The term Alpine states or Alpine countries refers to the countries associated with the region of Alps. As defined by the Alpine Convention of 1991, the region of the Alps comprise the territory of 8 countries. This territory includes 83 NUTS 3-level local administrative regions and about 6,200 communities/municipalities. The 8 alpine states are Austria, Germany, France, Italy, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Slovenia, and Switzerland.

In the narrow sense, the term "Alpine states" could be applied to the first three : Austria, Italy, and France represent 75% of the Alpine territory. From a strictly national point of view, and with the exception of Liechtenstein and Monaco, the Alps are dominant in only two countries: Austria (65,5% of its territory) and Switzerland (65%).

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Mario Rigoni Stern (November 1, 1921, Asiago – June 16, 2008) was an Italian author and World War II veteran.

His first novel Il sergente nella neve, published in 1953 (and the following year in English as The Sergeant in the Snow), draws on his own experience as a Sergeant Major in the Alpini corps during the disastrous retreat from Russia in World War II. It is his only work to be translated into English and Spanish.

Other well-known works also include Le stagioni di Giacomo (Giacomo's Seasons), Storia di Tönle (The Story of Tönle), and the collection of short stories Sentieri sotto la neve (Paths Beneath the Snow).

He was awarded the Premio Campiello and the Premio Bagutta for Storia di Tönle, and the Italian PEN prize for Sentieri sotto la neve.