Who has never looked up to the stars, on a moonless night, and felt at one with yourself? At times, however, the naked eye is not enough to collect the “keys of the sky” ... for this reason increasingly sophisticated tools are being created, as well as astronomy observatories.

The Region of Valle d'Aosta Astronomy Observatory opened in August 2003 at an altitude of 1,675 metres, in the Saint-Barthélemy Valley (Nus), in a district with low light pollution and little atmospheric turbulence and enjoys at least 240 calm nights per year, factors which were the reasons behind this location being chosen to implement the program. The well-equipped structure conducts scientific research at national and international level, astronomic popularisation and intervention and educational proposals for schools. Beyond the observation points and the wide-ranging instrumentation, the observatory includes a meteorological station, a helium physics laboratory, an IT room and an indoor exhibitions area, which is open to the public.

A planetarium is also available next to the Observatory.

Each year, in September, a picturesque event is organised: the “Star Party”, an astronomy festival set up in 1991. The program hosts a number of themed conferences, evenings/nights observing the skies and some special events.