Passeggiata della Regina

The Queen's Walk links Castel Savoia, Lake Gover and Tschemenoal along ground associated with Queen Margherita of Savoy, who summered at her castle below Monte Rosa.

Why it matters

The walk's name and landscape preserve the memory of a historical figure. The Passeggiata della Regina takes its name from Queen Margherita di Savoia, the first queen of unified Italy, who summered at Castel Savoia and walked regularly between the castle and the valley floor. The route connects the castle, lake and village within the landscape of the Monte Rosa massif. Its historical associations help explain why the Savoy court chose this valley.

What to notice

The historic path connects Castel Savoia, Lake Gover and Tschemenoal. Across this landscape, vegetation changes from the castle's open parkland to conifer shade near the lake and more open ground toward the hamlet. The Monte Rosa skyline links these settings and explains the name of the valley's best-known royal residence.

Context and history

Gressoney-Saint-Jean is a Walser commune, founded by Germanic settlers who crossed the passes from the Valais, and by the late nineteenth century its clean mountain air had made it a fashionable summer retreat for the Italian aristocracy. Queen Margherita, wife of King Umberto I, was the most devoted royal visitor: the municipality records that between 1889 and 1896 the Beck Peccoz family repeatedly hosted the royal family at Villa Margherita, and the queen's own residence, Castel Savoia, was built nearby at the turn of the century. The path she used between the castle, the lake and the hamlets acquired her name, and The historic walking landscape also illustrates the valley's layered identity: Walser hamlets with Germanic place-names such as Tschemenoal, a Savoy summer court and a twentieth-century tourist economy.