The Aosta Valley is the smallest Italian region, a mountain territory lying in the heart of the Alps, an ideal bridge between the Mediterranean and the centre of Europe. Furrowed by the Dora Baltea river and surrounded by the highest peaks in Europe, is divided into thirteen lateral valleys shaped by old glaciers.

Frequented since 3000 B.C., inhabited by Ligurian and Celtic people, the Aosta Valley was occupied by the Romans who founded Augusta Praetoria in 25 B.C.

With the constitution of the Kingdom of Italy, the question of autonomy was proposed on many different occasions; this old aspiration culminated with the Special Statute of 26^th February 1948.

The prevailing economic activities are year round tourism, cattle-breeding, dairy products, wines, electric power and traditional handicrafts.

Summer and winter, the two main tourist seasons for guided excursions and winter sports, can count on many modern varied types of accomodation and entertainment facilities.

The Aosta Valley is not only mountains and nature, traditions and handicraft, it is also history and art, handed down to us by an extraordinary concentration of evidence of the past: megalithic monuments, Roman remains, more than 100 mediaeval castles, Romanesque, Gothic and Baroque.

Saint-Vincent is a modern little town, where in 1770 was discovered the Fons Salutis, considered a miracolous water.

The new Saint-Vincent is a major tourist organization based on the Casino de la Vallée, also offering remarkable cultural events. Thanks to these, Saint-Vincent is today an international holiday resort.

In chess the Aosta Valley organized six international tournaments, the last one at Saint-Vincent with seventeen Grandmasters; two Italian players (Arlandi and Mantovani) and a Spanish player (De La Villa) obtained a Grandmaster norm.

Aosta Valley organized also two Italian Championships, three Women Italian Championships, a Snow Cup and a Mitropa Cup.

In 1999 there were already the international tournament mentioned above and this Women Zonal. In June Saint-Vincent will organize the qualification tournament for the Italian Championship and in November the final tournament of the Italian Championship.

We hope we shall in a short time confirm a great international tournament in February 2000.