Battaglia delle Capre - Batailles des Chèvres in La Thuile

A tradition entirely from the Aosta Valley

The Battaglia delle Capre (in French Batailles des Chèvres) is a typical event of the Aosta Valley, the younger sibling of the more famous Batailles de Reines which feature cows. In La Thuile, in Valdigne, goats meet and challenge each other with their horns in a completely natural and non-violent way, just as happens in the 'battles of the Queens'.

How the challenge works

The mechanism is simple and fascinating: the goats face each other, and the one that retreats is eliminated from the competition; the goat that manages to defeat the most opponents wins. This is a spontaneous behaviour of these animals, particularly combative, which breeders simply frame within a day of celebration and exhibition of the best specimens.

From its origins in 1981 to today

The first edition of this unique "bataille" dates back to 1981, when some young breeders, passionate about this livestock, decided to organize an exhibition of the best local specimens combined with a fighting competition among the goats themselves. Since then, the tradition has taken root: every year, from spring until the first Sunday in November, goats and breeders gather in various locations in the Aosta Valley for the preliminaries, leading up to the final challenge.

A festival for the whole community

Organized by the Comité Régional Batailles des Chèvres, of which La Thuile is one of the host locations, the Battaglia delle Capre is above all a day of celebration for young and old alike: an opportunity to discover the world of mountain farming up close and a genuine tradition of the Aosta Valley, far from the major tourist circuits.