Central Valley and Mont Avic

The Central Valley of the Aosta Valley follows the course of the Dora Baltea, whose sources descend from the slopes of Mont Blanc, to Pont-Saint-Martin where it then enters the Piedmont region.
It is a historic passage route between the Italian peninsula and northern Europe, leading to the passes of the Little and Great Saint Bernard. The Romans invested its territory notably to undertake the conquest of Gaul, and it also served, for example, as a passage for Napoleon’s armies.
It is one of the most populated parts of the Aosta Valley, between a valley at moderate altitude and the peaks of Mont Avic, with numerous villages and castles, and with the Casino de la Vallée at the spa resort of Saint-Vincent.

Architectural heritage

There are remains of the Consular Route des Gaules, which was built by the Romans in the 1st century BC, particularly at Donnas with an arch carved into the rock, or the Roman bridge at Pont-Saint-Martin which has survived two millennia. Remains of bridges can be found at Saint-Vincent and Châtillon.

Among the castles, the first encountered to the south is the Bard Fort, a vast 19th-century fortified complex on a fortress of ancient origin, where the Museum of the Alps has recently been installed.
In the Middle Ages, the local family of the Challant, as well as their overlords of the house of Savoy, erected or developed many castles, such as Cly at Saint-Denis, Chenal and Saint-Germain at Montjovet, the princely castle of Issogne, the fortress of Verrès, or the Ussel Castle at Châtillon.
Beautiful churches dominate the villages with their characteristic bell towers, such as the Romanesque churches of Arnad and Saint-Vincent.

Natural heritage

The relief is relatively gentle in this part of the Aosta Valley, with vineyards and chestnut trees in the lower parts, and mountains at fairly low altitude that allow beautiful excursions such as Mont Zerbion, Tantané, Mont Barbeston or Mont Avic.
One of the best-preserved areas is that of the Mont Avic Regional Park, to the west of the valley, with its various pines, larches, beeches, alpine meadows, lakes and streams. To the east, the Mont Mars nature reserve has numerous lakes and peat bogs.
To the north, near Verrayès, there is an arboretum as well as the Lozon Lake Reserve.

Map

Information

• Aosta Valley tourism portals: www.lovevda.it