The Chanousia garden
At the Little St Bernard pass, at an altitude of 2,170 metres, a botanical garden conserves and displays the plants of the Alps. It is called Chanousia, after its founder. It lies right by the border between Italy and France, above La Thuile, but its address is in France, in the municipality of Séez.
Canon Chanoux
Canon Pierre Chanoux was born in 1828 at Champorcher. This churchman took a keen interest in botany and devoted a large part of his life to the study of alpine plants. In 1897 he founded a high-altitude botanical garden at the pass.
He did not work alone. Botanists and workmen from the area helped him. Among them, the young botanist Lino Vaccari played a major part in the garden’s scientific organisation. He later became a respected professor.
Building a garden above 2,000 metres
The work was far from simple. The climate is harsh and the ground sloping. The team laid out terraces for planting. They carried fertile soil up from the valley and installed an irrigation system.
Low stone walls protect the plants from wind and cold. In their shelter, small microclimates allow the most delicate species to grow. A network of paths links the different parts of the garden.
More than 1,000 species
The garden now has more than 1,000 plant species. Some are rare, others endemic, that is, found only in a limited area. There are medicinal plants and species able to survive in extreme conditions.
The garden also serves to conserve threatened alpine species. Botanists study there how plants are adapting to climate change.
Neglect and revival
The garden suffered heavy damage during the Second World War and was then left abandoned. Italian and French institutions, associations and volunteers later restored it. It reopened to the public in 1991.
Today, themed trails and information panels explain what you see. Workshops and guided tours are organised to introduce visitors to alpine flora.
Contact
Chanousia Alpine Botanical Garden
Colle del Piccolo San Bernardo
73700 Séez (F)
Telephone: +39 379 158 4026
