Page 220 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Italy

218 І NOR THWEST IT AL Y

1 Monte Bianco The Monks’ Hospice, founded the re sort of Breuil-Cervinia.
around 1050 by St Bernard of From Breuil a cable car rises
Aosta. V Pré-St-Didier. @ Cour ma-
yeur. n Piazzale Monte Bianco 13, Aosta, lies just over the Swiss to the Plateau Rosa (3,480 m,
Courmayeur (0165 84 20 60). border (bring your passport), 11,418 ft), offering dramatic
∑ lovevda.it on the shores of a lovely views of the surrounding
lake; the dogs are still being mountains. This entire area is
Monte Bianco (Mont Blanc), the trained here. The pretty Great a paradise for both skiers
tallest mountain in the Alps at St Bernard valley and walkers.
4,810 m (15,780 ft), dominates itself includes
the western Aosta valley and the town of
its attractive all-year resort, Etroubles, set 4 Monte Rosa
Courmayeur. A series of cable in a forest of Aosta. V Verrès. @ St-Jacques.
car rides from Entrèves, conifers, the n Route Varasc, Champoluc/Ayas
5 km (3 miles) further hamlet of St-Oyen (0125 30 71 13).
north, leads to Chamonix. with its pretty parish
Passing its highest point church, and the Monte Rosa, Italy’s second-
(3,842 m, 12,606 ft) resort of St-Rhémy- highest mountain, overlooks
at Aiguille du Midi, en-Bosses. the picturesque Ayas and
it offers a spec tacular A St Bernard dog Gressoney valleys. The rolling
view. From Pré-St- P Monks’ Hospice lower Ayas valley is domin ated
Didier, below Courmayeur, the Colle San Bernardo, Switzerland. by the ruins of the 11th-century
Little St Bernard Pass, with its Tel 00 41 277 87 12 36. Open daily. Castello di Graines and its
small glaciers, forests and Romanesque chapel, dedicated
ravines, can be explored. to St Martin. Higher up, the
3 Monte Cervino resort of Champoluc has a
cable car connection with the
Aosta. V @ Breuil-Cervinia.
2 Colle del Gran n Via Circonvallazione 2, Breuil- striking Testa Grigia (3,315 m/
San Bernardo Cervinia (0166 94 91 36). 10,877 ft). The Gressoney valley
is home to the Walser people,
Aosta. V @ Aosta. n Strada The distinctive triangular who speak a German dialect.
Nazionale Gran San Bernardo 13, peak of Monte Cervino (the At the bottom of the valley,
Etroubles (0165 785 59). Open daily. Matterhorn) rises to 4,478 m north of Pont-St-Martin, lies
(14,691 ft) and is easily Issime: the 16th-century church
The Great St Bernard Pass is recognizable. Below the here has a fresco of the Last
synonymous with the hardy mountain lies a scattering of Judgment on its façade.
mountain rescue dogs that have attractive villages like Antey-St-
been trained locally by Catholic André, Valtournanche (which + Castello di Graines
monks since the 11th century. gave its name to the valley) and Graines, Strada Statale 506.

Medieval Castles and Forts in the Valle d’Aosta
The mountains alone provided insufficient protection was also important to Vittorio Emanuele II, owner of
to the fragmented fiefs that covered the Valle d’Aosta Sarre, who turned the halls of his fortress into a
in the Middle Ages. The medieval lords, who ruled plush hunting lodge. The owners of Châtelard, set
ruthlessly over their small domains, built castles to in some of the highest vineyards in Europe, placed
enforce their often fragile power. Of the many built, fine wine production alongside military aims.
70 castles survive in some form to this day. You will
pass a number of them if you drive into Italy by
the Mont Blanc tunnel; they stretch from Aosta
to Pont-St-Martin.
Originally Aosta castles were designed to be
defensive and threatening, such as the looming
tower of Montmayer, perched high on a huge
rock by the Valgrisenche valley. Nearby, the equally
forbidding dark tower of Ussel throws a melancholy,
brooding watchfulness over the valley.
Fénis and Verrès represent an important shift in
the function of the feudal castle. Both Fénis, a
splendid 14th-century showpiece (see p188), and
Verrès were not just import ant military outposts but
also examples of palatial opulence and good living.
Issogne, too, furthered this luxurious trend with its
elaborate frescoes, loggias and fountains. Decoration The strategically sited 14th-century castle at Verrès

For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp565–9 and pp584–90

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Eyewitness Travel LAYERS PRINTED:
Catalogue template “UK” LAYER
(Source v1.3)
Date 13th June 2012
Size 125mm x 217mm