swiss side. A pasta dish costs about half as much in Italy as in Switzerland, but is often twice as good.
This means there’s a lot of lunchtime cross-border commuter traffic over the glacier, where you can ski all year round except in extremely hot summers (like 2022).
At Bontadini, Rocce Nere and other alpine huts, it is hard to find seating room when the antipasti, pasta or steaming polenta with braised meat are served, and the fine Italian wines offer the perfect finishing touch.
Things are quieter on the Swiss side. But there, too, you can eat really well if you know where to go – and if you have the necessary Swiss Francs. Zum See and the new Stafelalp are very good places to eat, as are the Findlerhof, the Paradise and the classic Chez Vrony. This last is a cosy chalet with an amazing view of the Matterhorn, where you will find the smart Zermatt ski set dining.
The Italian huts don’t have the same pretentions, and nor is there as much variety on the ski slopes themselves. While wide, sunny pleasure runs dominate on the Italian south side, the four areas across in Switzerland offer more demanding pistes.
Some lifts and stations in Cervinia are getting on in years, whereas the Swiss offer state-of-the-art facilities. The highlight is the new Matterhorn Glacier Ride, a gondola lift up to 3,883m – the highest mountain station in Europe. From the top you can see 38 4,000m peaks and 14 glaciers.
The last Italian gondola section up to the Swiss summit station should also be ready next year. When it is, it will be possible to shuttle back and forth not only on skis in winter, but also on foot during the rest of the year. – dpa
