★ History and art · Gran ParadisoAymavillesA Roman bridge and aqueduct hanging about fifty metres above the gorge of the Grand Eyvia stream, at the mouth of the Cogne valley, with an inner corridor you can still walk through.
The storyAn inscription on the bridge records that it was built in 3 BC by Caius Avillius Caimus, an entrepreneur from Padua, at his own expense: it carried water to his family's quarries and businesses. It is one of the few large Roman bridges built by a private individual, and it has stood for two thousand years. Today you walk through the covered corridor where the water once flowed, with small windows looking out over the void.
Full page, why go and what's nearby →★ Nature · Mont Blanc and ValdigneMorgexLow-pergola vineyards between 900 and 1,200 metres, at the foot of Mont Blanc: among the highest in Europe.
The storyHere they grow Prié blanc, a very old grape variety. At these altitudes phylloxera, the insect that destroyed almost all of Europe's vineyards in the 19th century and forced growers to graft their vines onto American roots, could not survive: that is why many vines still grow on their own roots, as they did before the disaster. The wine, Blanc de Morgex et de La Salle, is also made as an ice wine, from grapes harvested frozen in the depths of winter.
Full page, why go and what's nearby →★ Town · Matterhorn and Monte RosaChamoisA village of chalets and meadows at 1,800 metres above the Valtournenche, with a small lake and a view of the Matterhorn, where no cars are allowed.
The storyChamois is the only municipality in Italy that cannot be reached by road. Until 1955 the only way up was on foot or by mule; then a cable car was built from Buisson, and the villagers chose not to have a road. Today you ride up the cable car in a few minutes, or walk the old mule track.
Full page, why go and what's nearby →★ History and art · Lower valley and castlesIssogneA Renaissance castle-residence of the Challant family, with a courtyard centred on a wrought-iron fountain shaped like a pomegranate tree.
The storyAt the end of the 15th century the prior Giorgio di Challant turned the castle into a noble residence. Under the portico he had everyday scenes painted in the lunettes: the fruit market, the tailor's shop, the pharmacy with its jars, the bakery, the guardroom where soldiers play cards. They are a rare snapshot of life five hundred years ago. The walls and columns also bear graffiti left by guests and soldiers over the centuries.
Full page, why go and what's nearby →★ History and art · Lower valley and castlesDonnasA stretch of the Roman road to Gaul cut into the living rock, with an arch carved out of the stone and a milestone.
The storyTo build the road linking the Po plain to Gaul, Roman engineers cut into the mountain for about two hundred metres, leaving a natural arch and a column marking thirty-six miles from Aosta. The ruts of cart wheels are still visible in the paving. Nearby, at Pont-Saint-Martin, a single-arch Roman bridge has spanned the Lys stream for over two thousand years.
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