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<\/a>Gregorio’s Elephant…<\/p><\/div>\n
Gregorio used my Iphone to snap the picture and, judging by his enjoyment in doing so, if not a biologist, together we might have initiated a future career – or better; passion, as a photographer. Gregorio I’d say is about four.<\/p>\n
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Funnily enough I’d put on my wellies and walked down to the tiny library of La Thuile in search of exactly that. Not Gregorio, but elephants. Ending up instead reading ‘Tarzan’ to a four year old was due to a combination of a disinterested mother (distracted by facebook I think), a slow internet connection (I gave up on email) and my instant liking for this curious little fellow who patiently – and more importantly, quietly – sat down to watch me ‘research’. Now fittingly, ‘fante’ would have been more than any other local mountain resident would have known two thousand two hundred and thirty one years ago, when almost to the day, perhaps as many as 37 of them appeared one evening on the Italian Alpine horizon of La Thuile.<\/p>\n
<\/a>The Locals Down Below Would Have Run…<\/p><\/div>\n
On that October day in 218 BC I doubt in fact the locals would have uttered much other than ‘run’ and ‘fast’ as, just after lunchtime if the records are correct, their nap was interrupted by the loud trumpeting of Hannibal of Carthage’s trained war beasts. What a sight it must have been. Today, were even one elephant to come ambling down the road just behind room 9 of the Hotel Rolland (which I have made my home from home for the winter) where the ancient Petit Saint Bernard pass still empties from France into Italy and the beautiful Valle d’Aosta below, it would be quite the shock. Imagine now that you’ve neither seen nor even heard of the existence of such a creature before when three dozen suddenly appear, full war regalia and in gleaming armour.<\/p>\n
<\/a>‘Of No Importance Whatsoever…’<\/p><\/div>\n
Hannibal’s famous crossing of the Alps I recently saw described in a history book as follows; ‘Hannibal’s route across the Alps is one of those historical questions that cause endless debate even though the subject has no importance whatsoever’. Bam. Dealt with. I presume, as this was not the end of the chapter, that it was also of no importance whatsoever to the author whether his readers read on or not. ‘One of the boldest military manoeuvres in history’, as a different author stated, is a slightly more generous – and I would argue – accurate description of the events of the 15 days the crossing allegedly took (both Livy and Polybius, the two main sources agree on this much). But fair enough, maybe the exact route matters only to the very fewest.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Near The Summit – Was This Road Built For Elephants?<\/p><\/div>\n
‘Day 11; halt on summit, begins to snow’ goes the eyewitness account. ‘Day 14 and 15 building a road for the elephants’. It might not be ‘important’, but it sure is (hopefully) interesting. Imagine bringing Elephants all the way from Africa up through the Iberian peninsular, across the Pyrenees, through Gaul and then finally across the Alps (and even then Rome was hardly just around the corner). Imagine having to build roads as you go along. When British engineer John Hoyte took Jumbo an ‘unruly’ elephant from Turin Zoo across the Alps in 1959 in what is exactly the kind of hands-on historical experiment I would have loved to partake in, it ate 150 pounds of hay, 50 of apples, 40 of bread, and 20 of carrots PER day and still lost 300 pounds during the first four days of the trip. Hannibal started off with probably 37 (27 we are pretty sure made it into Italy). That’s more than 60 tonnes of food JUST for his elephants. 20.000 men and 6.000 cavalry also made it. Imagine.<\/p>\n
‘When even now the Alps are right before our eyes and Italy only just beyond; now on the very doorstep of our enemies – you want to stop – because you feel a little tired!’. I love this supposed speech which Livy ascribes to Hannibal before starting the crossing. This being BC, it must qualify as one of the understatements of all time when spoken (which sadly it probably never was). I suspect they were a ‘little tired’. They’d walked from Africa after all. Anyway, it worked, they upped sticks and the rest is history…<\/p>\n
And as you know I love, simply love history. As I headed up from La Thuile towards the Petit Saint Bernard Pass a beautiful early November afternoon, it certainly matters to me that this just could be, the route. The pass, now a ski run in the winter and a bikers favourite road in the summer, is already closed to through traffic. As I climb, gradually fallen pine needles underfoot give way to fresh snow. I stop regularly to take pictures or just admire the view, marvelling at how similar this must have looked to Hannibal.<\/p>\n