On this rounded knoll grows Kochia prostrata, a steppe plant with no other known station in Italy, alongside Valeriana tuberosa, which in the Alps occurs only in the Aosta Valley. The credit goes to the dry microclimate of the adret and to the wind: the reserve, created in 1993 across the comuni of Aosta and Saint-Christophe, is a piece of the Mediterranean stranded in the mountains.
What to see
The knoll rises to 790 metres and owes its rounded shape to the great glaciers that filled the area until 10,000 years ago; it sits where the main Dora Baltea valley meets the Valpelline. Heat-loving trees dominate, downy oak and Scots pine, while the birds include finches, tits, woodpeckers and crows. On the summit archaeologists identified a late Neolithic settlement with its necropolis, dated to around 3000 BC.
Visiting
The site is better equipped than most reserves: walking routes, a fitness trail, a multipurpose sports pitch, a court for palet, the traditional Valdostan game, playgrounds for children and teenagers, toilets and changing rooms. It is minutes up from the valley floor and doubles as the local walk for anyone living in Aosta.
Our editors' tip
Come in spring, when the dry-ground flora is out and it becomes clear why botanists keep an eye on this hill. The rare plants are small and easy to miss: watch where you put your feet.