NOT THE PRETTIEST IN THE WORLD, BUT BLESSED WITH PLENTY OF HIGH-ALTITUDE, SNOW-SURE SKIING AND EASY ACCESS TO THE SLOPES OF NEIGHBOURING ZERMATT

"Heureux celui qui sur ces monts put longtemps se reposer. Heureux celui qui les revient s'il a du les quitter. BYRON."

Somehow one cannot fail to admire the romantic spirit of an Italian ski resort that has Byron's fine words (mysteriously translated into French) emblazoned on the front of its main lift station in wrought iron.

But although the mountains have not changed much since Byron's time, one cannot imagine he would have been much impressed with the resort of Cervinia as it is today. Having originally come to prominence as a climbing centre, Cervinia was first developed as a ski area in 1936 during Mussolini's era, when what were then state-of-the-art lifts and hotels were constructed. Unfortunately subsequent development has been haphazard to say the least. A complete absence of strategic planning is immediately apparent.

Cervinia is essentially an ugly place that seems like a calculated insult to the mountains that surround it. The principal buildings represent a farrago of architectural styles, none of them distinguished. Many of the structures, including the lift station, appear to be on the verge of falling down. Most of the hotels have unattractive square roofs and metal fire escapes seem to extrude on almost every edifice. Worse still, the view from your hotel room is likely to be of the back of another hotel, rather than the mountains. Even the majestic Matterhorn, or Il Cervino as it is known here, looks relatively unremarkable from the Italian side.

But despite its aesthetic handicaps, Cervinia remains one of the most popular Italian destinations for British skiers. Indeed, the British comprise the largest proportion of foreign visitors here. The attraction is partly price, although this is by no means the cheapest resort in Italy, but principally it is the snow record.

Cervinia is one of the highest ski resorts in the Alps, with a village height of 2,050m and a ski area (linked to Zermatt's) that rises up to 3,480m - or even 3,820m if you are returning from an excursion into Zermatt's terrain. Thus it is virtually guaranteed to have snow from early December until late April, despite the fact that many of its slopes have a southerly exposition. In addition, snow-making machines help to ensure season-long snow-cover on the lower slopes. (The resort celebrates its long season with the Azzurrissimo at the end of April. This is a downhill race from the Plateau Rosa to Cervinia itself in which 1,500 amateurs compete.)