Every city in Aosta Valley | Italia Magnifica

Every city in Aosta Valley

From the capital to the smallest borghi.

AostaThe capitalThe regional capital, founded by Augustus as Augusta Praetoria in 25 BC and still laid out on its Roman grid. The Arch of Augustus and the great wall of the Roman theatre rise among the streets, while the cathedral and the priory of Sant'Orso guard medieval frescoes and a carved Romanesque cloister.
Ayas
Aymavilles
BardOne of Italy's smallest comuni, a single medieval street clustered beneath the vast Forte di Bard, the fortress that famously slowed Napoleon's army in 1800. Rebuilt in the nineteenth century and reached by glass lifts, it now houses the Museum of the Alps.
CogneA mountain village on the doorstep of the Gran Paradiso, Italy's first national park, where ibex and chamois roam the high valleys. The hamlet of Valnontey holds the Paradisia alpine garden, its beds of gentians and edelweiss bright against the glaciers above.
CourmayeurThe grande dame of Italian alpine resorts, set in the shadow of Mont Blanc at the head of the valley. From its slopes the Skyway Monte Bianco lifts visitors in rotating glass cabins to the Punta Helbronner terrace, a glittering panorama of the highest peaks in the Alps.
FénisA village best known for its castle, the Castello di Fénis, the most photographed in the region. Behind its pentagon of crenellated walls and watchtowers, a frescoed courtyard staircase survives from the days when the castle was a seat of the powerful Challant family.
La ThuileA high alpine village near the head of the valley, set on the road that climbs to the Little St Bernard Pass and the French border beyond. Snow-sure slopes and dense larch forest draw skiers in winter and walkers in the long mountain summer.
Saint-Pierre
Sarre
Valtournenche
Villeneuve