Little St Bernard Pass

The Little St Bernard Pass hosts a prehistoric stone circle (cromlech) at 2,188 metres elevation on the France-Italy border, south of Mont Blanc. The circle measures approximately 72 metres in diameter with 46 of the original stones still standing, though only eight are authentic. Classified as Neolithic to Bronze Age, the cromlech was built by pre-Celtic Alpine peoples including the Salasses and Ceutrones, and likely served as an astronomical observatory aligned with the summer solstice. The pass itself is historically significant as a major Alpine crossing, traditionally identified as the route taken by Hannibal's army.