Postcard from Val d'Aosta

In the very upper northwest corner of Italy lies the beautiful Val d'Aosta, or in English: the Aosta Valley. It is a magnificent valley, surrounded on three sides by the Alps. There are two main roads that begin in the city of Aosta. The road west climbs slowly through small towns such as Pre-Saint Didler, Aumavilles, Introd…finally ending in the well-known Italian ski resort town of Courmayeur. 

Did you notice that the towns I mentioned all have French names? Why? Because it was first populated by the French as early as medieval times. It has a long and checkered political history too detailed to go into here. Remember, Italy did not become a nation until 1861. French was the official language for many years. It was Mussolini who forced the Italian language on to the residents. Many of the people who lived here back then chose to migrate to France and Switzerland. Today, both French and Italian are spoken here and most residents know both.

Back to the highway west. I mentioned the resort town of Courmayeur. That is where the Aosta Valley ends…at the foot of Mount Blanc. But wait, the road does not end there. There is a 7.2 mile tunnel through the mountain. When you emerge at the other end, you are in France.

The other road I mentioned runs north out of Aosta. Take it for a few miles and you enter Switzerland. Technically that road does not go through the Aosta Valley, so I won’t elaborate on it.

One of the most interesting facts about the valley is it contains around 100 genuine castles and 50 smaller fortified homes, all built ages ago when such things were in style. The castle above is Saint-Pierre Castle (notice another French name). It was built in the 12th century. Occupied for most of its life by French noble families, it was restored back in the 19th century by an Italian nobleman. He eventually gave it to the city of Saint-Pierre.

I took the original photo on slide film, then converted it to digital. I then sketched the image using digital pastel chalk to render what you see here. The mountain in the background is Mount Blanc.  I spent two days roaming the Val d’Aosta, taking photos and just enjoying the incredible scenery. If you are ever in northern Italy, be sure and make the trip. It is only about 1.5 hours north of Torino and is an easy drive. Bring your best camera!!

PS…Mount Blanc is not the tallest peak in the Italian Alps. That honor belongs to the Matterhorn. I bet you thought that mountain was in Switzerland. On a clear day, the Matterhorn is visible all the way from Torino.