Cervinia is a resort in the Aosta Valley renowned for the beauty of its landscapes and the variety of ski slopes.
Cervinia was built in 1800 at the foot of the Matterhorn, in the Breuil basin, an immense pasture until then reachable only after hours of walking. Until 1930 the buildings in the Breuil basin were very few, but in 1936 the first Breuil-Plan Maison cable car was built, an event that gave rise to the development of what is currently one of the largest ski areas in Italy and Europe.
Lake Layet (Lac de Layet in French) is commonly called Blue Lake for the color of its waters. Surrounded by centuries-old larch trees, the small body of water, being fed by spring water, is always clear.
If in winter the fairytale aspect is ensured thanks to the snow and the frozen surface, in summer its singularity is given by its color deriving from an algae inside that gives it wonderful shades ranging from blue to emerald green. When the day is clear, the lake turns into a mirror and the Matterhorn is reflected in its waters.
Looking at the reflected image you can see on the bottom of the lake some stretched out trunks similar to the beams of a roof that brings back to the legend linked to it.
The legend of the Blue Lake tells that in the place where today there is the lake there was a small house inhabited by a family of shepherds not very welcoming and charitable.
One day a hungry and cold pilgrim knocked on their door but the shepherd’s wife went to open the door and, when asked to have something to eat, she replied no.
The youngest of the couple’s children, shaken by his mother’s behavior, wanted to give him the bowl with his milk, but his parents prevented him and as a punishment sent him into the woods to collect wood. Once back, however, to his great surprise, he no longer found his home but in its place a lake had magically appeared.
The lake is about a half-hour walk or a few minutes drive from the center of Cervinia, on the regional road that goes up from Valtournenche.
